Robert W. Briggs

• Served as counsel for numerous businesses and foundations
• Serves on the Distribution Committee of the GAR Foundation (2012 to present)
• Served as former CEO of Buckingham
• Joined the law firm of Herndon & Bartlo in 1970, which merged with Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLC in 1971, and elected shareholder in 1974
• Served on the board of managers for the firm from 1985 to 2000, president and CEO from 1990 to 2000, and chairman of the board from 2000 to 2004
• Served as a staff judge advocate with the United States Air Force from 1967 to 1970
• Served as president/executive director of the GAR Foundation from 1996 to 2011
• Served as president of the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education (2014-2016)

• The Ohio State University College of Law (J.D., 1966)
• Duke University (B.A., 1963)
• Licensed Realtor in Ohio and Michigan

Admissions

• New York
• Ohio
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
• U.S. Tax Court

• Listed in Best Lawyers in America® (2008-2021)
• Named Best Lawyers in America® "Lawyer of the Year" for Corporate Law (2017)
• Ohio State University Law Alumni Award (2016)
• Recognized in Best Lawyers Business Edition® for Trusts and Estates Law (2015)
• Selected for inclusion in Ohio’s Super Lawyers® (2004-2005), as voted by his peers
• Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating of AV® Preeminent™, which is the highest possible rating in both legal and ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar.
• Crain’s Cleveland Business Power Pack, as one of Northeast Ohio’s most influential business leaders (2002, 2007)
• Named to Inside Business Magazine’s Power 100 (2008-2011)
• Honorary Chair of The Summit County Historical Society’s 2013 Summit Awards (2013)
• Named to the Power 100 List (2013)
• Named Crain’s Cleveland Business Difference Maker (2011)
• Named to Crain’s Cleveland Business Who’s Who: 150 names to know in Northeast Ohio (2010)
• Project Love/Purple America’s Gordon E. Heffern Award for Values, Ethics and Community (2013)
• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Akron (2012)
• Ohio Grantmakers Forum Philanthropy Award (2011)
• Harold K. Stubbs Humanitarian Award (2010)
• Sir Thomas More Award (2009)
• Honorary Doctorate, Baldwin Wallace College (2008)
• Northeast Ohio Regional Leadership Task Force Regional Vision Award (2006)
• 1st Annual H. Peter Burg Regional Vision Award, Team NEO (2006)
• Honorary Alumni Award, University of Akron (2002)
• Community Service Award, Great Trail Council of the Boy Scouts and the Northwest Summit County Rotary (2001)
• Distinguished Service Award, Akron Community Foundation (2001)
• Hope Award, Northeast Ohio Chapter of Multiple Sclerosis Society (2001)

• Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Board Member
• Great Lakes Biomimicry, Emeritus Director
• Summa Behavioral Leadership Council, Board Member and Chair
• Oak Clinic for Multiple Sclerosis, Board Member
• Values in Action, Project Love/Purple America, Honorary Director
• The 50 Club
• Catawba Island Club
• Firestone Country Club
• Portage Country Club
• Shoreby Club
• Bay Harbor Yacht Club

• Buckeye Producing Co., Member, Board of Directors
• Union Club, Member
• Invent Now, Inc. fka National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, Trustee and Chair
• 2016 Aspire!, Boys & Girls Club Signature Event, Co-Chair
• 2015 Summa Sapphire Ball, Co-Chair
• Stonebridge Tower Homeowners Association, Director
• FirstMerit Corporation, Risk Management Committee and Executive Committee, Member, Board of Directors
• Independent Sector, Board Member
• Akron City Club, President and Member, Board of Directors
• Akron Community Foundation, Secretary, Trustee and Two-Term President
• Akron Neonatology, Inc., Member, Board of Directors
• Akron Porcelain and Plastics Co., Member, Board of Directors
• BancOhio National Bank, Akron, Board Member
• Blossom Music Center, Co-Chair, Board of Overseers
• Cascade Club, President and Member, Board of Directors
• Catholic Diocese of Cleveland Foundation, Trustee
• Congress Lake Club, Member
• Fund for Our Economic Future, Chair and Member
• GAR Foundation, President
• The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Chair and Trustee
• Law Enforcement Foundation, Campaign Chair and Member
• Multiple Sclerosis Society (Northeastern Ohio Chapter), Chair
• Musical Arts Association (Cleveland Orchestra), Trustee
• National City Bank, Northeast, Board Member
• National Inventors Hall of Fame, Board Chair
• Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, subsequently President and CEO 2014-2016, Trustee
• Northeast Ohio Technology Coalition, Trustee
• Northeast Ohio Universities Collaboration & Innovation Study Commission, Member
• Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges, Board Member
• Ohio Venture Capital Authority, Co-Chair and Member
• Old Trail School, Vice President and Trustee
• One Cleveland dba One Community, Co-Chair and Trustee
• Summa Health System, Trustee
• Summa Health System Foundation, Trustee
• Summit Education Initiative, Trustee
• Walsh Jesuit High School Board of Trustees, Chair and Member
• Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, Board Member

Associations

• Akron Bar Association
  • Past Board Member
• New York State Bar Association
• Ohio State Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Emmet Association of Realtors
• Akron Cleveland Association of Realtors
• Ohio Realtors
• National Association of Realtors

Presentations:

• Lorain Community College Commencement (2014)
• “Northeast Ohio: It’s Up To You,” Akron Roundtable (2011)
• Baldwin Wallace University Commencement (2008)
• “Northeast Ohio’s Regional Economy and the Progress Fund for Our Economic Future,” Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner Meeting
• “The Fund for Our Economic Future,” Cleveland City Club Forum (2005)

• “Fund for Our Economic Future,” Cleveland Plain Dealer (2008)