As founder and president of Licata & Toerek, Louis Licata is responsible for the management of the Firm’s business and its various practice areas. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, the Professional Fellowship Program at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and Cleveland State University. In law school he received the William K. Gardner Award and the American Jurisprudence Award in Civil Procedure.

While in college and law school, Mr. Licata was employed by the Cleveland law firm, Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue. Following law school, Mr. Licata joined the firm of Arter & Hadden. During his seven years with Arter & Hadden, Mr. Licata proceeded to trial on a variety of different cases, typically in the employment, workers’ compensation, tort and business law fields. As part of his trial practice, Mr. Licata was responsible for several successful cases before the Ohio appellate courts and the Ohio Supreme Court.

In the legal community, Mr. Licata is a member of several local, state, national and international professional organizations including the International Association of Defense Counsel, which is a select group of invited defense lawyers from several countries. Mr. Licata is also one of the first attorneys in Ohio to become a certified specialist in workers’ compensation law after meeting the extensive requirements and high standards of the OSBA Workers’ Compensation Specialty Board and The Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Certification of Attorney’s as Specialists.

In the business community, Mr. Licata is an active member of, and resource for, The Executive Committee (TEC), which is an international organization of CEO’s committed to growing their businesses. He also serves on the boards of several organizations as a director, trustee or advisor. These include the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, the Greater Cleveland Growth Association’s Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) and the X.P. Skin Cancer Foundation. For more than ten years he has volunteered for COSE in many capacities, including working with the Government Action Group and the COSE Management Center. This includes 1.) serving on several COSE committees formed to develop the COSE website and to address Internet and e-commerce issues affecting small businesses; 2.) serving on COSE’s Leadership Council; and 3.) accepting an appointment to the COSE Management Center Advisory Council.

Mr. Licata is an adjunct faculty member of the University of Phoenix where he teaches law and e-commerce courses. He was formerly an associate professor of law at Cleveland Marshall College of Law where he taught legal writing, advanced legal writing, advanced legal research, and workers' compensation.

In connection with his practice and teaching, Mr. Licata has authored, edited or contributed to a number of articles and publications including:

“Safety Net,” an Internet Liability Manual for Chubb Insurance (2001)

"Protect Ownership of Your Web Site” seen on Craintech.com (December 9, 2000) and reprinted in Crain’s Cleveland Business (February 19, 2001)

“Legal Issues Affecting Business on the Internet” Building Your Business: A Handbook for Small Businesses, Written by Small Businesses,“ (October 1999)

Understanding Wage & Hour Law: A Practical Guide for Ohio Businesses (December 1998)

“How to Avoid OSHA Fines” COSE Update (March 2000)

“Recommendations for Reducing Workers’ Compensation Costs in the Small Business Community” COSE Update (October 1991