Gary Okin

Mr. Okin www.dworkenlaw.com/attorneys/partners/gary-okin/ received his undergraduate degree in English Literature, cum laude, from Washington & Lee University, and his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Cleveland Marshall College of Law in Cleveland, Ohio.

Mr. Okin is admitted to practice before the Ohio Supreme Court and the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio. He is a member of the Lake, Cleveland, and Ohio State Bar Associations, and the former chairperson of the Lake County Family Law Committee. Mr. Okin's practice is focused on all aspects of domestic relations, juvenile law, and commercial litigation. He is certified as a specialist in domestic relations law by the Ohio State Bar Association. Mr. Okin is a contributor to several journals and continuing legal education seminars. Mr. Okin has been appointed as a life member to the Eighth District Court of Appeals Judicial Conference and is one of the first attorneys to be designated a certified specialist in the area of domestic relations law by the Ohio State Bar Association. He currently is serving as a member of the Family Relations Specialty Board of the Ohio State Bar Association. He was also appointed by the Domestic Relations Court to sit as a member of the Cuyahoga County Local Rules Committee, Division of Domestic Relations.

Dworken & Bernstein www.dworkenlaw.com offers a full range of legal services for businesses, individuals, and families in litigation and transactions with offices in Painesville and downtown Cleveland. Dworken & Bernstein is the largest law firm in the Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula County area.

Ohio Lawyers Give Back www.ohiolawyersgiveback.org was founded by Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A. to promote the use of cy pres in class action settlements. When a class action is settled, plaintiff and defendant agree to a fund amount to pay all class members. Since many class members have moved, passed-away, or can't be found, millions of settlement dollars go unclaimed. That settlement money is intended to benefit the class—rather than revert to the wrongdoing defendant—so the ancient doctrine is now being used to distribute the unclaimed money to charities and non profits.

Over $22 million dollars has already been distributed, just by the sponsors, a single law firm. If cy pres were used more broadly, hundreds of millions of dollars each year would be available to help charities, non-profits, and the communities where we live. This website is dedicated to advancing the use of cy pres in all class action settlements where a large pool of unclaimed settlement funds is expected.