Shareholder
Contact
Phone: (513) 421-2540
Fax: (513) 562-4986
Email: wmdeters@ennisbritton.com
Education
Graduate of United States Army Basic and Advanced Armor Officer Courses (1989, 1996)
J.D., Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law (cum laude, 1995)
B.S., Journalism, Ohio University (cum laude, 1990)
Bar Admissions
Ohio
Court Admissions
United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio
United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio
United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
Affiliations
Ohio State Bar Association Education Law Chair (2013–2015)
Adjunct Professor, Ashland University
Member, past Chairman, Executive Committee of the Ohio Council of School Board Attorneys
National School Board Association Council of School Attorneys
Director of Law, City of Harrison, Hamilton County Ohio
Director of Law, City of North College Hill, Hamilton County Ohio
Legal Counsel, Whitewater Township and Western Joint Ambulance District, Hamilton County Ohio
Guest Lecturer, Xavier University’s Masters in Education Program
Guest Lecturer, Xavier University’s Williams College of Business Graduate Program
Mr. Deters is a shareholder with the firm. His practice has been dedicated to representing and counseling boards of education on a variety of education law issues with emphasis on labor negotiations, employment matters, student discipline, special education, and board governance. He is a member of the firm’s Municipalities & Public Law, School Finance, and Special Education Practice Teams. Mr. Deters has negotiated on behalf of school districts in more than 400 collective bargaining agreements. He has represented boards of education before state and federal courts, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the State Employment Relations Board, the Ohio Unemployment Review Commission, and the Ohio Department of Education. He serves as the Director of Law for the Cities of Harrison and North College Hill, Ohio, and as legal counsel for Whitewater Township and the Western Joint Ambulance District, and he is a veteran of the U.S. Army. Mr. Deters is a dynamic speaker and frequently presents throughout Ohio on topics related to education law and municipal law.
Recent Presentations and Published Works
- June 28, 2019: OSBA Sports Law Workshop – Top Legal Issues Impacting Athletic Programs
- December 7, 2018: Southwest Ohio Personnel Administrators
- November 12, 2018: OSBA Capital Conference – Build a Bionic Salary Schedule
- September 7, 2018: Ohio Association of School Personnel Administrators – Boot Camp
- September 7, 2019: Ohio School Boards Association – Collective Bargaining Workshop
- August 2, 2018: Northwest Ohio ESC
- August 1, 2018: Montgomery County ESC
- June 26, 2018: Ohio School Resource Officers Association – Annual Conference
- February 6, 2018: Brown County ESC & Southern Ohio ESC Special Education Update
- January 17, 2018: Human Resources Survival Guide, Ohio Association of Local School Superintendents (OALSS)
- October 2017: Ennis Britton’s Special Education Symposium
- October 11, 2017: Gun Laws in Ohio, Cincinnati Paralegal Association
- September 22, 2017: Diversity and Inclusion Workshop, Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA)
- August 3, 2017: Legal Update for Administrators, Clermont–Brown Regional Network Team
- August 2, 2017: Hot Topics in School Law, High AIMS
- August 1, 2017: Legal Update, Montgomery County ESC
- June 27, 2017: Annual Conference, Ohio School Resource Officers Association (OSROA)
- June 23, 2017: Top 10 Legal Issues in Athletic Programs, OSBA Sports Law Seminar
- April 26, 2017: Treasurer-Attorney Team-Up: Navigating Negotiations, Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) Annual Workshop
- April 22, 2017: Employee Discipline Issues, Board Leadership Institute
- February 27, 2017: In-Service Training, Montgomery County ESC
- February 10, 2017: Ohio Sunshine Laws, City of Harrison, Ohio
- November 21, 2016: “What You Should Know about Guns in Schools,” Ohio State Bar Association “Law You Can Use” Online Publication
- September 29, 2016: Tackling Issues in Student Discipline, Ennis Britton Administrator’s Academy Seminar Series
- September 29, 2016: School HR Legal Update, Ohio Association of School Personnel Administrators and Ohio Association for Employment in Education (OASPA/OAEE) Fall Conference
- September 14, 2016: Staff Discipline, Southwest Ohio Personnel Administrators
- June 28, 2016: Annual Conference, OSROA
- April 7, 2016: Picking Your Battles: Decision Points That Make or Break IEP Teams, Ennis Britton Administrator’s Academy Seminar Series
- November 10, 2015: When Passion Becomes a Problem, OSBA Capital Conference
- October 1, 2015: Trial by Fire: Human Resources Panel Discussion, OASPA Boot Camp
- September 17, 2015: Legal Updates, OASPA Fall Conference
- February 20, 2015: Evaluations, OASPA/OAEE Spring Conference
- February 13, 2015: Board–Superintendent Relationship in Collective Bargaining, Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA)
- October 3, 2014: Negotiations & Legal Hot Topics, Ashland Treasurer Leadership Academy Seminar
- August 13, 2014: Guns in Schools: Legal Updates and Implications of Arming School Staff, Ohio State Bar Association School Law Workshop
- August 1, 2014: Legal Updates, Montgomery County Administrative Meeting
- May 3, 2014: Legal Strategies for Effective Discipline, OSBA Board Leadership Institute
- February 3, 2014: Legal Update for Superintendents, Northwest Ohio ESC
- January 31, 2014: Legislative Update, Ohio State Bar Association Education Committee