Steven C. Polly has been practicing in the area of employment defense since 2004. Steves practice includes employment litigation, workers compensation and general civil litigation. Additionally, Steve provides employers with counsel on various employment issues including the Family and Medical Leave Act, harassment and discrimination, the Fair Labor Standards Act, severance agreements, and the drafting of employee handbooks.
Steve has extensive litigation, trial and appellate experience in both federal and state court. Since joining Battle & Polly LLC, Steve has tried matters involving the right to participate in the workers compensation fund. In addition, Steve has been successful in negotiating settlements on behalf of both state fund and self-insured employers, resulting in the reduction in workers compensation costs.
Steve is a graduate of Western Michigan University and the Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law. Steve is licensed in the State of Ohio as well as the United States District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is also a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. Steve has served as an arbitrator for the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas and currently sits on both the Board of Directors of the Rocky River Library Foundation and the Board of Directors of the Rocky RiverChamber of Commerce.
Before joining Battle & Polly LLC, Jim worked at a labor and employment firm in the Akron-Canton Area region. Jim has practiced before every level of the State of Ohio workers compensation tribunals as well as trial and appellate courts, including the Ohio Supreme Court. Jim has also defended numerous employment intentional tort claims, workers compensation retaliation claims, and alleged violations of specific safety requirements (VSSR).
After serving in the United States Army, Jim earned his undergraduate degree from Bowling Green State University and his law degree from The Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He is admitted to practice before all Ohio courts and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Jim is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and the Self-Insurers Group of Ohio.
Steve has been practicing in the area of workers compensation for over twenty years and focuses his practice on the defense and management of workers compensation claims for both self-insured and state fund employers. His practice includes accident investigation, claim assessment, claims management and advising employers on defense strategies. Steve also represents employers before the Industrial Commission of Ohio and the Bureau of Workers Compensation in all phases of the administrative process, including administrative hearings, violations of specific safety requirements, appeals and settlements. Steve also represents employers interests in workers compensation court appeals.
Steve has spent his entire career representing employers in northeast Ohio. Upon graduation from law school he worked at a third party administrator for five years before entering private practice with a boutique employment and labor firm, where he honed his skills for another seven years. Prior to joining Battle & Polly LLC, Steve worked for ten years at a large corporate firm in Cleveland practicing exclusively in the area of workers compensation.
Steve obtained his law degree from the The Cleveland-Marshall College of Law where he participated in the moot court program, taking first place in the Benton National Moot Court Competition in Chicago, Illinois, and also served as Treasurer of the Student Bar Association. Steve obtained his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University.