Ihlenfeld Law Office, PLLC

WILLIAM J. IHLENFELD, SR. 

William J. Ihlenfeld, Sr., has been practicing law in Wheeling, WV, for four decades.  A graduate of Vanderbilt University and the WVU School of Law, Bill Sr. has served as Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Ohio County, WV, as the solicitor for the Village of Clearview, and as the Ohio County Juvenile Referee.  He presently represents clients in matters of personal injury, wills, estates, and matters before the WV Public Service Commission.  He is in his second term as an appointed member of the West Virginia PEIA Board.

Bill Sr. is admitted to practice in the State of West Virginia and the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.  He is a member of the WV State Bar Association and the Ohio County Bar Association.

Bill Sr. can be reached by email at bill@ihlenfeldlaw.com.

WILLIAM J. IHLENFELD, II

William J. Ihlenfeld, II, graduated with honors from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and obtained his law degree from the WVU College of Law.  He joined the family practice in 1997 and since that time has specialized in consumer law, lemon law, real estate, and personal injury.  Bill II is also a licensed title agent with the State of West Virginia and First American Title Insurance Company. 

Bill II currently serves as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Brooke County, WV (2007-present), and previously served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Ohio County, WV (1997-2007), with a six year stint as the Chief Assistant Prosecutor in that office.  He has acted as special prosecutor in Hancock County and Marshall County and was recognized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for his outstanding contributions in the field of drug law enforcement.  The Chief Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court selected him to participate on the committee that created model criminal jury instructions for the State of West Virginia, and he has argued before the Supreme Court on many occasions.

He is admitted to practice in the State of Ohio, the State of West Virginia and in the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia.  He is a member of the W.Va. State Bar Association and the Ohio County Bar Association.

Bill II presently serves as vice-chairman of the Seeing Hand Association, an organization that assists the blind and visually-impaired population of the Ohio Valley.  In addition, he serves as president of the Wheeling Touchdown Club Foundation, another area non-profit organization.  He also serves as a youth soccer coach with the Wheeling Area Soccer Association (WASA) and previously coached youth hockey for the Wheeling Area Hockey Association (WAHA).  Bill II also enjoys volunteering his time at Wheeling Park High School track and field meets.

Bill II can be reached by email at wji@ihlenfeldlaw.com.

Founding Father

Our business was founded by Charles L. Ihlenfeld.  A Wheeling native, Charles L. Ihlenfeld served his community with an energy and passion sparked by his love for the city and its people. He was Mayor of the city and also served as Ohio County Prosecuting Attorney. A man of courtly grace, quiet-spoken and modest, he was nevertheless a strong force in many facets of community life.

A product of old Wheeling High School, Charles Ihlenfeld graduated from West Virginia University in 1930 and from its College of Law in 1933. He practiced law for 56 years.

His public service encompassed city, county, state and federal jurisdictions. He became Ohio County Prosecuting Attorney in 1940, after four years as an assistant prosecutor. He was re-elected as prosecutor in 1944 while serving in the U. S. Army in World War II. His campaign that year was conducted by his wife, Maxine.

A member of Wheeling City Council from 1960 through 1967, he served as mayor from 1964 to 1967. He was proud of the fact that the Market Plaza was completed while he was Mayor and that two new city parking garages were established. Moreover, extensive improvements were done to the city water system when he served as Mayor.

Mr. Ihlenfeld, a leader of foresight and dedication, also was chairman of the Wheeling Creek Watershed Commission and worked vigorously on that project.

He was the first United States Magistrate for the Northern District of West Virginia. He served in that capacity for eight years before retiring from the post.

A charter member of the Wheeling Hall of Fame Board, he was the second man to serve as its chairman.  He was inducted posthumously into the Wheeling Hall of Fame.

He was a member of numerous service and community organizations and was once chairman of the Ohio County Democratic Executive Committee and President of the West Virginia Young Democrats.

He also served as chairman of the West Liberty State College Foundation, Inc. He belonged to numerous Masonic organizations and was past master of Nelson Lodge 30 AF & AM and was also a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason.

Ihlenfeld, who died in September 1989, was inducted posthumously into the St. George Tucker Brooke Society at the West Virginia University College of Law in ceremonies on November 16, 1990.

In his will, he left bequests to West Virginia University and to other interests, including his church, Zion Evangelical Lutheran of Bethlehem.

Moreover, after the death of his wife in 1984, he arranged for a gift to Oglebay Park to provide financing for a two-part expansion and renovation of the public dining area at Wilson Lodge.

Ihlenfeld had planned that gift as a memoriam to his wife, but after his death, the couple's sons, William Ihlenfeld and Dr. Charles Ihlenfeld II, requested that the dining room be dedicated to both their parents.

Income from the Charles L. Ihlenfeld Fund at WVU finances an annual series of lectures presented by WVU College of Law.