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STAFF

Kate Schulte

Kate Schulte was recently appointed to the position of Executive Director of the Equal Justice Foundation. Prior to her appointment at EJF, she was associated with the law firm of Gittes & Schulte and predecessor firms since since 1982. She graduated from the Ohio State University College of Law in 1982.

Ms. Schulte is a member of the Columbus Bar Association, Columbus Bar Foundation, National Employment Lawyers Association, and the Ohio and Columbus Employment Lawyers Association. In addition, she is a former member of the Columbus Bar Association Professional Ethics Committee and its Judicial Review Committee. She is admitted to the bars of the Supreme Court of Ohio, the United States District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

In private practice, Ms. Schulte maintained an active plaintiff’s practice, primarily involving employment and civil rights litigation and representation. She and members of her current and former firm have represented hundreds of plaintiffs in employment cases including statewide and citywide class action suits. In addition to their active employment and civil rights practice, Ms. Schulte has served as counsel for amici curiae in numerous employment cases which have expanded the rights of workers in Ohio, including Genaro. et al. v. Central Transport, Inc., et al., (1999) 84 Ohio St.3d 293 (holding individual supervisors liable under Chapter 4112 for their discriminatory acts); Rice v. Certainteed, (1999) 84 Ohio St.3d 417 (holding that punitive damages are available under O.R.C. 4112.99); Cosgrove v. Williamsburg of Cincinnati Mgt. Co., Inc. (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 281, 638 N.E.2d 991 (recognizing the availability of monetary damages under O.R.C. 4112.99); Elek v. Huntington National Bank (1991), 60 Ohio St.3d 135, 573 N.E.2d 1056 (establishing a private right of action under O.R.C. 4112.99 in state courts for victims of discrimination); and Kerans v. Porter Paint Company (1991), 61 Ohio St.3d 486, 575 N.E.2d 428 (refusing to restrict sexual harassment victims to remedies under the workers compensation statutes and recognizing a standard for employer liability for tortious conduct of supervisory and other employees).

Ms. Schulte has been an invited speaker on civil rights and employment law issues at seminars conducted by the Ohio Judicial College, Columbus Bar Association, Capital University Law School, Ohio State Bar Association, and National Employment Lawyers Association.

Ms. Schulte was honored along with other members of her firm in 1996 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio as "advocates for the average person," in 1989 for their work "in pursuit of equal opportunities for all Americans" by the Columbus Urban League, and in 1987, Ms. Schulte was awarded "recognition of outstanding advocacy for equal employment opportunities for women and minorities" by the Ohio Chapter of the National Organization for Women. Ms. Schulte has been listed in the Ohio Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America since 2004.


Senior Attorney, Judith B. Goldstein
Senior Attorney, Judith B. Goldstein provides legal representation to EJF's clients in complex civil consumer class-action litigation cases concerning Ohio’s consumer protection laws, foreclosure defense, predatory lending, fair debt collection and credit reporting, employment discrimination, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 1983 private right of action cases, Due Process, and other state and federal constitutional issues. She assumes the lead counsel position in all phases of litigation including proceedings at the local, state and federal level, mediation, arbitration and appellate work. She has appeared and argued before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in no fewer than three class action cases. Ms. Goldstein supervises and manages the Capital University Law School externship program participants, the EJF summer law clerk program and The Ohio State University work-study program students. She drafts all grants for operating funds and individual projects.

Prior to joining EJF as the Senior Attorney in 2002, Ms. Goldstein worked for the Ohio Attorney General's Office as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Section. While working for the Ohio Attorney General, she was selected to serve as an Assistant State Solicitor in the Major Appeals Group, researching and drafting appeals concerning significant and novel questions of law affecting the State of Ohio. Ms. Goldstein received her law degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio and graduated cum laude from the Ohio State University with a major in International Business.

Currently, Ms. Goldstein is a member of the Columbus Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Women Lawyers of Franklin County, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, and the Franklin Inn of the American Inns of Court.

Staff Attorney, Rachel K. Robinson
Staff Attorney, Rachel K. Robinson, began her work with the Equal Justice Foundation in April 2002. Since that time, Rachel has served on boards and worked in coalitions and groups seeking to address the legal needs of Ohioans facing predatory lending. Rachel worked closely with Bill Faith of COHHIO and Ron Bridges of AARP, among others, to pass Senate Bill 185, Ohio's first predatory lending law with private enforcement authority. She was instrumental in starting a monthly foreclosure information seminar for homeowners in conjunction with Franklin County Treasurer Richard Cordray's office. Rachel represents Ohioans in a variety of affirmative and defensive lawsuits - with a focus on predatory lending and foreclosure defense. Rachel graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Law in 1996. She moved to Steubenville, Ohio to work for the Southeastern Ohio Legal Services program. From 1999 until joining EJF, Rachel worked for Ohio State Legal Services Association's State Support Unit to provide technical, informational, and legal assistance and training to Ohio's legal services community in the substantive areas of housing and consumer law. Rachel is a member of the Board of Directors of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio and of Community Development for All People, a United Methodist organization focused on service and development in Columbus' south side neighborhoods. In 2003, Rachel was appointed by Governor Taft to the Ohio Housing Trust Fund Advisory Committee, on which she still serves.

Kristen Henry
Kristen Henry is an Equal Justice Works attorney with a two-year fellowship to serve the legal needs of incarcerated juveniles in Ohio. Ms. Henry graduated cum laude from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law with a Certificate in Children’s Studies, and graduated magna cum laude from the Ohio State University with a major in English. Ms. Henry’s fellowship runs from September 2007 through August 2009.