A ‘Bearcat for life’ leads an ongoing quest for fairness in the justice system

During his teenage years, N. John Bey (A&S ’02) thought he wanted to become a professional football player. He was the starting quarterback at Colonel White High School in Dayton, Ohio, and he played for Urbana (Ohio) University. While still a college freshman, he transferred to the University of Cincinnati, where he hoped to get a chance to continue playing the sport he loved.

That opportunity never arose. Instead — as so often happens in life — a different path appeared. That path led to law school, private practice, his own law firm and a leadership role in his field. Today, Bey heads up Bey & Associates, a 13-attorney catastrophic injury practice with offices in Atlanta and Cincinnati. He is also parliamentarian at the American Association for Justice, the world’s largest trial bar, which seeks to promote a fair and effective civil justice system. He is on track to become the organization’s third African American president since its founding in 1946. In recognition of his professional accomplishments and his active role in developing others, Bey also received the Linda Bates Parker Legend Award from the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association’s African American Alumni Affiliate at the organization’s 2022 Onyx & Ruby Gala in February.

His experience in football — as a quarterback who led the team — remains deeply ingrained.

“Football taught me about getting knocked down and getting back up,” Bey said. “It taught me about working in a team environment. In football and most team sports, you have to motivate people to do their job. You’re judged on whether or not the whole group does well. We all rise and fall together. I think that helps in business, with family, and in life.” 

Bey also joined several UC organizations. As a member of UC’s Student Advisory Committee, he was part of a successful effort to secure a significant boost in funding for the AACRC.  He served as president of the Black Student Union, joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity for African American men, and was a member of the service organization Sigma Sigma. UC, he said, “was a good place to come of age.”

Another key element of Bey’s education was Summer Work Experience in Law (SWEL), an Ohio organization that helps prepare minority students for law school while matching them with internships. Bey said that although he had previously expressed an interest in law, he had “no game plan for how to make that happen” until SWEL provided it. “I had great work opportunities in the SWEL program,” he said. “I was able to work in the summer, and they prepared me for law school.”

After graduating from UC, Bey attended the University of Alabama School of Law on a scholarship. He graduated in 2007 and, after passing the bar, married a fellow lawyer and promptly launched his own firm — a big step, but one that launched his career as a trial attorney immediately. His first hire was his wife, Ardra Bey, who went on to become a municipal court judge in Atlanta.

Bey likens the ability to advocate for individuals, often against large corporations, to the story of David and Goliath. And of course, David can win. “It’s fun. I enjoy it,” Bey said. “I get to pick my clients. I pick folks I believe in and give them my all.”

When Bey isn’t representing clients in the courtroom, he is teaching other lawyers as a faculty member of the American Association for Justice, which defends Americans’ right to trial by jury. In that capacity, he spends time in Washington, D.C., lobbying members of Congress against efforts known as “tort reform” that seek to restrict individuals’ right to sue.

Asked if he might run for office one day, Bey’s first thought turns to his three children, the youngest of whom is two years old. When not working or traveling, he’s a hands-on dad, a room parent who savors time at home. “I think maybe one day, that would be great,” he said. “But right now I’m enjoying where I am in the journey, helping people now. I have to get my children situated.

“I love children,” he added. “I’d have a hundred if my wife would let me.”

As for football, that interest remains. Bey jokingly said he roots for the University of Alabama School of Law, not the football team. When it comes to football, he is a UC Bearcat for life.