Barrister of the Month Profile: Diane Kappeler DePascale

Diane Kappeler DePascale is a larger-than-life figure, overflowing with colorful stories, hard-earned wisdom, and ample proverbs (e.g., "A bad spouse can be a good parent") indicative of a rich and fruitful career. She is a solo-practitioner with over forty years of experience in courts across the state and across practice areas, and a history of deep involvement in the local and state bar associations. A Dayton native with deep roots in the area, Diane actually grew up in New York (Southampton, Long Island), a fact still apparent in her straightforward style of communication and her brisk gait as she strides from her office to the courtroom. After more than forty years of practice, she shows no signs of slowing down.

A small wooden plaque on the wall of Diane's office attests to her status as an Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) Certified Family Relations Law Specialist. Its size and simplicity bely its weight and prestige. Yet for all the difficulty intendant in earning this status — there are only six such attorneys in Montgomery County and 135 in the state — it is clear to anyone who knows Diane that certification or not, there is no doubt of her status as a family law expert. The official specialist designation, however, serves as an acknowledgment of her achievements, and has opened doors and enabled her to better serve not just her clients but children as well, which she has done as a Guardian ad litem, in what she considers her most important cases.

After graduating with her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Dayton (UD), Diane got her start as an associate at Biegel, Kirkland & Berger. There, under the mentorship of Bob Berger, she began "learning how to practice law." Bob took the time to teach Diane not just different areas of law, but also showed her how to avoid mistakes, introduced her to the bench and bar, and reviewed her work. Early on, she took these skills and put them to use as court-appointed counsel in a variety of cases defending persons accused of crime, before finding and pursuing her passion in family law.

Although she admits that much of her work might make "divorce lawyer" an appropriate label, Diane sees her most important job as preserving families. Another adage, "people won't always be married, but will always be parents," underscores the focus Diane puts on preserving family traditions and crafting workable, understandable frameworks, customized to the family members' lives. Since every family is different, Diane believes that the standard order is an outline of topics to be resolved, if possible, rather than robotically applied to every family. It should be the fallback rather than the default: lawyers, after all, are craftsmen, not robots! While many things change during divorce, it is important to make sure some things can stay the same. Diane has represented and obtained legal custody for mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, and grandparents during her decades-long practice.

Diane's marriage to the late Vincent DePascale led her to split her time between the Dayton office she continued to maintain and a new office in suburban Columbus, which she eventually closed in 2009 after relocating permanently back to Dayton. As she progressed in her practice, she also took on leadership roles in the Columbus Bar Association (CBA) and OSBA. Diane served as Chair of the OSBA Criminal Justice Committee, which entailed reading every one of

the voluminous criminal bills to emerge from the statehouse and offering recommendations. She was also Chair of the CBA and OSBA Family Law Committees, and has served on several OSBA and Ohio Supreme Court committees, subcommittees, and taskforces. These roles connected her with attorneys across the state, fostering friendships and professional relationships that would last for years. 

Diane is also a prolific teacher, having early in her career lectured for the UD Political Science Department and later directed the Department's legal internship program. Several of her former students are now successful attorneys in their own right. But Diane is best known for her popular ongoing series of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) presentations, "Ethics for Family Law Attorneys," which began in response to her boredom in CLE ethics courses centered on corporations and conflicts in large law firms. Seeking to build a course that is relatable and practical, Diane utilizes what she calls the "Don't Do That Method," and employs actual ethics cases involving family relations attorneys to warn and help attorneys facing the same issues in their practice. The next presentation will be at the Family Law Forum dinner and CLE at Sinclair Community College on November 17 from 5:30–8:00 p.m.

Diane is perhaps most at home in the courtroom, describing "a good cross examination" in terms ordinarily reserved for a fine wine, and fondly recounting some of the more unusual trial occurrences in her storied career. She is sharp, quick-witted, and perpetually prepared, perhaps explaining her relish for cross examination. Diane is a zealous advocate with a deep understanding of her role; the "scales of justice" in her office are notably tilted, representing her responsibility to tip the scales for her client. She tempers her advocacy in the courtroom with a counseling role outside it, constantly striving to use her position to help her clients be better parents.

The entirety of Diane's law practice and indeed, her life, is filtered through the moral lens of her lifelong Catholic faith. From grade school through law school, she was educated in Catholic institutions, and today she is a regular sacristan and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Kettering. A copy of Hans Holbein's portrait of St. Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers, sits proudly behind her desk. She is a passionate devotee, and can quote extensively from the 1966 Academy Award-winning Best Picture A Man for All Seasons (adapted from Robert Bolt's eponymous 1960 play). As she memorably puts it, we all "need friends admitted to practice before the Highest Court, for prayers of intercession"! 

This profile would not be complete without noting Diane's ardent love of bears. A self-professed "Bearaster" (n. Attorney who loves bears), her office is adorned with portraits, paintings, and sculptures of bears, especially from her beloved Great Smoky Mountains. Fittingly for her primary practice area, her unbalanced scales of justice hold a mother bear on one side and two cubs on the other. This passion is a reminder to have fun and not take herself too seriously. As Diane advises young lawyers, "Follow your passion—that is, your God-given talent—into whatever area of law that leads you." At the end of the day having worked hard you will be tired, but "tired-happy."

Publish By Dayton Bar Association in Bar Briefs Nov./Dec.,2022