Management Team: John Petit

John M. Petit is Managing Attorney for Community Legal Aid’s Neighborhood Law Project which supports community economic development, group representation, non-profits, entrepreneurship, and racial justice initiatives. John also manages Legal Aid’s Parenting Project which promotes non-custodial parental involvement focusing on marginalized populations. During his time at Legal Aid, John has served in a variety of management roles, such as overseeing the housing and consumer team, re-entry programs, and the family law team. He also supervised the HelpLine attorney staff.  John has served as a mentor and trainer for several continuing legal education topics for staff & pro bono volunteers as well as a trainer for the Committee on Regional Training.  

Before serving in this role, John spent two years with the Jesuits in Cleveland and Detroit, combining spirituality and practice by serving at homeless shelter legal clinics and a law-on-wheels outreach program in urban communities.

John has a background in both public and private practice, focusing on civil and criminal litigation as well as on supervision of attorneys and staff within child support agencies.

Outside of his role at Legal Aid, John is a lifelong resident of northeast Ohio and enjoys spending time with his rescue dogs (currently two greyhounds and a rottweiler).  

John earned his juris doctorate from Case Western Reserve in 1994 and his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice/Political Science from the University of Akron in 1990.