A veteran prosecutor and litigator, Adam VanHo has worked on numerous cases that have garnered national and international attention, earning a worldwide reputation as one of the most strategic and toughest trial and appellate lawyers in the state of Ohio.

Adam is also an expert on handling high profile cases. His cases have appeared in international and national newspapers, including the New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, and every major newspaper in Ohio. He has also provided legal commentary for the Today Show and several network television stations throughout northeast Ohio.

As a member of the List of Counsel for the International Criminal Court, he joined other international experts and organizations and has been a signatory to multiple calls to investigate human rights abuses in Iran.

EXPERIENCE

In his years of experience, Attorney Adam VanHo has handled thousands of criminal, family law, and civil cases. His involvement in these cases has begun within minutes and hours after a situation has developed through the completion of the case at the trial and appellate courts.

As a criminal attorney, Adam has handled cases ranging from drunk driving (OVI / DUI) through organized crime and aggravated murder cases. He has also worked with families and small businesses in a wide-range of civil and family law matters, including custody disputes, divorces, child support, and civil litigation. This litigation has included defamation/slander cases, auto accidents,

As a skilled attorney, Adam has had the opportunity to defend the criminally accused in courts throughout Ohio, including Common Pleas, Municipal, and Mayor’s Courts. Attorney Adam VanHo also has extensive appellate trial experience and regularly practices in state courts of appeal, United States District Courts, and even the Ohio and United States Supreme Courts. He has also worked with both the Ohio Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project on behalf of Ohio inmates.

Adam is also experienced in crisis communications. As an attorney who has been on the front line in high-profile criminal and civil cases, he understands the importance of effectively communicating with members of the media and advocating his clients’ positions to the public.

Adam’s prior experience includes being an Assistant Ohio Attorney General, during which he was a member of the elite Capital Crimes Unit, the Child and Elder Abuse Unit, and the Special Prosecutions Section. He had served as a special prosecutor in both Jefferson and Summit counties and handled cases on behalf of the Ohio Organized Crimes Investigations Commission (OOCIC).

Adam served as an assistant county prosecutor for Montgomery (Dayton) and Summit (Akron) counties. In these roles, he prosecuted both misdemeanors and felonies, earning the nickname “The Hammer” from Sheriff’s deputies. Adam is among a small number of lawyers who have been certified by the Ohio Supreme Court to represent indigent individuals in capital (death penalty) murder cases at the trial court level.

As a result of his experience, Adam served as a volunteer in Summit County’s Turning Point Program (drug court) and regularly speaks to offenders with substance abuse-related offenses at Stow Municipal Court.

FORMER PROSECUTOR BENEFITS

Adam served as an assistant county prosecutor for Montgomery and Summit counties. In these roles, he prosecuted felony cases ranging from low-level drug offenses to murder, earning the nickname “The Hammer” from Sheriff’s deputies in Summit County. In handling hundreds of grand jury proceedings, Adam was able to gain valuable insight into the world of criminal defense and how to best deal with cases in their early stages.

Adam’s prior experience includes time spent as an Assistant Ohio Attorney General, during which he was a member of the elite Capital Crimes Unit, Child and Elder Abuse Unit, and the Special Prosecutions Section. He also had the opportunity to serve as a special prosecutor in both Jefferson and Summit counties and handled cases on behalf of the Ohio Organized Crimes Investigations Commission (OOCIC).

Prior to opening VanHo Law, Adam also served of counsel at Burdon and Merlitti, a premier Akron criminal defense firm.

EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS

Attorney Adam VanHo is one of a select number of attorneys in Ohio to hold a Master of Laws (LL.M) in Trial Advocacy from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University, where he graduated with honors from America’s top trial advocacy program.

He is also a graduate of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (now Cleveland State University College of Law) at Cleveland State University. At Cleveland State, he worked in the Environmental Law Clinic, was an active member of the trial team, and was the Articles Editor for the Cleveland State Law Review.

During law school, Adam had the opportunity to intern at the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) District Attorney’s office; the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio; and the appellate and criminal divisions of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. He also worked as an intern on behalf of the family of Bay Village doctor Sam Sheppard in the third trial of one of Cleveland’s most storied murder cases.

Adam also holds a Bachelor of Arts from Allegheny College. During college, Adam worked in a National Public Radio newsroom, where he learned valuable interview skills and how to effectively work with members of the media.

HE IS LICENSED TO PRACTICE BEFORE:

  • State of Ohio
  • Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
  • United States Supreme Court
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
  • United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio
  • United States District Court for Western District of Pennsylvania
  • United States District Court for the District of Columbia
  • United States Court of International Trade
  • United States Tax Court
  • International Criminal Court (List of Counsel)

ADAM’S CURRENT AND PREVIOUS MEMBERSHIPS INCLUDE:

  • American, Ohio, Dayton, and Akron Bar Associations
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • Fraternal Order of Police
  • Ohio Farm Bureau
  • Greater Akron Chamber
  • Stow-Munroe Falls Chamber of Commerce
  • Hudson Chamber of Commerce
  • Munroe Falls Planning Commission
  • Munroe Falls Charter Review Commission
  • Ohio Young Democrats, Statewide Legal Counsel
  • The League of Women Voters of the Akron Area
  • First United Methodist Church of Cuyahoga Falls

In addition to being an active member of the community, Adam is an avid cyclist and outdoors enthusiast. He has completed in a number of long-distance bike rides and has completed numerous metric (100 kilometers) and English (100 miles) cycling events, including the Ford London-Essex 100, Philadelphia’s The Ben to The Shore, and has completed Biking Across Kansas several times. He has also served as a volunteer judge at various mock trial competitions in both Ohio and Pennsylvania and has served as a guest instructor for DOVE/SANE (domestic violence and sexual assault) nurses.