John E. Schoonover is a Certified Specialist in Family Relations Law. He has lectured at continuing legal education seminars on pre-nuptial agreements, the tax consequences of divorce, marital and separate property, and case and law office management. While John has handled some of the largest and most difficult cases in litigation, he also devotes a substantial part of his family law practice to alternative dispute resolution approaches, including collaborative law and early neutral evaluation. John is a charter member of the Center for Principled Family Advocacy, and has served on its board of trustees. John currently serves on the Early Neutral Evaluation Subcommittee of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution.

In the traditional family law model, attorneys employ the “adversary process.” One side versus the other side leads to a lawsuit, a plaintiff and a defendant. Any issue can and will be the subject of a dispute, and the lawyers of course bill for their “adversary” time. This “traditional model” is frequently the most expensive in terms of dollars and emotional costs. While there are cases which are appropriate for the traditional model, too many cases are pushed into that model because the attorneys feel more comfortable with it. John has the experience and judgment to explore alternative, less costly and time consuming processes to resolve family law matters. He has handled many matters involving the collaborative process, principled negotiation, mediation, and early neutral evaluation.

John has been active in bar associations throughout his career. He has held numerous high positions in local and national bar associations, including as Chair of the Family Law Section of the Cuyahoga County Bar Association, and in the American Bar Association as a Director of its Young Lawyer Division, and as Membership Chair for the State of Ohio. He began a three year term on the Executive Council of the ABA’s General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section in July, 2008.

John has served as Managing Partner of Schoonover, Andrews & Rosenthal (fka Wilsman & Schoonover) since its founding in 1993.

John graduated from Oberlin College in 1981 with majors in History and Government. He attained his Juris Doctor from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1984.

John lives with his wife Debbie and two children in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He is a member of the Shaker Heights Country Club, where he serves on its Board of Directors.