On a Friday morning 16 years ago, Alexander Reich awkwardly introduced himself to a classmate who was sharing a row of study carrels in the CSU Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library. That day kicked off a friendship, relationship, and eventually partnership for Alex and Allison Taller Reich. The pair have now been married for eight years with two wonderful daughters and “excitement for the years to come,” as they describe it.
Since that first year of law school, Alex and Allison have seen their careers grow and prosper simultaneously. Both are now Partners at Cleveland-area law firms– Alex at Kalish Law Firm and Allison with Frantz Ward LLP. While Alex and Allison have taken their own paths in developing successful practice, they will both be recognized for their career achievements and community leadership by CSU Cleveland-Marshall College of Law with our 2022 Leader on the Rise Awards.
“I have always viewed CSU C|M|LAW as an institution that produces attorneys who embody professional ethics, raw work ethic, and practicality,” Alex said. “Against that backdrop, it is a profound honor for this law school to honor Allison and me as notable alumni at this relatively early point in our respective careers,”
“I feel honored to be recognized as an active member of the CSU C|M|LAW community along with our peers and the CSU C|M|LAW Hall of Fame inductees, all of whom I know are doing good and valuable work on behalf of the law school and our legal community,” Allison said. “It is an honor that the selection committee believes Alex and I have bright futures and careers ahead of us.”
Alex and Allsion will receive their awards at CSU C|M|LAW’s Hall of Fame Celebration on November 4 alongside 23 distinguished alumni, community leaders, and former faculty and staff being inducted in the Hall of Fame who have contributed to the past, present, and/or future success and reputation of CSU C|M|LAW.
“This year presented the opportunity to recognize not just one, but two of our distinguished alumni with the Leader on the Rise Award,” explained CSU CM|LAW Dean Lee Fisher. “In addition to Alex’s and Allison’s impressive legal careers, both are passionate about giving back to the local community and working with the current generation of CSU C|M|LAW students.”
As a Partner at Kalish Law Firm, Alex represents policyholders in disputes with insurance companies. His clients range from Fortune 500 companies that rely on Alex as international insurance coverage counsel, to local businesses facing first-party loss or third-party claims and injured individuals facing insurance disputes. He has represented clients at every level of the state and federal judiciary, including the Ohio and United States Supreme Courts.
“I enjoy working to tilt the playing field in favor of any individual or entity battling an insurance company,” explained Alex. “At this stage of my professional life, I am proud that each of my clients trusts me to zealously advocate for them against insurance companies.”
Allison is a Partner in the Construction Practice Group at Frantz Ward LLP where she focuses on construction law—representing owners and developers, construction managers, contractors, subcontractors, sureties, and other design and construction industry professionals. She particularly enjoys the leadership and mentoring roles that have come with being a Partner.
“The best feeling is getting something resolved for a client and giving them the opportunity to put something behind them and get on with their work—they don’t want to be tied up with us, they want to be out there doing what they do,” she said.
Allison has served as a leader within the CSU C|M|LAW community as well. She was the President of the Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association (CMLAA) in 2021-22 and has been President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and a Trustee with the CMLAA. She has mentored first-year law students through the CMLAA mentor-mentee program and the Dean’s Leadership Fellows Program, and has served on ad hoc and standing committees at the request of Dean Fisher.
“Alumni volunteered to mentor me, come to receptions, speak on panels, and carry out the mission of CSU C|M|LAW and the CMLAA before me, to make my education and early career rewarding and successful,” explained Allison. “I owe much—career, relationships, personal and professional growth—to C|M|LAW and its community so I choose to give back however I can.”
Alex coached the CSU C|M|LAW Moot Court Team for 10 years after graduation and now serves as an Adjunct Faculty member as Co-Director of the Moot Court Program. He regularly guest lectures on oral argument techniques to sections of the advanced brief writing course.
“The value of my C|M|LAW education becomes more apparent each year since we graduated,” explained Alex. “Through practical professors, alumni mentors, and brilliant classmates, C|M|LAW prepared me for a career in private practice in ways I couldn’t have imagined as a student. The role that the C|M|LAW community has played in my personal and professional development is one of the many reasons giving back remains a priority to me.”
Looking back at those days spent together in the law library, there are some aspects to legal practice that have gone as envisioned for the couple and some that they could not have imagined as 1L students. But through the challenges and triumphs, each has benefitted from having a supportive partner—from the long hours of building their practices to the excitement and pride in each other’s many career successes.