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Family, colleagues pay tribute to attorney Jim Floyd
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: February 29, 2024
As a shareholder at Manchester, Newman & Bennett, James “Jim” Gebel Floyd was the go-to attorney whenever another lawyer had questions about a complex commercial, banking or corporate matter.
“Jim knew the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) inside and out without looking it up,” said Manchester, Newman & Bennett shareholder Tom Hull. “He had quite a mind and could quote specific statutes from the UCC even into his 80s.
“He was always willing to help lawyers who had questions and would go out of his way to welcome and mentor new attorneys to the firm,” said Hull.
“We did not work together often but when we did it was fun because Jim knew his stuff and was very funny.”
In fact as shareholder Robert Fulton explained, the more difficult and convoluted the case, the more Floyd enjoyed it.
“Jim liked unraveling the issues and finding ways to solve thorny problems,” said Fulton. “He made every case an adventure, even giving it a fun name. For example, I can remember one instance where he labeled a matter involving an issue of real estate contamination ‘The Case of the Nuclear Frog Pond.’
“Jim was very unique,” said Fulton. “He was brilliant and detail-oriented. There was no one at the firm like him.”
On Nov. 29, 2023 Floyd passed away at the age of 85.
“My dad loved being a lawyer,” said his daughter Lydia M. Floyd, an attorney in Rocky River, Ohio, who focuses on employment and business matters. “He saw the law as a way to mentor and teach others. He was so creative. He would say if you see an obstacle in front of you, don’t let it stop you, instead incorporate it into your arguments.
“He always stressed the positive because he believed you would get much further in your cases and in life by finding a way to turn negatives into positives,” said Lydia. “In fact one of his signature phrases was ‘Be of Good Cheer.’
“He was my role model,” said Lydia. “I went to the same law school that he did and he inspired me to start my own practice. He taught me to remain professional at all times and never lose your temper with opposing counsel.”
Born on Nov. 5, 1938 in Tarentum, Pennsylvania to the late Marie G. Floyd and George C. Floyd, he was the eldest of their three children.
Floyd received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Fairfield University in Connecticut and earned his juris doctor from the University of Denver College of Law in 1969. He was admitted to practice in Ohio in 1971.
He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and was in the U.S. Navy Reserve, earning the rank of commander.
“My dad was an accomplished sailor,” said Lydia. “He navigated ships and submarines. He traveled around the world on land and at sea, some of it during his time in the Navy and some of it afterward. He visited places like Antarctica where he befriended penguins and enjoyed listening to the Coqui tree frogs in Puerto Rico.”
He met his wife Charlotte Bahr through mutual friends. They got married in 1975; Lydia is their only child.
Floyd joined Newman, Olson & Kerr as an associate in 1989 and became a shareholder at the beginning of 2005. The firm merged with Manchester, Bennett, Powers & Ullman to form Manchester, Newman & Bennett in February 2014.
Prior to starting at Newman, Olson & Kerr, he was an attorney at Nadler & Nadler. He also worked for the New York City law firm Barnes, Richardson & Colburn.
Manchester, Newman & Bennett shareholder Ted Thornton said Floyd was very good at resolving complex issues without resorting to litigation because he was so skilled at coming up with unique solutions.
“I do remember that oftentimes judges would call him and ask for his opinion on cases with difficult issues without revealing who the parties were.
“I also remember that he had a lot of sayings that we called Jimmerisms,” said Thornton.
Some of these included “Don’t Get Grumpy,” “I’m a Small Town Lawyer” and “Live It Up.”
“He would sometimes say I have to go home and consult the Mitts on this,” said Thornton. “It turned out Mitts was his cat.
“One of his trademarks was that he always wore a yellow sweater even during the summer,” said Thornton. “I also remember that he bid on an English double-decker bus at an auction and found out that he actually bought a fleet of double-decker buses.”
In fact his daughter Lydia recalled her father driving one of the buses around the neighborhood, inviting family and friends to take a ride, with the bus listing destination markers such as Toad Hall, which was the family’s nickname for Floyd’s childhood home.
“My dad had such a sense of adventure,” said Lydia. “He loved historic sites and encouraged us to travel and explore local and faraway places.
“We also lived in a Japanese-style home later in life and he and my mom traveled around the country in his favorite Mini Cooper visiting family.”
Manchester, Newman & Bennett President Jeffrey D. Heintz said while Floyd never officially retired, he stopped coming into the office around 2020.
“Even during that period, he always made himself available on the phone anytime any attorney might have questions or simply wanted to talk about a legal issue,” said Heintz.
“He enjoyed doing it and it was quite helpful to the firm, so it worked out well.”
Suhar & Macejko partner Andrew Suhar described Floyd as “a tremendous mentor.”
While the two were never at the same firm, Suhar did work on some of the same cases as Floyd.
“Sometimes we represented different parties on the same side of a case,” said Suhar. “Jim gave me a lot of guidance over the years and taught me how to use the ‘tools’ that were available to help resolve legal disputes.
“He was particularly helpful in teaching me how to frame the issues and then apply the law to those issues,” said Suhar. “We became very close friends.
“Jim was very generous with his time,” said Suhar. “He was always available to take calls and he gave back to the community in numerous ways.
“He was a big supporter of the arts and his clients’ businesses,” said Suhar. “He was known as ‘Uncle Jim’ and ‘The Jimmer’ in the legal community and among his friends, who most of the time were the same people.”
A longtime member of the Mahoning County, Trumbull County and Ohio State bar associations, Floyd served as the treasurer of the Nathaniel R. Jones American Inn of Court for eight years.
During its Feb. 15 meeting, the organization held a memorial for Floyd, paying tribute to his years of service and unveiling a resolution in his honor.
The resolution stated that Floyd “over the course of his life and his professional career . . . committed himself to the disciplined, ethical and scholarly practice of law…[Floyd] had a keen mind and memory, with an ability to remain focused on the big picture, accounting for all sides, which he did frequently by carefully laying out his strategy on his beloved yellow legal pads . . . [Floyd] will be remembered always for his inspirational spirit, which remained indomitable even when confronting personal adversity. He met challenges with strength, courage, bravery, dignity, and with a sense of humor that neither retreated nor surrendered. May his lapidary invitation, always be of good cheer, prompt us, encourage us and resound within and without us forevermore.”
Outside of the legal profession Floyd, who lived in Warren, served as the chairman and an elected board member of the Western Reserve Port Authority. He was also an organizing director and chairman of the Trumbull County Transit Board.
As a longtime member of the Vienna Presbyterian Church, Floyd helped make the historic church handicap accessible.
He also donated his time and funds to numerous charities, most recently supporting the two that were closest to his wife’s heart, the Stambaugh Chorus and Warren Civic Chorus, where his wife Charlotte often sang throughout the year.
“My dad loved the arts,” said Lydia. “He not only supported large institutions like the Butler Art Museum, he also cared about student art and supported SMARTS (Students Motivated by the Arts).”
A memorial service was held for Floyd on Dec. 6, 2023 at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Boardman.
Floyd is survived by his wife Charlotte Bahr Floyd, daughter Lydia M. Floyd, son-in-law Michael C. Harford, grandson Ian Floyd Harford, brother David G. Floyd, sister Linda F. Anderson and many nieces, nephews and cousins.