Sitting in Ellen Barmach’s classroom learning about government and civil engagement as a young teen, Alexandra Schimmer might have wondered about the impact this amazing educational experience would have on her.  In all likelihood, it would have been difficult to imagine that this educational foundation would one day lead her to become General Counsel for Denison University, the former Solicitor General for the state of Ohio, and a lawyer and leader in the fields of public law and higher education. But she has realized all of these accomplishments… and so many more! 

 

As Ohio’s Solicitor General, Schimmer led and argued the state’s major cases before the United States Supreme Court and other federal and state appellate courts, and advised Ohio’s Attorney General and other state officials and agencies on a range of legal issues, including constitutional matters, consumer protection, civil rights laws, antitrust, environmental law, and legal issues in higher education.   

 

Following her time in the Attorney General’s Office, Schimmer became the Deputy General Counsel for The Ohio State University, where she led the day to day provision of legal counsel for Ohio’s flagship public research university, now the largest university in the country.  Schimmer is an expert in higher education law and litigation, including campus speech issues, regulatory compliance and investigations, and research integrity, including research conflicts of interest and foreign influence.  In August 2019, Schimmer became the General Counsel for Denison University.   

 

Schimmer is also deeply engaged in volunteer law reform efforts and law and civics teaching.  For ten years, she served by appointment of the Governor of Ohio as Ohio Commissioner to the Uniform Law Commission, a non-partisan, national organization that drafts model legislation on issues common to all the states.  In this role, Schimmer worked extensively on the drafting and enactment of the Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act, designed to remove undue barriers to rehabilitation and reentry after involvement with the criminal justice system.  Schimmer also played a key role in Ohio’s Civil Gideon Project, which has sought to expand the right to counsel for indigent citizens in civil proceedings where critical rights are at stake, and she was honored for this work by the Columbus Bar Association and Foundation.  Schimmer is also a frequent speaker on public law and university legal and policy issues, and has taught at the Yale Law School, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, and the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where she was the Harris Distinguished Practitioner.  In addition, Schimmer has worked extensively with the Ohio Center for Law Related Education, which delivers programming and educational resources for Ohio students and teachers on government, law, and the importance of active citizenship.  

 

Schimmer graduated from Kellman Brown Academy and Akiba Hebrew Academy (now the Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy). She received her B.A. from Princeton University, her J.D. from the Yale Law School, and prior to law school was a Fulbright Fellow to England, at Cambridge University.  Schimmer is grateful to KBA for the foundations it provided for lifelong Jewish living and learning, and for the broader values of pluralism and engagement that it inspired.