Allison Taller Reich spends long days working on construction law cases. Her life outside of the office is just as busy: The Cleveland-Marshall College of Law grad currently serves as the chair of the Bridge Board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland, is incoming co-chair of United Way Young Leaders Cabinet, a mentor for College Now and on the advisory board for the Step Up Downtown initiative of Downtown Cleveland Alliance. Yet she still manages to find time to grab dinner and drinks downtown with her husband. Reich talks toCommunity Leader about her motivation for volunteering, her efforts to improve education outcomes for Cleveland youth and her most memorable ping-pong game.
Age: 33
Company: Frantz Ward LLP
Title: Associate attorney
Cause: Childhood education
Why did you pursue a career in law?
My mom is a corporate paralegal. She never wanted to me to go into law, but she suggested I work in a law firm over the summer. I was an architecture major at The Ohio State University at the time. I ended up working as a project assistant at a local law firm working on asbestos matters. I really liked it. I appreciated the research, the analysis and the critical thinking. Afterwards, I decided I wasn’t going to be an architect and was going to go law school. I think I’m the only one from my architecture class who went to law school.
How did that translate into your current focus on construction law?
I was drawn to it because of my architecture degree. It’s nice to still have one toe in that world. It also gives me more credibility when I walk into a room made up of mostly men in the construction industry.
Any there any cases you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of?
I can’t name my clients, but there was one case I worked on recently that was really rewarding. The client was a smaller company, and the case was make-or-break for them. We got a full judgment in their favor. If they hadn’t won, they may have had to shut their doors.
What makes you choose the boards you serve on?
My big focuses are kids and education. I believe we need to make sure our residents have access to quality education — and that that education is available close to where they live. It’s also really hard for students to learn if they’re worried about where their next meal is coming from or if they don’t have a safe place to go to after school. That’s what attracted me to the Boys and Girls Club. And United Way — a few years ago, I looked at where they were spending money, and they decided they were going to focus on education, income and public health. That was one big reason why I decided to really put a lot of time and effort into that organization.
What makes you so passionate about these issues?
I’ve always just been really aware that because of the family I was born into and where I grew up [in North Olmsted], I’ve had so many opportunities that someone who was born into a different life circumstance might not have had. And it’s not because I did anything better than them.
What are some of the benefits of being part of a young professional arm of a board?
You get to know the organization and the cause, but you often don’t have the same huge fundraising contribution requirements of the larger boards. Young professional boards also teach you how to be a good board member. I think sometimes young professional groups do a lot on their own, then [young professionals] join boards and they don’t necessarily know what’s expected of them.
You live downtown, you serve on the Downtown Cleveland Alliance advisory board, and you married a fellow Cleveland-lover. Was it important for you to incorporate the city into your wedding?
It was very important to us. We live downtown, and we love the Ohio City neighborhood. We got married at St. Patrick’s Church. At the ceremony we passed out little maps of Ohio City and Tremont with our favorite spots marked out and encouraged our guests to grab a drink or go shopping. Our reception was at The Club at Key Center. It was very important to my husband that we have windows so our guests could see into downtown Cleveland.
You are already thinking about transitioning from young professional to regular nonprofit boards. What keeps you motivated?
The connections you make with the kids. I remember this one time in particular [at the Boys and Girls Club]: Homework centers were over, and a lot of the older kids were playing basketball. There was a younger kid there whose parent hadn’t picked him up, and he wasn’t old enough to play basketball. So we started playing ping-pong. He’d never played before, and I was trying to show him the rules. We had a great time, and we were both sad when I had to leave. My day was better because I had played that game of ping-pong — and I think his was too.