For Ali Latif, being Palestinian-American and growing up with two distinct American family stories has shaped how he sees the law, his career, and the promise of access to justice. His paternal grandfather immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s before returning to his community. Eventually, Latif’s own father immigrated to the U.S., too, successfully building his own businesses as his father had.
That story of arriving with nothing and building something still resonates with Latif. His mother’s story, too, is a source of inspiration. His maternal grandfather served in World War II, and his family traces its roots to the American Revolution. His mother spent decades as a Columbus City Schools educator and instilled a strong sense of civic duty in Latif from a young age.
His parents’ lives give him a unique perspective. “What the American experiment promises, what it delivers, and where it falls short have always been personal questions for me,” he said, “That is a large part of why I became a lawyer.”
Today, Latif runs Latif Law, a solo practice focused on civil litigation and immigration matters. He helps Arabic- and Spanish-speaking communities navigate the legal system and situations that he says often have significant consequences for their lives and businesses.
So when Latif was nominated to be a Fellow in 2025, it naturally aligned with his interests.
“I see daily what happens when someone faces a legal problem without guidance,” he said. “The Fellows program helped me better understand that gap through clinics, prison visits, and engagement with judges and practitioners across the state. It gave me a broader perspective on how the legal system operates and where it falls short.”
Latif shared that in the legal profession, there’s a lot of talk about access to justice—and one of the organizations actually doing something about it, he said, is the OSBF, not just through grants and volunteering, but by engaging directly with judges and attorneys and challenging them to think critically about how to improve the legal system for everyone.
And part of his Fellows Class project involved engaging the legal community about how the rise of AI may increase the capacity of solo and small firm practitioners, ultimately increasing access to justice. The Class of 2025 helped organize the AI and the Law Symposium to educate legal professionals about the technology.
“That shift has real implications for underserved communities across Ohio that have not historically had access to legal representation,” he shared. “Used properly, AI can help close that gap, and I want to be part of that.”
Latif is also pleased to see the OSBF supporting organizations like Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) and Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO), which are helping vulnerable families and individuals find their way in a legal system that they may be unfamiliar with. Through his Fellows experience, he has seen the impact of the Foundation’s grantees on Ohio’s communities firsthand.
“The Fellows Program reinforced something simple: the legal system is supposed to work for the people it serves, and I am glad OSBF is helping make that more than an aspiration,” he said.
If improving the legal system matters to you, he believes that supporting the Foundation is a concrete way to act on that desire. And in support of that, Latif shares: “If someone nominates you to be a Fellow, you should accept.”
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