About Us


Nicola, Gudbranson & Cooper (NGC) provides practical, cost-effective legal solutions and sophisticated advice to business owners and executives, professionals and governmental entities throughout Ohio, a tradition it has upheld since its founding in 1933 as Nicola & Horn.  The firm’s experienced legal advisors handle transactions and litigation across a wide range of disciplines, including business and corporate lawemployment lawestate planning, trust and probate administration, executive compensation and employee benefits mattersfamily law, immigration law, litigationpublic sector law, real estate law, school lawsports law and workers’ compensation defense.

BladeMain

History

Nicola, Gudbranson & Cooper today carries on a tradition, which started in 1933, when Benjamin Nicola and Herbert Horn opened a law practice dedicated to the service of Cleveland’s professional and business community.  Their small firm prided itself in offering quality legal services to some of Cleveland’s most prominent citizens, including the Van Sweringen brothers – the influential architects and developers of Shaker Heights and Cleveland’s landmark Terminal Tower.  Mr. Nicola later became the city’s first Italian-American judge.  

Throughout the succeeding decades, the firm has continued to grow in size, adding many more practice areas to serve the needs of its diverse clientele, which includes individuals from all walks of life, corporations, non-profit and public entities.  In 2024, the firm, now known as Nicola, Gudbranson & Cooper, LLC, returned to the Terminal Tower where it had been housed for decades.  As the business and professional world has evolved, so has Nicola, Gudbranson & Cooper.  That evolution is reflected in the firm’s practice areas.  What has not changed is the firm’s commitment to its clients – including many generations of families and their businesses.  As Nicola, Gudbranson & Cooper moves forward, it holds fast to its traditional mission: providing the highest quality of professional expertise and cost-effective results on behalf of its clients.

Our People

Blogs

  • Blogs

    Ohio Civil Procedure Changes?

    Changes to the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure

    The 2023 changes to the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure include amendments to multiple rules governing discovery. Ohio R. Civ. P. 26(F) was amended in 2020 to require parties, 21 days before the scheduling conference with the court, to confer about issues affecting discovery, to make or to arrange for initial disclosures, and to develop a discovery plan. The 2023 amendment to Ohio R. Civ. P. 26(F) allows courts to adopt local rules eliminating this requirement for cases where little or no pretrial discovery is anticipated. 
  • Recreational Marijuana Use

    Recreational Marijuana Use

    Recreational Marijuana in Ohio

    On December 7, 2023, Ohio became the 24th state to enact legalized recreational marijuana, which permits adults aged 21 and above to cultivate, purchase, use, and gift marijuana products. Previously, Ohio limited marijuana use for medicinal purposes only.

  • Pregnant Workers Rights

    Pregnant Workers Rights

    A Summary of the 2023 Federal Laws to Protect

    Pregnant Workers Rights in the Workplace 2023 was a groundbreaking year for federal protections of pregnant workers rights in the workplace with the implementation of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). Below, we provide a short summary of what these new laws are and what they mean for the workplace.


Contact the Firm

!
!
!