After Akron police review board snub, Imokhai Okolo works to help those seeking justice

At 28 years old, Akron lawyer Imokhai Okolo met stiff resistance in early 2023 from the Akron police union and City Council members who successfully blocked his application to join the city's police review board.

That vote made headlines and garnered criticism from community members. But after months of reflection, Okolo said the experience changed his career for the better.

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Soon after the rejection, he traded in a six-figure salary and a desk at the internationally recognized Jones Day Cleveland law office that overlooks Lake Erie for his own independent law office. He ditched the suits and ties of corporate law for a light grey checkered jacket with rugged black pants and a plain black shirt that shows off a gold cross around his neck.

"If I had gotten on that board, I'm convinced that I would still be at Jones Day, still trying to make this corporate lifestyle work," Okolo said. "Now, I'm actually growing and evolving through my challenges and bettering myself in a way that I wasn't at the firm. I 100% dodged a bullet."

Now, he can be found on the streets of Akron handing out free groceries or in a small dark room in an early 1900s house-turned-office space on West Exchange Street working on various lawsuits, civil rights cases and drafting documents for nonprofits and businesses.

"I feel like I've had such a greater impact, having left the firm," Okolo said.

Coming to terms with 'big law'

Okolo is a new kid on the legal block in the area, having graduated from the University of Akron in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic left scores of lawyers in hybrid and remote workspaces, including himself as a new hire at Jones Day.

His work as an intern at the firm during his second year of law school transformed into a job offer, he recalled. Given the competitiveness of the field, he couldn't pass up the salary or the prestige of the job.

In his three years at Jones Day, Okolo defended national corporations, investigated the Chicago Police Department and visited Texas to represent migrants, but something was missing, he said. His time at the University of Akron saw him sink hours into pro bono work, often working with Akron residents who needed legal aid.

The long hours of corporate law kept him from doing what he was passionate about. In the end, Okolo said the corporation-focused litigation and lack of working with everyday problems and people left him feeling unfulfilled.

"It was just really coming to terms with devoting myself to that trajectory in life, you know, that life was going to lead me to being like a millionaire by the time I'm 35 with all this sort of prestige," Okolo said. "It was about coming to grips myself that that doesn't matter. I just knew it wasn't for me."

Searching for a change, he began looking at out-of-state law firms or non-profits to reorient his career path.

"I also had this inkling to start my own firm, to come back to Akron and see what I might be able to do," Okolo said.

Jayland Walker's death a turning point for Okolo

Then in June of 2022, eight Akron police officers fatally shot a 25-year-old Black man named Jayland Walker more than 40 times following a car and foot chase. Walker's death led to multiple protests and arrests as demonstrators demanded justice and accountability for the officers involved.

At the time, Okolo was preparing for a case in Florida defending a tobacco company. According to the lawsuit, a family accused the company's product of killing a loved one.

Jayland Walker coverage: Complete coverage of the Jayland Walker police shooting in Akron, Ohio

"We're here defending big tobacco and I felt like the city was on fire," Okolo recalled feeling at the time. "Things are going on here (in Akron) and I'm at a freaking tobacco trial."

Returning to Northeast Ohio, he moved back to Akron, where he tried to balance his long hours at Jones Day with his Akron organizing efforts. This meant working from home while connecting with the advocacy organization Freedom BLOC and promoting Issue 10, the proposal on the November 2022 ballot to create the Akron Citizens' Police Oversight Board.

Okolo loses bid for spot on the police review board

For Okolo, applying to join the Akron police review board made sense. After all, involvement with public boards and local government is commonplace for lawyers. Plus, he thought, he might be able to make a difference in a community that he felt needed change.

What he thought would be a painless process turned into a confusing maelstrom of votes, phone calls from reporters, accusations and headlines for him. In a series of February and March meetings in 2023, Akron City Council failed to seat the nine-member review board, with Okolo's application becoming a sticking point.

From March 2023: Akron council to meet to vote on all but Imokhai Okolo for police review board

Eventually, the board was filled, but Okolo was not among the approved members. Council members Brad McKitrick (Ward 6), Phil Lombardo (Ward 2), Mike Freeman (Ward 9) and Jeff Fusco (at-large) voted against his nomination.

Clay Cozart, president of the Akron Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 7, admitted months later that he lobbied against Okolo.

City Council members who effectively blocked Okolo's nomination cited a social media post he made soon after Walker's death. In the post, Okolo shared a private conversation with a local prosecutor who disagreed with his perspective on the tragedy.

"This is why pigs get off," Okolo posted.

Okolo said he made the post in anger but that it does not define who he is, his career in law or his views of police.

McKitrick also cited public records that showed Okolo was registered to vote at his parents' home in Ward 8 while living in Ward 3.

The secretary of state allows Ohio residents to use a permanent address when living temporarily elsewhere, a practice often used by college students.

Striking out on his own

Having lost the review board spot, Okolo decided to leave Jones Day in May to start an independent law firm just three years out of law school.

Nothing was guaranteed. Clients might not seek him out and financial shortfalls could put him out of business, but he said it was a risk he wanted to take.

He explained that his time at Jones Day, coupled with the many lessons learned at the University of Akron, prepared him for this move.

One professor who Okolo said had an outsized influence on him was Joann Sahl.

"The first time I met him I knew he would be a lawyer," Sahl said of her former student.

Okolo's decision to leave Jones Day to start an independent practice did not surprise her.

"It is in line with his interests," Sahl wrote in an email. "He has always been interested in policy work and bettering his community – particularly Akron."

By the end of June, he established the Okolo Law Firm and began working with the Freedom BLOC. Just days later on July 1, a video began to circulate on social media that showed the forceful arrest of a Black man named Jordan Ely.

In his first high-profile case, body camera and cellphone footage showed that Akron police pulled Ely over for multiple outstanding warrants. Ely exited his vehicle, leaving his 1-year-old child inside. The officers quickly took him to the ground. Before cuffing him, an officer throws three punches to Ely's head and face.

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Although Okolo recalled seeing the video, he did not get involved until a local artist who happened to be Ely's cousin called and asked him to help Ely. Okolo then filed a lawsuit against the Akron Police Department over the arrest.

With his name in the headlines yet again, combined with his community connections, Okolo's business began to grow.

His client list expanded by late December to include roughly 20 cases for civil rights issues and housing problems, in addition to representing local businesses and drafting legal documents for nonprofits.

Looking to the future

With a steady stream of business that includes civil rights cases like the forceful arrest of a 19-year-old in November, Okolo believes he has had a larger impact than he would have had on the police review board.

"There would have been a conflict of interest representing Ely and reviewing the police at the same time," Okolo explained. "I also would probably still be at Jones Day if I was on the board."

With his legal practice gaining steam, he wants to provide a new perspective for Akron residents seeking help. That includes everything from providing food to families in need, traveling the city offering free legal advice in a renovated school bus and even the more casual clothes he wears when meeting with clients.

For Okolo, the legal system is not about making money or a name for himself. It's about helping those who are often left without justice.

"It's showing people how to navigate the system and make these systems more transparent," he said. "I want people to know I'm going to fight for them."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron lawyer Imokhai Okolo takes on civil rights cases in the city