Janet L. Lowder

Janet L. Lowder has devoted her career to defining, promoting and protecting the legal rights of the elderly, and of persons with mental and physical disabilities.

Janet's activities have encompassed individual representation, litigation on a local and state-wide scale, representation of agencies and county programs serving people with disabilities and the elderly, legislation, and publication in professional journals. She received her law degree, summa cum laude, from Cleveland Marshall College of Law.

Janet Lowder is a recognized authority on Medicaid issues and estate planning for families with special needs. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and is a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation. Janet is one of the founders of, and counsel to, Community Fund Management Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides the Master Trust and the Pooled Medicaid Payback Trust for individuals with disabilities. She was the recipient of the Foundation's 1999 Amicus Award as well as the Cuyahoga County Board of MR/DD's 2000 Top Hat Award. Janet also serves on the Bioethics Committee of the Hattie Larlham Foundation and is a member of the Special Needs Alliance, a national network of lawyers dedicated to Disability and Public Benefits Law.

For the third year in a row, Janet was named one of Ohio’s Super Lawyers in the January 2006 Law & Politics magazine as a result of a general survey taken by attorneys across Ohio.  After screening the top nominees, a blue-ribbon panel of lawyers used a scoring formula to make its final selections.  Janet was also named in Best Lawyers in America in 2005 and 2006.  She was also named one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Ohio in 2005 and 2006.

Janet is a frequent speaker at seminars throughout Ohio on topics related to disability and elder law.

JLowder@Hickman-Lowder.com