Michael Duane Dortch

Mike Dortch is a trial lawyer with extensive experience litigating civil cases of all types, including commercial, contract, insurance coverage, probate, environmental, and real property disputes.

I am admitted to practice before all Ohio courts by the Ohio Supreme Court and by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.  With permission of the court, I have also represented clients in courts within the states of Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina and Texas.

In my energy practice, I have represented one of Ohio’s investor owned utilities in evidentiary hearings before the PUCO, including numerous cases involving the restructuring of the electric industry in Ohio, regulatory compliance, rules proceedings, and a merger with another investor owned utility.  I have also represented rural electric cooperatives, a fully-integrated Ohio based energy services company, and natural gas local distribution companies.  I have successfully represented several entities before the Ohio Power Siting Board in connection with their efforts to construct electric power generation plants in Ohio.  I have advised commercial and industrial clients regarding their electric and natural gas services contracts.

In my  environmental practice, I have represented clients in cases involving CERCLA cost recovery actions, site remediation/reclamation activities required by RCRA, CRO, and SMCRA, emergency response, and TSCA penalty proceedings. In addition, he successfully opposed an EPA effort to list real property owned by clients on the National Priorities List. I successfully defended the executor of an estate against claims that the executor had both CERCLA liability and fiduciary obligations requiring it to undertake the remediation of contaminated property belonging to the deceased.  On behalf of a petroleum distribution customer of a pipeline terminal, I successfully demonstrated that petroleum contamination beneath Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego was caused by other customers of the terminal.

In my telecommunications practice, I have represented nearly all forms of telecommunications service providers (CLECs, IXCs, cellular, paging, mobile radio) in every manner of case before the PUCO.  He also advises developers and other large consumers of telecommunications services regarding their telecommunications issues.

I graduated summa cum laude from Capital University Law School, where I am now an adjunct member of the faculty.  The editors of Cincinnati Magazine, in conjunction with Law and Politics Media, Inc., regularly name me an "Ohio Super Lawyer" -- a tribute enjoyed by only 5% of the practicing bar.

I am a member of the American Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Columbus Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association.