Henry Hilow

Henry Hilow’s legal career in Cleveland has encompassed criminal defense, prosecution and litigation involving the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association. His legal education culminated in a Juris Doctor from Cleveland Marshall Law School in 1981. Before law school, he studied history and English at Miami University, earning his undergraduate degree in 1978.

After his admission to the Ohio bar in November 1981, John T. Corrigan hired Hilow as an assistant county prosecutor in the criminal division. He spent eleven years in the prosecutor’s office. An assignment to the major trial division followed in 1985, with work that included murder cases, rape cases and special investigations.

Hilow moved into private practice after an unsuccessful campaign for a judgeship. In 1992, he and William McGinty established McGinty Hilow; Kevin Spellacy joined them in 1994. His earlier exposure to legal work included a job as a messenger at Jones Day while he was a high-school freshman.

In December 2022, Ohio’s Eighth District Court of Appeals listed Hilow as counsel for the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association in Cleveland v. Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Assn. The appeal concerned the city’s challenge to an arbitration award and the association’s request to confirm it. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s judgment confirming the award. His civic background also includes service on Lakewood’s Zoning Board of Appeal.