IRWIN W. BARKAN
Irwin W. Barkan was the founding partner of Barkan+Neff, the predecessor to Barkan Neff Handelman Meizlish. Mr. Barkan was born in Cleveland, Ohio on March 21, 1916. In 1931 his family moved to Columbus and he graduated from West High School in 1933. Mr. Barkan attended Ohio State and received a bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1939. World War II interrupted his career plans and he served in the European Theater with the Air Corps until 1945. Mr. Barkan then attended Harvard law School and received his law degree in 1948.
Mr. Barkan began his private practice in Columbus, Ohio in November 1948. He was admitted to the Ohio and Pennsylvania bar and the United States Supreme Court in 1963. He was a member of the Columbus Bar Association, the Ohio Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Franklin County Trial Lawyers Organizations.
Mr. Barkan’s law practice focused on Workers’ Compensation, labor law and civil rights litigation. He was the Chairman of the Legal Redress for the Ohio Chapter of the NAACP for 10 years and held the same position for the Columbus NAACP for 8 years. He was instrumental in filing the original Columbus school desegregation case.
Mr. Barkan was the co-founder and Life Board of Trustees for Alvis House, a halfway house for ex-offenders. If you would like to read more about Mr. Barkan’s involvement with the Alvis House follow this link
Mr. Barkan represented local 423 of the Laborers Union for 15 years. He served on the Board of Trustees for the Veterans Memorial for over 15 years. He was active in Democratic politics and served for 6 years as Legal Counsel to the Franklin County Democratic Party.