A distinguished former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio with 30 years of experience, Mr. Primes has transitioned to serve as a Co-Chair of BMD’s Business and Tort Litigation Practice and represents companies across the U.S. in high-stakes litigation.
Mr. Primes handled a wide variety of complex civil litigation in state, federal and appellate courts, including jury trials and appellate actions. He has received the highest awards for his legal work and acumen. In addition to his legal acumen, Mr. Primes is recognized for his civic and community accomplishments.
Mr. Primes is past President of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association ("CMBA"). He was the first government attorney and first African American attorney to serve as president of the CMBA. Mr. Primes served as President of the Cleveland chapter of the William K. Thomas Inn of Court, and as President of the Norman S. Minor Bar Association. He served as Chairman of the Litigation Section of the Ohio State Bar Association and as national Vice President of the National Bar Association, which is the oldest and largest association of African American lawyers and judges in the United States.
Mr. Primes is a Fellow at the American Bar Foundation, in which membership is limited to the one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. He is also a member of the American Law Institute and the Georgetown Law Board of Visitors. Mr. Primes previously served as volunteer general counsel for Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland.
Mr. Primes was born and raised in Akron, and he currently resides in Cleveland Heights, with his wife Kathi Howard-Primes, President and CEO of Momentuum Tutoring, LLC. They are the proud parents of two adult children, Markus Primes, a systems engineer at the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, D.C. and Kayla Primes, a staffer for Nevada's U.S. Senator, Jacky Rosen in Washington, D.C. Kayla is also the president of Congressional Black Associates, which is the largest organization of African American staffers on Capitol Hill.
For questions, please contact Jennifer Shankleton, Director of Marketing, at [email protected] or 330.253.3766.
