About the Firm
In 1971, the law practice that would eventually become Plevin & Gallucci was founded by Frank L. Gallucci, Jr. in the warehouse of Gust Gallucci Company (Gallucci’s), an Italian import store in Cleveland, Ohio.
The principles that drove the success of Gallucci’s – like the importance of identifying your customers’ needs and working diligently to meet them – proved to be as applicable in the courtroom as in the aisles of a grocery store.
In those early years, the firm took on the cause of helping injured workers get justice. As the firm’s reputation and success grew, the Gallucci Law Firm moved to new offices on Public Square in downtown Cleveland.
The firm continued to grow over the next 30 years and ultimately found the perfect partner in Leon M. Plevin.
In addition to his reputation as one of the pre-eminent attorneys in Ohio for personal injury, workers’ compensation and medical malpractice, Mr. Plevin took compassion for his clients to a new level. Unwilling to accept anything but the best for his clients, Mr. Plevin further developed a mantra held by all attorneys at Plevin & Gallucci today…
“You do everything you can do for your client. When you believe you have done everything possible, do more.”
The skilled lawyers of Plevin & Gallucci have achieved more than one billion dollars in compensation for clients and won many awards from their peers for legal excellence.
Honors & Memberships
The Attorneys of Plevin & Gallucci have repeatedly been honored by the community, the legal profession, and their peers.
They have received top national and state awards from prestigious organizations including the Ohio Association for Justice and American Association for Justice, as well as the Governor of Ohio, just to name a few.
Plevin & Gallucci attorneys are recognized statewide for their knowledge, experience and approach. Our legal experts are often interviewed and quoted in the news media on personal injury, workers’ compensation and medical practice matters. In addition, it is common to find lawyers from Plevin & Gallucci meeting with members of the courts and Legislature to discuss changes in the law and the impact it has on injured Ohioans.
Members of the firm are also active in prominent state and national legal associations. Frank L. Gallucci III is Past President of the Ohio Association for Justice and was President of the Council of Presidents of the American Association for Justice.
Awards & Achievements for Plevin & Gallucci Attorneys
Why Plevin & Gallucci?
Almost every day, someone like you walks into the offices of Plevin & Gallucci in Cleveland, Ohio, sits down with one of our experienced attorneys and begins their story by saying, “I’m not the type of person to hire a lawyer.”
Each of these stories follows the same path: An individual or their loved one has been injured, and they need a skilled law firm to handle their workers’ compensation, medical malpractice or personal injury case.
If you want to someone to fight for you – to make sure you are treated fairly and compensated appropriately when you’ve been hurt through no fault of your own – you want Plevin & Gallucci. Our clients are individuals, family members and loved ones who have had tragedy enter their life in the form of an injury or loss. They are people, spouses, parents and children. They need help when those responsible for their loss will not simply do what is just and fair.
They are looking for a law firm that will stand by their side and work to ensure the best possible outcome. They want attorneys who are experienced … who will listen to their needs and move their case forward … who will level the playing field and fight for their interests … who have helped shape the law throughout Ohio.
Most of all, they want injury or medical malpractice attorneys who have a reputation for getting results. They want Plevin & Gallucci.
Our History
In 1971, Frank L. Gallucci, Jr. was working in the Cuyahoga County, Ohio Prosecutor’s Office handling everything from basic crimes to murder cases. He was also working two days a week at the family’s Italian import store in Cleveland, Gust Gallucci Company, a grocery founded by his Italian immigrant grandfather, Gust Gallucci, Sr. in 1912.
In between slicing prosciutto, carrying cases, and stocking shelves, Mr. Gallucci met with injured workers in the warehouse, using a makeshift desk made of cases of imported tomatoes. With Cleveland’s industrial past, workplace injuries were common. Mr. Gallucci developed a strong reputation for being an attorney with the skill and experience to handle claims with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (Ohio BWC).
After several years of operating part-time out of the warehouse of Gallucci’s, Mr. Gallucci left the Prosecutor’s Office and began representing injury victims full-time. His reputation continued to grow, and The Gallucci Law Firm began to flourish.
Meanwhile, Leon Plevin was busy winning verdicts and settlements for his personal injury and medical malpractice clients. With a reputation as a fierce litigator, Mr. Plevin had already gained national renown as a leader in the industry. He also had begun to wonder about the workers’ compensation lawyer he would see behind the counter at his favorite Italian import store. Mr. Plevin would visit Gallucci’s every few weeks, and ultimately the two developed a friendship.
Both Mr. Plevin and Mr. Gallucci had mutual admiration for how the other represented clients. They also shared a strong work ethic and a belief that the client always came first, period. While their friendship grew, they continued to practice law in separate offices.
In 1996, Frank Gallucci, Jr. passed away. Prior to his friend’s passing, Mr. Plevin assured Mr. Gallucci that he would mentor Mr. Gallucci’s son, Frank L. Gallucci III.
Frank L. Gallucci III had grown up a student of his father’s, learning the ins and outs of workers’ compensation from an early age. After working in the legal field for several years, including helping the state of Ohio in the infamous Sam Sheppard retrial, he joined the Gallucci Law Firm full-time.
With Mr. Plevin as a mentor for personal injury and medical malpractice, Frank L. Gallucci III was determined to have the Gallucci Law Firm continue to fight for injured Ohioans.
Over the following 10 years, with many cases already in common and a shared belief in how to ensure the best results for their clients, Mr. Plevin and Mr. Gallucci III eventually decided to join forces and form Plevin & Gallucci.
Plevin & Gallucci remains dedicated to its clients and its approach, a combination that ensures the best possible representation for clients.
Plevin & Gallucci History Timeline
1971
Frank L. Gallucci, Jr. founds Frank L. Gallucci, Jr. Co. LPA in the warehouse of Gust Gallucci Co., the family’s Italian import store, while working part-time as Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor under Prosecutor John T. Corrigan.
1974
Frank L. Gallucci, Jr. leaves the County Prosecutor’s office for his own firm full-time, with a specific focus of representing workers who are involved in work-related accidents or personal injury claims.
1993
Frank L. Gallucci, Jr. represents the family of a deceased victim of USAir Flight 405, a Cleveland-bound flight that crashed upon takeoff from LaGuardia Airport due to failure to de-ice; in addition to the settlement, the litigation results in changes in how planes are de-iced before takeoff.
1996
Frank L. Gallucci, Jr. passes away; his wife, Jane, and son, Frank L. Gallucci III, a 20-year-old college student in Boston, continue to operate the firm.
1996
Leon Plevin, a Cleveland legal legend who had worked with Frank L. Gallucci, Jr. in the past, becomes a consultant and mentor to Frank L. Gallucci III to help preserve the practice.
1999
Frank L. Gallucci III becomes law clerk for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor William D. Mason, assigned to Sam Sheppard case.
2000
Frank L. Gallucci III becomes a licensed attorney and joins the firm as an attorney full-time.
2005
Leon Plevin formally joins the firm and the firm’s name is changed to Plevin & Gallucci.
2005
Plevin & Gallucci wins first-ever victory under Ohio’s new intentional tort law that was designed to severely restrict injured workers’ rights; despite prevailing before a jury in the trial court and at the 8th District Court of Appeals, the Ohio Supreme Court subsequently rules that an electrical lineman’s rubber gloves and sleeves are not an equipment safety guard; this case deepens firm’s commitment to securing justice for injured workers.
2008
Leon Plevin passes away.
2009
Frank L. Gallucci III is appointed to the Industrial Commission of Ohio by Governor John Kasich.
2013
Plevin & Gallucci opens Columbus office.
2013
Frank L. Gallucci III is reappointed to the Nominating Council of the Ohio Industrial Commission by Governor John Kasich.
2014
Plevin & Gallucci opens Dayton office.
2014
Frank L. Gallucci III is elected to the Council of Presidents of the American Association for Justice and begins building a national presence for the firm and becoming involved in cases on a nationwide basis.
2014
Plevin & Gallucci is part of a team that successfully negotiates a settlement against DuPont on behalf of property owners who had opted out of an inadequate class action settlement after their trees had been killed by DuPont Imprelis® herbicide.
2015
Frank L. Gallucci III is elected President of Ohio Association for Justice, the youngest president in OAJ history.
2015
Plevin & Gallucci joins practices with Copp Nein, a prominent plaintiffs’ law firm in Columbus.
2016
Frank L. Gallucci III is elected President of the Council of Presidents of the American Association for Justice.
2017
Leon M. Plevin and Frank L. Gallucci, Jr. are both chosen for the Inaugural Class of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Hall of Fame.
2017
Plevin & Gallucci is chosen to represent Cuyahoga County as a bellwether plaintiff in the National Opioid Litigation against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retail pharmacies.
2017-19
Plevin & Gallucci is retained to represent dozens of counties, cities, and hospitals around the U.S. in opioid litigation.
2019
Plevin & Gallucci negotiates the first settlements in the National Opioid Litigation, securing more than $325 million for Cuyahoga and Summit counties.
2019
Plevin & Gallucci represents Michael Palumbo, the firefighter responsible for helping create a new Ohio law – the Michael Louis Palumbo, Jr. Act – that established a presumption of cancer being work related for firefighters. Despite having the law named after him and passing away from his disease, Mr. Palumbo’s employers contested the case. Plevin & Gallucci secured a settlement for his family from one Ohio municipality and successfully prosecuted the case against a second municipality. As a result of this case and the new law, firefighters across Ohio have greater protections when they contract work-related cancer.
2020
Plevin & Gallucci joins practices with Cleveland-based plaintiffs’ firm Sammon & Bolmeyer.
2022
Frank L. Gallucci III names to Crain’s List of Notables in Law.
2023
Frank L. Gallucci III was honored as 2023 Alumnus of the Year by the CSU Law Alumni Association.
2024
Frank L. Gallucci III was inducted into the CSU College of Law Hall of Fame.
Today
Plevin & Gallucci is a national firm based in Ohio, dedicated to protecting the legal rights of their clients. The firm’s trial lawyers work tirelessly to obtain the largest settlements for their clients and are committed to upholding justice for victims of negligence.
