Sommer L. Sheely serves as Vice Chair of Litigation for the firm's Energy, Environmental and Utility practice. She focuses her practice on energy development and permitting and on complex commercial litigation, including energy and environmental litigation, business and partnership disputes, and complex fiduciary litigation.

She serves clients as lead trial counsel before regulatory bodies, federal and state courts, and administrative panels. Over her career, she has served as lead counsel in numerous regulatory proceedings, jury trials, bench trials, arbitrations, and mediations. Her cases also often include pursuing and defending against injunctive relief.

Sommer believes in partnering with clients to achieve effective, efficient outcomes and knowing her clients and their businesses. She delivers and encourages prompt and open communication. An active member of her legal and business community, Sommer focuses on strategic collaboration and representing her clients in a positive and professional manner in the court and in the public eye.

Education

Ohio Wesleyan University (B.A., history and pre-law, magna cum laude, 1999); Phi Beta Kappa

Oxford University (2000), Summer Law Program

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law (J.D. with honors, 2002); Managing Editor, The Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution; National Moot Court team, national finalist and regional Best Oral Advocate

Distinctions

• Best Lawyers in America (Commercial Litigation), 2016–2025
• Ohio Super Lawyers (Business Litigation; Estate & Trust Litigation; Environmental Litigation), 2016–2025
• Listed, Top 25 Women Columbus, Ohio Super Lawyers, 2019–2020, 2022-2023
• Forty Under 40 Honoree, Columbus Business First, 2015
• Rising Star, Ohio Super Lawyers, 2009–2015
• Ohio Women's Bar Foundation Leadership Institute, Inaugural Class, 2011–2012

Professional Activities

• Federal Bar Association, Civil Litigation and Energy Sections
• Ohio State Bar Association, Civil Litigation Section
• Columbus Bar Association, Bar Admissions Committee
• Member, Institute for Energy Law and Women's Energy Network
• Chair, Bricker Graydon Women in Networking Committee
• Team Captain and multi-year Rider & High Roller, Pelotonia
• Bexley Education Foundation, Vice Chair
• Past of Trustees, Columbus Children's Theatre

• Representing multiple national and international electric generation developers on greenfield and brownfield projects from early stages to post-operation, including through state and local permitting processes in Ohio and Kentucky.
• Assisting The Ohio State University and Ohio State Energy Partners to obtain certificate permitting construction of utility-scale combined heat and power facility in contested proceedings.
• Counseling energy clients on trends and impacts from changes or proposed changes in federal , state, and local law to aid their development of new projects meeting the growth in energy demand.
• Pursuing and achieving settlement prior to the start of depositions for all relief sought in $68 million dispute between insurer and reinsurer.
• Achieving dismissal of more than a dozen putative class actions—prior to class certification—on behalf of a large international government vendor in collaboration with its client municipalities.
• Successfully defending and resolving bet-the-company qui tam cases for a small fraction of amounts demanded.
• Winning directed verdict as lead trial counsel on behalf of a large national insurance company relative to claims of improper annuity payments and fraud.
• Successfully defending multiple fiduciaries of large trusts and estates against claims of breach of fiduciary duty and other torts.
• Winning summary judgment in multiple federal lawsuits brought by former agents against a large national insurance company.
• Achieving successful jury trial results in eminent domain litigation concerning the market value of real property.

News

Resource Centers

Blog Posts

Speaking Engagements

Publications

Additional Items

• Speaker, Utility Scale Solar and Brownfield Development in Ohio, 38th Annual Ohio Environment, Energy and Resources Law Institute (March 2023)
• Speaker, “ADR and Settlement,” Ohio State Bar Association Webinar, Litigation Basics (June 2021)
• Moderator, Legal Developments Affecting the Workplace
• Panelist, Ohio Women’s Bar Foundation Leadership Institute

Outside her legal practice, Sommer is above all a proud mom of two middle school boys. She and her husband and sons love to foster dogs and puppies, go camping, and enjoy sports—especially baseball. They love to see the world together and cherish time spent traveling.