Stephen D. Behnke practices in the areas of civil litigation, business transactions, and real estate and landlord-tenant law. Stephen is licensed to practice law in Ohio and California. He is a member of the Ohio Association for Justice (OAJ) and was named a Rising Star for 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015 by Ohio “Super Lawyers” magazine, and was included in the list of the top 40 trial lawyers under the age of 40 for 2012 by the National Trial Lawyers Organization.  He is currently serving as Vice-President of the Miami Valley Trial Lawyers Association.

Stephen is an active contributor to the Ohio legal community. He has co-authored two amicus briefs filed with the Ohio Supreme Court, he has written two articles for “Trial,” the OAJ quarterly legal periodical, and he has spoken on subrogation and other issues for continuing legal education. He also received the Distinguished Service Award in 2010 from the OAJ.

Stephen has written pleadings, and presented oral arguments for the Ohio Supreme Court and various trial and appellate Courts throughout Ohio and California.  He has also appeared and tried cases in various courts throughout Ohio.

Stephen graduated Summa Cum Laude and with Honors in 1997 from Western Michigan University with a B.A. in Political Science. Stephen then entered the University of Dayton School of Law as a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship. While a student at the University of Dayton School of Law, he earned CALI awards representing the top score in his class in Contracts I, Constitutional Law I and Constitutional Law II. Stephen earned his law degree in May of 2000.

Publications

• “Stop the Presses: Donald Trump’s Attack on the Media” Steve Behnke Esq., Corey Artim Esq., University of Dayton Law Review, Spring 2019