Cleveland Jewish News

January 29, 2023 | By Steve Mark

Zashin & Rich celebrates 40th anniversary

The American Bar Association says there are 1.3 million lawyers in the United States. Thirty-five of them work at Zashin & Rich. There is one word that defines their collective legal spirit.

“Excellence,” co-managing partner Andrew Zashin told the Cleveland Jewish News.

“We are really good at what we do. That’s the secret. We take care of our clients and we remain results-driven. We listen to our clients carefully, and we are very clear with them from the beginning about what we can achieve and get the best possible results for them.”

Zashin & Rich, celebrating 40 years of practice, started in 1981 by co-founders Robert Zashin and Lawrence Rich. Robert Zashin retired in 1996 and died in 2010. Lawrence Rich has retired, and according to Andrew Zashin, “he is somewhere in Hawaii, I think.” Rich’s son Jonathan Rich has been an attorney at the firm since 1993.

Growing up in Cleveland, Andrew Zashin knew that his father hoped his son would someday become part of the family business. Andrew Zashin joined the firm in 1993. His brother, Stephen Zashin, started working at the firm in 1997 and is co-managing partner. Stephen Zashin founded the employment and labor division at the firm.

“My dad stood for being the best possible advocate he could be for clients in distress,” said Andrew Zashin, who writes a monthly legal column for the CJN. “He really wanted to see me follow in his footsteps. He was very proud of what he did, and his success. He wanted to see both of his sons in the field of law.”

The Zashin familial osmosis seems to have continued. One of Andrew Zashin’s children is a lawyer in Tel Aviv. Another is entering law school.

Zashin & Rich specializes in family law. Twenty years ago, the firm added an international family law unit.

“There aren’t many firms in the U.S. with an international family law division,” said Andrew Zashin, who touted two cases, in 2019 and 2022, that were argued by Zashin & Rich in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Andrew Zashin, 54, lives in Pepper Pike and attends Chabad.

Stephen Zashin resides in Shaker Heights and is a member of Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights and Pepper Pike.

“We really have leaders in our two respective fields, which are domestic relations, which Andrew does, and the labor and employment, which I do,” Stephen Zashin said.

“We have an incredible depth of knowledge, which gives us an advantage over other firms.”

Kyleigh Weinfurtner, an attorney at Zashin & Rich, said, “Andrew has created a family law and international family law firm that is unique. Most of our cases are complex in nature, whether that is regarding custody, assets, international legal issues or novel legal issues. Young lawyers get to work on these cases in a substantive way. This benefits not just that lawyer, but the client benefits as well. The opportunity to work on complex cases from the outset of your career is unlike any other firm that I know.

“Andrew is a selfless leader. One of his greatest attributes is his appreciation of, and dedication to, his team. Andrew cares immensely about our careers and providing whatever support he can to assist us in achieving our individual and collective goals,” Weinfurtner said.

Zashin & Rich has offices in Cleveland and Columbus.