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, Columbus, Ohio (J.D., 1966)
• Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (B.A., 1963)
• Licensed Realtor in Ohio and Michigan

Admissions

• New York Bar
• Ohio Bar
• 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: 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)
• Recipient: Project Love / Purple America’s Gordon E. Heffern Award for Values, Ethics and Community (2013)
• Recipient: Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Akron (2012)
• Recipient: Ohio Grantmakers Forum Philanthropy Award (2011)
• Recipient: Harold K. Stubbs Humanitarian Award (2010)
• Recipient: Sir Thomas More Award (2009)
• Recipient: Honorary Doctorate, Baldwin Wallace College (2008)
• Recipient: Northeast Ohio Regional Leadership Task Force Regional Vision Award (2006)
• Recipient: 1st Annual H. Peter Burg Regional Vision Award, Team NEO (2006)
• Recipient: Honorary Alumni Award, University of Akron (2002)
• Recipient: Community Service Award, Great Trail Council of the Boy Scouts and the Northwest Summit County Rotary (2001)
• Recipient: Distinguished Service Award, Akron Community Foundation (2001)
• Recipient: Hope Award, Northeast Ohio Chapter of Multiple Sclerosis Society (2001)

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

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

Associations

• Member: Akron Bar Association
• Member: New York State Bar Association
• Member: Ohio State Bar Association
• Member: 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)