Michael L. Fortney is a Partner in Stark & Knoll’s Litigation and Employment Group. Mike represents clients in construction, business and employment cases. Mike has successfully litigated cases involving all types construction disputes commercial business disputes, and employment disputes, in state and federal courts in Ohio and other states from California to Maine. Mike has been an arbitrator and mediator since 1996, and served as a neutral in over 100 cases involving construction and employment disputes.
“After 25 years managing my own firm focusing on construction, employment and business disputes, the opportunity to work with and be assisted by the accomplished professionals at Stark & Knoll will be a great benefit to my practice and my clients.” -Michael Fortney
Experience
Mike's experience with construction disputes includes the representation of owners, general contractors, subcontractors and suppliers and serving as an arbitrator and mediator in disputes involving all facets of commercial, public and residential construction. Mike's employment and labor law experience includes representation of parties or service as a neutral in disputes concerning cases alleging civil rights violations and wrongful discharge, cases seeking the enforcement of non-competition agreements, small business ownership issues, and disputes between shareholders in closely held corporations. Mike has been an arbitrator and mediator for many employment, construction and business disputes and has been an advocate in numerous arbitrations and mediations, and has served as Arbitration Panel Chair for several large and complex cases.
Bar Associations
- Ohio State Bar Association, Construction Law Section
- Medina Bar Association
Education
- Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Juris Doctor 1985, summa cum laude
- University of Tennessee, 1979
Professional & Community Leadership
- AV rated by Martindale-Hubbel since 1994, "a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence."
- Member of the ADR Federal Court Panel for the Northern District of Ohio (1996 to present)
- Member of the panel of arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association, serving as an employment (1996 to present) and construction and commercial arbitrator (1995 to present)
- Member of the panel of arbitrators for FINRA (2000 to present).