Inajo Davis Chappell
Partner
Cleveland Office
p 216.583.7140
f  216.583.7141
ichappell@ulmer.com
At a Glance
Inajo chairs the firm’s Nonprofit Group. She represents for-profit businesses as well as public institutions and nonprofit entities. Her legal expertise focuses on various aspects of corporate law, general business and real estate development, construction, financing and contracts. She has served as bond and company counsel to a variety of government and corporate clients. Inajo has particular expertise representing school districts in the provision of educational programming and services to disabled students. An active civic and community volunteer, Inajo serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations.
Practices/Industries
Litigation
School Law

Business
Banking & Commercial Finance
Corporate Governance
Nonprofit
School Law

Government Regulation
Public Law
School Law

Real Estate
Acquisition & Development
Construction
Real Estate Finance

Health Care
Nonprofit

Areas of Concentration

General Corporate Law

  • Nonprofit Corporations
  • Public and Corporate Finance
  • Contracts and Commercial Law

Real Estate

  • Acquisition
  • Development/Construction
  • Financing
  • Community Development Projects

Public Law/School Law

  • Contract Preparation and Negotiation
  • Competitive Bidding Compliance
  • Special Education
  • General School Law Issues
Education
Yale University (B.A., 1982)

Columbia Law School  (J.D., 1985)
Representative Experience

General

  • Counsels clients on corporate governance issues.
  • Prepares and negotiates contracts for sale and purchase of goods and services.
  • Counsels clients regarding competitive bidding compliance, tax and collection workouts, intellectual property issues and a variety of general business matters.
  • Prepares and negotiates license and lease agreements for use, sale or other disposition of real estate, proprietary information and personal property.

Real Estate

  • Represents several local community development corporations in connection with real estate acquisition and development projects.
  • Represented cable television client, including negotiation and preparation of television franchise application and a variety of related contracts, various easement, confidentiality and license agreements, preparation of FCC filings and for incorporating affiliated cable and computer services corporations, and of documents relative to public law filings and attorney work-product connected with cable enfranchisement, research of various legal issues with ongoing monitoring of the "conflict" between the first amendment and cable franchising practices, development and implementation of cable theft amnesty program, and worked on asset acquisition deal involving sale of three cable television system franchises, including preparation of transfer documents.
  • Experienced in various aspects of development construction, financing, and the sale and purchase of residential and commercial real estate.

Commercial Lending

  • Experienced in documenting real estate construction loans for lending institutions and borrowers, including drafting and negotiating loan agreements together with all ancillary instruments and documents required for financing the acquisition, development and construction of residential and commercial real estate projects.
  • Documented and closed several real estate construction loans and credit lines for acquisition, development and construction of commercial real estate facilities (a Walgreen's drugstore and strip mall facilities with national retail and restaurant tenants) in Florida, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, as counsel to a national banking association.
  • Represented owners and developers in securing acquisition and development loans and financing for both new construction and extensive rehabilitation/renovation projects, including office buildings, church annex and recreational facilities.

Capital Markets/Municipal Securities

  • Recently closed $100,000,000 Convertible Senior Subordinated Note offering, as counsel for Trustee Bank, and small Bond Anticipation Note transaction as underwriter/placement agent counsel for local public housing authority.
  • Served as bond counsel, company counsel, trustee counsel and underwriter/placement agent counsel to governmental, corporate and bank clients, documenting a variety of bond and note financing transactions, including Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs) and Tax Exempt Private Activity Bond issues. Drafted all bond documents, legislation, and legal opinions, and reviewed and revised, as necessary or required, Bank and Underwriter counsel documents on letter of credit-enhanced bond financing transactions, where the proceeds from these tax-exempt 501(c)(3) bonds were used to acquire, develop and construct office buildings, warehouse and other facilities.

Middle Market Equipment Leasing

  • Documented and closed tax-exempt municipal lease transactions for a local community college district, involving the acquisition and installation of telecommunications equipment.
  • Documented and recently closed a tax-exempt municipal lease transaction for the largest school district in the State of Ohio that funded the acquisition of heating, cooling, lighting and other equipment and improvements. 
  • Prepared and negotiated lease and equipment purchase agreements, legal opinions and drafted or reviewed all ancillary documents required.

Special Education Law

  • Experience representing school districts in the provision of educational programming and services to disabled students, providing counsel on a variety of legal issues related to the education of individuals with disabilities, defending placement and programming decisions of school districts, counseling clients relative to disciplinary and other issues impacting disabled students, participating in mediation, administrative hearings and judicial proceedings relative to compliance with the federal statutes governing the education of disabled children, including the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA).
Honors & Distinctions

AV Rated - Martindale-Hubbell

Named an "Ohio Super Lawyer" in a survey of Ohio lawyers by Law & Politics and Cincinnati magazines (January 2007)

Northern Ohio Live Rainmaker (Law) (Recipient, 2005)

YWCA Women of Achievement Award (Recipient, 2001)

Leadership Cleveland (Member, Class of 2001)

Publications & Presentations

Presentations
"Why Northeast Ohio is a Great Environment for Professional Growth and Development," the Professional 20/30 Club (March 2008)

“We Object! The Successes and Struggles of Female Attorneys,” The City Club of Cleveland (August 2007)

“Sister2Sister: How Powerful Women Get Their Way,” Speaker, YWCA Room Full of Sisters (June 2007)

"How Powerful Women Get Their Way: Secrets for Negotiating - and Getting - What You Want," Speaker, CCC Corporate College Bootcamp (February 2007)

“Best Practices for Non-Profit Organizations in an Environment of Heightened Scrutiny, Distrust and Regulation,” Key Note Speaker, 19th Annual Not-For-Profit Accounting and Financial Seminar (October 2006)

"Grooming Another Generation of Women Leaders... Preparing our Community for Change!" Panelist, Executive Women's Panel, 4th Annual Personal and Professional Development Retreat, Women of Color Foundation (April 2006)

“The Accountability Movement Continues-Legislative Initiatives Impacting Nonprofits,” Cincinnati Nonprofit Workshop (October 2005)

“The Accountability Movement Continues for Not-For-Profit Organizations,” Cohen & Company, Not-For-Profit Management Summit (September 2005)

“Individuals With Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) 2004: (Reconciling NCLB and IDEA),” Client In-Service (August 2005)

“The Accountability Movement Impacts Not-For-Profit Organizations,” Ohio Society of CPA’s 17th Annual Not-For-Profit Accounting and Financial Seminar (November 2004)

“Trusteeship: The Key to Nonprofit Governance,” Nonprofit Practice Group Summer Workshop Series (June 2004)

“A Guide to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 in Ohio,” Lorman Education Services (October 2003)

Professional Affiliations
Ohio State Bar Association

Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association

National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL)

In Counsel With Women

Society of Benchers, Case Western Reserve University Law School (Public Member)
Community Involvement

Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (Board Member)

Hathaway Brown School (Board Member and Chair of Governance Committee)

Vocational Guidance Services of Cleveland (VGS) (Board Member)

Greater Cleveland Sports Commission (Board Member)

Medical Mutual of Ohio Charitable Foundation - MMOCF (Board of Trustees Member)

Cleveland Bar Association (Former Board Member and Executive Committee Member)

Barbara Byrd-Bennett Foundation for Cleveland's Children (Former Board Member and Secretary)

Boys & Girls Clubs of Cleveland (Former Board Chair and Board Member Emeritus)

Center For Community Solutions  (Former Board Member)

United Black Fund (Former Board Member)

Shoes & Clothes for Kids (Former Board Member)

Collaborative to Organize Mount Pleasant (Former Board Member)

American Red Cross Greater Cleveland Chapter (Former Board Member and Secretary)

Hitchcock Center for Women, Inc. (Former Board Member and Secretary)

Alcoholism Services of Cleveland, Inc. (Recovery Resources, Inc.) (Former Board Member)

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. - Greater Cleveland Alumnae Chapter

The Links, Incorporated - The Cleveland Chapter

Admissions

State of Ohio
Ohio Supreme Court
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio