David Kutik - Leading Lawyers 2009

Role model II: His father was always looking for ways around an obstacle. “He was a very other-looking type of person.”

A wide-open future: Kutik was a biology student at Colgate University in upstate New York, who loved being outdoors. One of his early career goals was pretty simple: “How could I get paid for going camping?”

Green with algae: As an intern for the Federal Environmental Protection Agency in the late 1970s, he helped communities control their water pollution problems. Most of his co-workers had degrees in science or public administration, neither of which appealed to him. “I ultimately concluded that biology was limiting because, as you advanced in your studies, you had to know everything about virtually nothing — like being the world’s foremost expert on a species of algae.”

Persuasive argument: Kutik credits his liberal arts background — learning to think analytically, becoming versed in any topic quickly and being able to present his knowledge — as key to his success as a lawyer. “Good advocates are like good teachers.”

Hard-hatted: It may not be camping, but Kutik’s work has taken him to mines, mills, oil rigs and cotton fields, earning him the title of “field trip junkie” from his wife, Martha. “I always tell my wife, ‘I shouldn’t get paid for this. I’m having too much fun.’ ”

Park places: Kutik, his wife and their three daughters have visited nearly all the National Parks in the western United States.

Neither rain nor … A thunder storm cropped up during a horseback ride at Glacier National Park and drenched them with rain. “When we got back, I took off my hiking boots and water just poured out.”

Like father, like daughters: His youngest, Jenny, is a 20-year-old junior at Colgate. Lauren, 22, is a graduate student in library science at Kent State University, and Andrea, 24, is a second-year law student at New York University.

He’s pro bono: There is a “tremendous justice gap” in Cleveland, he says. Only one in five people who need legal advice or representation receive it. So Kutik introduced “Our Commitment to Our Community,” a program where local lawyers were asked to pledge at least 50 hours of pro bono time during the year.

The results: More than 2,500 attorneys spent 80,000 hours on pro bono cases in the program’s first year. Unfortunately, after the Cleveland Bar Association merged with that of the county and Kutik’s term as president was up, the program was discontinued.