Adolfo Olivas

Introduction

Mr. Adolfo Olivas is a first-generation American born of Cuban parents in Hamilton, Ohio. Mr. Olivas has been in the active practice of law since 1981. He is currently a Butler County Common Court Pleas Magistrate in the Juvenile Division. Before becoming a Magistrate, he was in private practice for 24 years and then spent 14 years as a Senior/Managing Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio. At Legal Aid, he was responsible for the supervision of Family Law advocates in the Hamilton office, managing the Immigration Practice in Cincinnati, and representing children in the Juvenile Court as Attorney and Guardian ad Litem.

Before joining Legal Aid, Mr. Olivas was a trial attorney of 25 years with extensive experience in a variety of areas including criminal law, personal injury, medical malpractice, social security and family law. In addition, Mr. Olivas served as Mayor or Vice Mayor of the City of Hamilton, Ohio, continuously from 1985 until 2002. He has served on numerous boards and has been involved in a variety of issues on a local, regional and national basis.

In 2008, Mr. Olivas was asked to manage the newly formed Immigration Law Team, and transferred from the Hamilton to Cincinnati offices. In his current role, Mr. Olivas maintains a caseload in children’s cases in Butler County, manages the work of the Immigration Law Team and supervises its attorneys. The priorities of the Immigration Law Team include assisting victims of abuse or crimes in obtaining sustainable legal status in this country. This work also involves representing juveniles who find themselves abandoned or neglected in this country and without legal status. Recently the work of the Immigration Law Team has expanded to prioritize work involved with assisting immigrant victims of human trafficking.

Mr. Olivas maintains service and active affiliation with several professional organizations including The Ohio State Bar Association where he serves on the Advisory Council on Diversity Initiatives, The Butler County Bar Association where he serves on the Board of Trustees, the Certified Grievance Committee, and chairs the Technology Committee. Past affiliations include the Board of End Slavery Cincinnati and the Mercy Health Partners Foundation Board. He is a regular legal and management trainer with the Committee on Regional Training (CORT), Management Information Exchange (MIE). He is also an adjunct faculty member at Miami University since 1984, where he teaches Communications and Criminal Justice courses.

Mr. Olivas is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a BA in Political Science (1978), and a Juris Doctorate from the College of Law (1981). During his time at UC he has the distinction of having headed all three branches of Student Government as Speaker of the Student Senate, Student Body President and while in Law School as Chief Justice of the Student Court. He has three adult daughters having lost his only son in Afghanistan in 2012, and is married to Theresa Meiser.

Education

• B.A., Political Science, University of Cincinnati
• J.D., Law, University of Cincinnati

Teaching

Juvenile Law