In law school, it is critical to have access to top legal scholars to assist you in understanding and dissecting the law. Our law professors have graduated from some of the best law schools in the country and are experts in the field. Teaching is their number one priority. They will mentor you, open doors to opportunity, and equip you with the tools and skills needed for success in today’s complex legal environment.
H. Beau Baez, Associate Professor of Law
H. Beau Baez joined the ONU faculty in 2022. Baez has significant experience in federal income tax, business entities income tax, and state & local tax. Prior to coming to ONU Law, he served on the law faculties at the University of Idaho, Northern Illinois University, University of North Dakota, Purdue University Global (Concord Law School), Charlotte School of Law, and Liberty University. Professor Baez obtained his J.D. and his LL.M. (Tax) from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. After graduating law school, he worked for the Multistate Tax Commission in Washington, D.C., and in 2004 transitioned to full-time teaching. In his free time Professor Baez is a YouTube creator; producing academic success videos for law and pre-law students. He is also an avid hiker, enjoying time in the great outdoors.Course Highlights: Torts & Tax
David Crago, Professor of Law
David C. Crago is a seasoned legal scholar, educator, and author with a distinguished career spanning private practice and academia. After 14 years in the private practice of law, he joined the faculty of Ohio Northern Pettit College of Law in 1991. Since then, Professor Crago has played an integral role in the institution, serving in a variety of leadership and administrative positions such as Dean of the College of Law and University Provost. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Ohio Northern University, where he continues to contribute to the academic and professional development of law students.Professor Crago earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Michigan in 1977. He received his A.B., magna cum laude, with Academic Distinction in History, from Duke University in 1974. His academic achievements and extensive professional experience reflect a longstanding commitment to excellence in legal education and scholarship.
Course Highlights: Contracts & Business Law
Deidre Keller, Visiting Professor of Law
Deidré Keller is a Visiting Professor of Law at Ohio Northern University’s Pettit College of Law. She previously served as Dean of the Florida A&M University College of Law and as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at ONU Law. Keller has taught Property, Contracts, Intellectual Property, Law & Literature, Estates, Wills &Trusts, and the Legal History of Montgomery, Alabama, among other intellectual property and academic success courses.Professor Keller writes and speaks at the intersections of pedagogy, intellectual property, personhood theory, and the Constitution. Prior to entering academia, she practiced law in Atlanta with Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, LLP and Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, where she focused on intellectual property counseling and procurement.
She earned her B.A. in English and Sociology from Yale College and her J.D. from Emory University School of Law.
Course Highlights: Remedies, Property & Intellectual Property
Melissa Kidder, Associate Professor of Law & Director of Legal Clinics
Melissa Kidder, BFA ‘05, JD ‘08, graduated from Ohio Northern University in 2005 with a BFA and degrees in musical theatre and criminal justice. Rather than going into theatre, she decided to go to law school and graduated from the Pettit College of Law in 2008. She began her career as a staff attorney at the Ohio 3rd District Court of Appeals and then came to ONU as assistant director of academic support. Having an opportunity to practice law, she went to work for Eastman & Smith Ltd. as an associate attorney in the estate planning section. She was thrilled to return to ONU as director of legal research and writing, and she now serves as the director of legal clinics and externships and associate professor of law.Course Highlights: Civil Procedure & Domestic Relations
Sai Santosh K. Kolluru, Adjunct Professor
Professor Kolluru is an Adjunct Professor in our Online Program and a former Assistant General Counsel in the Ethics Law Division at the U.S. General Services Administration in Washington, D.C., where he advised agency employees and Federal Advisory Committees on ethics matters and helped advance the agency’s ethics program through training and leadership initiatives.Previously, he served as an Honors Attorney at the National Security Agency, providing counsel on ethics and fiscal law, representing the agency in civil litigation, and serving as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. He began his legal career practicing immigration law in Maryland. He earned his J.D. with honors from Emory University School of Law and holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.
Course Highlights: Government Ethics
Daniel Maurer, Associate Professor Law
Professor Dan Maurer teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure - Adjudication, and national security law subjects. He’s a Fellow with the National Institute of Military Justice and Advisor for the Center for Military Law and Policy at Texas Tech University School of Law.Prior to joining ONU Law, Maurer served 22 years as an active-duty Army officer, first as a combat engineer and later as a judge advocate (military lawyer), including two combat deployments and a Strategy Fellowship with the Chief of Staff of the Army at the Pentagon. He advised senior Army commanders and coached foreign partner nation military lawyers in international law and the law of armed conflict. He has prosecuted felony-level cases, argued appellate cases before the Army Court of Criminal Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, and was the chief prosecutor at a large midwestern Army installation supervising and mentoring junior prosecutors. He taught constitutional and criminal law at West Point and various national security law subjects at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Maurer earned his J.D. from The Ohio State University and his LL.M. from The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School. Licensed to practice in Ohio, he is also a member of the bars of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Course Highlights: Criminal Law & Military Justice
Allison Mittendorf, Assistant Dean of Online Education, Director Legal Research and Writing
Allison Mittendorf has taught at ONU Law since 2004 and serves as both the Assistant Dean of Online Education and Director of Legal Research and Writing, overseeing our accredited, fully online J.D. program. Prior to joining the Ohio Northern University law faculty, she served as an assistant public defender and legal aid attorney for five years and worked in private practice specializing in insurance defense and property rights. Mittendorf also serves as faculty advisor to Law Review.Course Highlights: Legal Research and Writing, Legal Analysis, Advanced Legal Research and Drafting, Juvenile Law
Stephen Shaw, Externship Director
After 36 years serving as Third District Court of Appeals Judge, Stephen Shaw, JD ‘75, serves as ONU Law’s externship director. Prior to serving on the bench, Shaw served as chief assistant Allen County prosecutor, felony and appellate divisions, assistant Allen County prosecutor for juvenile court and also worked as a private practice attorney in Lima and as an adjunct professor of law at ONU Law. As externship director, retired Judge Shaw works one-on-one with students to find an experiential learning opportunity that best suits their needs, experience level and interests. Throughout the semester, he serves as the faculty advisor while the student is working with their supervisor and getting invaluable hands-on practical lawyering experience. He continuously mentors students on their work product, professionalism, and professional development. Retired Judge Shaw obtained his LL.M in Judicial Process from the University of Virginia in 1995.Course Highlights: Judicial Writing & Pre-Law
Glynn Torress-Spelliscy, J.D., M.A., Adjunct Professor
Glynn Torres-Spelliscy is an Adjunct Professor in our Online JD program and an experienced legal educator and former practicing attorney. He spent a decade at Arnold & Porter LLP in New York City, specializing in corporate, securities, and international law, and is a member in good standing of the New York Bar. For over 15 years, he has taught law and policy courses in online environments, with a focus on Constitutional Law, Business Law, International Law, and Public Policy.He currently serves on the faculty at The New School, St. Petersburg College, and the University of Arizona Global Campus. Torres-Spelliscy holds a J.D. and M.A. from the University of Toronto and is certified in Effective College Instruction by the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE).
Course Highlights: Constitutional Law, Outer Space Law
Kelly Stevens, Assistant Director of Bar Preparation
Kelly Stevens, JD '18, serves as the Assistant Director of Bar Preparation, teaching ONU Law's Bar course of study throughout the academic year, and supporting our students as they prepare for the Bar Exam throughout the summer months.Professor Stevens is a licensed attorney whose primary focus was Family Law where she negotiated separation agreements, prenuptial agreements, access and custody of children, and specific issues relating to Family Law. Professor Stevens is a proud ONU Law alumnae and is thrilled to provide the level of support and connection to our current students that she received when she attended ONU.
Course Highlights: PASS I & II, Gender & the Law
Bobbi C. Sternheim, Adjunct Professor
Bobbi Sternheim is a nationally recognized criminal defense trial lawyer representing individual and corporate clients in complex federal and state matters in New York and beyond, including organized crime, terrorism, capital cases, extradition, and major civil actions. She has served as lead and learned counsel in death-eligible federal prosecutions and successfully persuaded the U.S. Attorney General to de-authorize a federal death penalty case. She holds Top Secret/SCI clearance.An AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, a New York Super Lawyer, and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, she was the first woman to receive the New York Criminal Bar Association Award for Excellence in the Profession. She holds a J.D., a master’s degree in forensic psychology, and an LL.M. in Advocacy, and has directed Cardozo Law School’s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program while serving in numerous court-appointed and professional leadership roles.
Course Highlights: Evidence