Bethany L. Hayes

Bethany L. Hayes brings a personal understanding of the stakes involved in the criminal justice system to every case she takes on. Her path to the law was shaped by what she witnessed firsthand: the racial injustices embedded in policing and prosecution, and the disproportionate toll they take on real people and real families. That recognition became her calling — to stand between the system and the people it too often fails, and to protect the rights of every client who walks through her door, regardless of who they are or where they come from. 

Bethany’s route to the bar was not an easy one. As a single mother raising her biracial son, she worked her way through school for nearly a decade before she ever set foot in a courtroom as an attorney. She earned her paralegal certificate from Cincinnati State in 2014, then spent years working as a paralegal — first in personal injury and litigation, then managing caseloads of up to 300 clients in Social Security disability appeals — all while working on earning her Bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of Cincinnati with High Honors. She carried that same work ethic through law school at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, clerking for local firms and pulling night shifts as a hotel auditor to make it all work. That experience gave her more than a legal education — it gave her the discipline, resourcefulness, and empathy that now define how she represents her clients. She knows what it means to fight for something with everything you have, because she has lived it. 

Since earning her JD in 2021, Bethany has built a criminal defense practice representing clients facing misdemeanor and felony charges in Ohio and Kentucky, defended clients facing federal charges, defending juveniles accused of delinquency, and representing families in divorce and child custody disputes. She is licensed in Ohio, Kentucky, and the Southern District of Ohio. For four years, she accepted Felony, misdemeanor, and youth defense appointments from the Hamilton County Public Defender’s office and served as President of the Cincinnati Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. She also volunteers with Hamilton County Youth Court. Bethany channels her hardwon determination into holding the state to its burden of proof and making sure her clients are treated as people, not case numbers. She is a clear, direct communicator who believes clients deserve to understand exactly where they stand and what their options are at every stage of a case. 

Outside the courtroom, Bethany is a devoted mother. Her son is a freshman in high school and they have two dogs, Tweet and Trixie. Her own experience raising a family while building a legal career informs the compassion and grit she brings to her clients — many of whom are navigating the hardest chapter of their lives.