Erik Walter

Mr. Walter www.dworkenlaw.com/attorneys/associates/erik-walter/ is an associate with the law firm of Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A.  Mr. Walter's practice focuses on environmental law, administrative law, general civil litigation, zoning and land use, commercial transactions and litigation, utility law and utility regulatory law as well as oil and gas law.  Prior to joining Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A., Mr. Walter was a shareholder with the law firm of Knaggs, Harter, Brake & Schneider, P.C. located in Lansing, Michigan.  Prior to joining Knaggs, Harter, Brake & Schneider, P.C. in 1999, Mr. Walter served for nearly three years as the law clerk for the Honorable William E. Collette in the Ingham County Circuit Court located in Lansing, Michigan.

Mr. Walter received his Juris Doctorate from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 1997 while working nearly full-time at the Ingham County Youth Center located in Lansing, Michigan. Prior to attending law school, Mr. Walter attended the University of Akron located in Akron, Ohio, where he received a Master of Arts in Political Science, Bachelor of Science degree (cum laude) in Political Science/Criminal Justice, and an Associate degree in Criminal Justice Technology.

Mr. Walter is a member of the Ohio State Bar, State Bar of Michigan, Montana State Bar, the American Bar Association, and the Lake County (Ohio) Bar Association. He has served on the Board of Directors for the YMCA in Lansing, Michigan, is currently on the Board of Directors for the YMCA in Lake County, Ohio; the Northeast Ohio Autism Group and Lake County Jail Ministries. He is licensed to practice in Ohio, Michigan and Montana.

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.