Protecting those who serve.
We put this team together because the needs of police officers and their unions have changed.
We put this team together because the needs of police officers and their unions have changed.
Representation of Law Enforcement
Daniel J. Hils, President
Daniel J. Hils, President
Daniel J. Hils, President
Dan recently retired from the Cincinnati Police Department as a sergeant after nearly 35 years of service. Dan served as a beat cop, an investigator, a front-line supervisor and as the President of CPD’s union. Before his CPD service, Dan served as an Army Military Police Officer and now he is an auxiliary officer for the Village of Amberley Ohio.
Dan was elected as President of Lodge 69 in December of 2015 and has been re-elected for a total of four terms. In his seven years as President, Dan led in three very successful contract negotiations and has represented officers in hundreds of administrative interviews.
Dan has become known through the region as an outspoken advocate for CPD officers and the police profession in general. Dan has been interviewed by national and local media and talk radio programs hundreds and hundreds of times
Dan is a lifetime resident of the Greater Cincinnati area and is passionate about defending the members of the law-enforcement community here. Dan is extremely excited to be with attorneys that have those same passions and devotion to police and corrections officers.
Zachary Gottesman, Esq.
Daniel J. Hils, President
Daniel J. Hils, President
Zach is an experienced trial attorney, admitted in Ohio, Kentucky and numerous federal courts. Zach has successfully represented members of the Cincinnati Police Department and officers from other local police agencies including Middletown, Blue Ash, Newtown, Fairfield, Sharonville, and Springdale. Zach's legal practice is Gottesman & Associates, LLC. His references are available upon request.
Rob Thumann, Esq.
Daniel J. Hils, President
Rob Thumann, Esq.
Rob’s practice is focused on civil matters, with an emphasis on commercial and employment litigation. He has handled numerous equity proceedings to secure temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions and permanent injunctions. Rob has significant civil trial and arbitration experience. He also has experience in appellate practice, including appeals in the United State Courts of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Ohio Supreme Court. Rob is partner in Crehan & Thumann, LLC.
Chris Wiest, Esq.
Jennifer L. Knight, Esq.
Rob Thumann, Esq.
Chris’ practice is focused on constitutional and administrative law matters. He has litigated significant groundbreaking cases, which have received national press. Chris' recent notable cases include obtaining a church re-opening order against the Governor of Kentucky in the middle of COVID-19, Roberts v. Neace, 958 F. 3d 409 (6th Cir. 2020), obtaining an injunction against the Governor of Kentucky for shutting down protests regarding the Governor’s lockdown policies, Ramsek v. Beshear, 468 F. Supp. 3d 904 (KYED 2020), successfully suing the Biden administration over its OSHA vaccine mandate and participating in the U.S. Supreme Court, MCP No. 165 v. United States DOL, 20 F.4th 264 (6th Cir. 2021), serving as class-counsel and obtaining a national injunction against the Department of the Air Force over its denial of exemptions to its vaccine mandate, Doster v. Kendall, 48 F.4th 608 (6th Cir. 2022), representing members of Congress against Nancy Pelosi over her mask mandate, Massie v. Pelosi, D.C. Cir. No. 22-5058, representing members of Congress and a United States Senator against the CDC over its mask mandate on aircraft, Massie, et. al. v. CDC, WDKY No. 1: 22-cv-31, obtaining a published decision against the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission over its effort to regulate speech in campaigns, Fischer v. Thomas, 52 F.4th 303 (6th Cir. 2022).
For law enforcement, Mr. Wiest has brought claims against public defenders that defamed a police officer, Farmer v. Gonzalez, EDKY 5:21-cv-00049, brought a First Amendment claim that effectively shut down the Cincinnati Citizen Complaint authority for the better part of a year, Hils v. Davis, SDOH 1:21-cv-475, obtained a favorable settlement for two police clients after a widely televised trial over race-based equal protection violations and the use of a offensive word on the part of the officers, Hill v. City of Cincinnati, SDOH 1:19-cv-308, and draws on a wide range of constitutional law experience to protect public employee clients.
Robb Stokar, Esq.
Jennifer L. Knight, Esq.
Jennifer L. Knight, Esq.
Robb has dedicated his educational and professional career to representing working men and women. He graduated from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and was one of eleven students in his law school class at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law to earn a certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution. Robb began his legal career in Chicago practicing in the areas of Workers’ Compensation and Employment law. After moving to Cincinnati with his wife to start a family, he focused his career on representing public sector unions. Robb is familiar and experienced in all aspects of union representation including contract negotiations, grievance adjustment, unfair labor practices, arbitration, and fact finding.
Jennifer L. Knight, Esq.
Jennifer L. Knight, Esq.
Jennifer L. Knight, Esq.
Jennifer is an attorney with Gottesman & Associates, LLC. In her prior career, Deputy Chief Jennifer Knight worked for the Columbus (Ohio) Division of Police and retired in 2023 after 26+ years of uniformed service. Jennifer began her career as a patrol officer, working over 15 years as a uniformed officer and supervisor in a busy, inner-city precinct. While working full time, she received her BA from Capital University, and graduated from Capital Law School in 2016. She continued to advance through the ranks serving in a variety of roles including Field Training Officer, Grievance and Discipline Liaison Lieutenant, Commander over Patrol Operations, Commander of Internal Affairs, and served as an Officer Support Team member. As the Commander of Internal Affairs, she supervised internal criminal and administrative investigations, ensuring investigations were fair and contractually compliant. Jennifer has served as an FOP representative during contract negotiations, developed and implemented critical police policy, handled grievance and arbitrations proceedings, responded to police involved shootings, testified for officers in civil proceedings, and spent her career advocating for the rights of law enforcement officers.
Wm. Stewart Mathews, II, Esq.
Wm. Stewart Mathews, II, Esq.
Wm. Stewart Mathews, II, Esq.
Stew's practice has focused on defending clients accused of criminal conduct and on clients who are pursuing personal injury claims. Over the course of his career he has tried over 100 jury trials. In recent years, the greater part of his practice has focused on representing law enforcement officers involved in officer-involved shootings and other allegations of on-duty criminal conduct in many jurisdictions in southern Ohio.
Laura Hillerich, Esq.
Wm. Stewart Mathews, II, Esq.
Wm. Stewart Mathews, II, Esq.
Laura's practice is focused on civil matters, with an emphasis on commercial litigation. Laura has significant practice in appellate work, having appeared before numerous Ohio appellate courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Laura also has experience handling Workers' Compensation Claims.
Mark Chilson, Esq.
Wm. Stewart Mathews, II, Esq.
Mark Chilson, Esq.
In his almost 40 years of practice, Mark has had significant litigation and corporate experience. He served as General Counsel for the largest Medicaid plan provider in Ohio and the second largest not for-profit organization in the nation. Prior to assuming his in-house counsel role, Mark represented numerous businesses as outside counsel, including serving as counsel for Dayton’s Children’s Hospital for over 20 years (he currently serves on the Hospital’s Board of Trustees). Mark recently opened his own private law practice, through which he represents not-for-profit organizations on a pro bono basis and assists a Cincinnati law firm with litigation and health care law.