Conference and Staff Attorneys

OHIO COURT OF APPEALS - EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

CONFERENCE ATTORNEYS

The Conference Attorneys, who have offices on the first floor of the Cuyahoga County Court House, conduct the Appellate Court's Prehearing Conference Program established in 1991. The program is designed to settle civil cases before the parties in pending appeals incur the expense and time required to bring the dispute to oral argument and judicial decision.

Newton S. Cargill, Mediator and Conference Attorney

Mr. Cargill received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Howard University and then worked in the financial-planning industry for 15 years before obtaining his law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.  Following admission to the bar in 2001, Mr. Cargill served as a public defender with the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland’s then Criminal Division. 

Mr. Cargill first joined the court in 2003, where he has been privileged to serve as a Judicial Attorney for three judges, namely: Honorable Patricia Ann Blackmon, Honorable Mary Eileen Kilbane, and the Honorable Emanuella D. Groves.  Additionally, in between his judicial clerkships, Mr. Cargill served as Manager of three divisions of the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts and as the Court Administrator of the Cleveland Municipal Court’s Housing Division.

In December 2022, Mr. Cargill was appointed to the position of Mediator and Conference Attorney.  He has received specialized training in mediation and negotiation sponsored by the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Mary Pat Horwitz, Administrative Counsel and Conference Attorney

Ms. Horwitz has been with the court since 1993. She received her B.A. in English from Hiram College where she was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. She obtained her law degree from the Franklin Thomas Backus School of Law at Case Western Reserve University. Following her admission to the Bar, she served as a judicial attorney for Judge James M. Porter until 2000, Judge Colleen Conway Cooney until 2003, and Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon until 2016. In addition to serving as the court’s administrative counsel, Ms. Horwitz handles mediations for the court as part of the Appellate Court’s Prehearing Conference Program.

OHIO COURT OF APPEALS - EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

STAFF ATTORNEYS

The Staff Attorneys, who have offices of the second floor of the Cuyahoga County Court House, conduct legal research, prepare legal memoranda, assist the Judges on a wide range of legal subjects, and respond to inquiries by attorneys and litigants on court procedure.

Jacob Dicus, Staff Attorney

Mr. Dicus has been with the court since 2009. He received Bachelors of Science degrees in computer engineering from the University of Dayton and biology, magna cum laude, from the Ohio State University. He obtained his law degree, with high distinction, from Ohio Northern University, Pettit College of Law.

Following admission to the bar in 2009, Mr. Dicus was a Judicial Attorney for the Honorable Frank D. Celebrezze, Jr. He was assigned to his present position in 2017.

David F. Parchem, Staff Attorney

Mr. Parchem has been with the court since 1990. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, and J.D. from the University of Notre Dame.

Following admission to the Bar in 1980, he was Law Clerk for District Court Judge John M. Manos, associate with the firm of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, associate with the firm of Ward, Marein and Gillette and in private practice.

Andrew N. Rodak, Staff Attorney

Mr. Rodak joined the court in 1987. He received his B.A. from Cleveland State University, and J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Following admission to the Bar, he was a Law Clerk for Common Pleas Court Judges Daniel O. Corrigan and David T. Matia, Law Clerk for Appellate Judge David T. Matia and, in 1994, was assigned his present position.

Jim McGlone, En Banc Staff Attorney

Mr. McGlone joined the court in 2011. He received his J.D. from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 2006. Mr. McGlone served the Honorable Eileen A. Gallagher as a staff attorney at the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas from 2007 to 2011 and as a judicial attorney at the Eighth District Court of Appeals from 2011 to 2018. Mr. McGlone became the en banc staff attorney for the court in January of 2019. Mr. McGlone was certified as an appellate law specialist by the Ohio State Bar Association in 2019.