Barrister of the Month
Wray Blattner Thompson Hine LLP
By David C. Greer DBA Editorial Board, Bieser Greer & Landis, LLP
I
t has been the practice of the Dayton Bar Association to grace each issue of this publication with a recognition of the talent of an outstanding Dayton lawyer. This month we offer a three-in-one bonus. Consider a man who since 1980 has been a master of the maze of bewildering regulations which constitute the environmental laws of the United States and the State of Ohio. Learned Hand, years ago, described his perception of the regulations issued under the Internal Revenue Code. “Every time I open that book and peruse its pages, I have the sensation that I have just lifted a rock and am watching the army of bugs in the form of print scurrying off in every direction.” Few are the lawyers who have the patience and command of detail to become leading practitioners in the arcane subject of environmental law. Wray Blattner is such a lawyer. Consider a man who is the partner in charge of a forty-one lawyer Dayton law firm which is also part of a four hundred lawyer law firm with offices in eight cities. The qualities required to fill such a role include infinite patience, a skull impervious to headaches, and the interpersonal and diplomatic skills which rival those of a firstclass ambassador. Keeping in balance the egos, contending and contrasting attitudes, and widely variant behavioral patterns of a large aggregation of lawyers is a large burden to place on any individual. Few are qualified. Wray Blattner is one of those few. Consider a man who in his prime was an outstanding performer in the sport of rugby, a game of blood and bruises played without the benefit of pads or other protective coverings. Imagine the Super Bowl played by teams dressed in shorts and tee shirts. The 6
Dayton Bar Briefs March 2020
ambulance would never stop ferrying players from field to emergency room. Speed, aggressiveness, strength and endurance are not merely desirable qualities, they are mandatory, and few possess them. Wray Blattner is one of those few. Our three-in-one barrister grew up in New Jersey and came to Ohio to spend his college years at Denison. Three major events occurred there. First, while playing college baseball he noticed that the rugby team played on an adjacent field, that all the sports fans were gathered around the rugby field instead of the baseball diamond, and that there were barrels of beer at the rugby games but not at the baseball games. Second, and more important, he decided that Ohio is a wonderful place to live, which eventually led to the third and most important event: he met Liz, the charming attorney from Washington, D.C. who became his wife and the mother of their two sons and partner at Thompson Hine. One of those sons, Jack, is studying at the University of Dayton and enjoying working at Russell Total Wealth and Wellness. The other, Henry, is in his third year at Washington University Law School with a clerkship lined up with a federal judge in Charleston, West Virginia to be followed by an associate position in the Chicago firm of Winston & Strawn. One of Wray’s chums at Georgetown Law was John Tate. Each decided to pursue employment with the Dayton-based firm of Smith & Schnacke. They interviewed (apparently successfully) with Mike Herr and Sharon Neuhardt who remain close friends and colleagues today. John later went in-house at Crown Equipment Corporation, where he currently serves as Senior Vice President of that outstanding Ohio manu-
facturer. The Georgetown lads have done well. In 1980 Smith & Schnacke was as vibrant a collection of talented lawyers as could be found anywhere. If this article tried to describe such leaders as Stan Freedman, Jim Mulligan, Jim Gilvary, Lloyd O’Hara and Ford Ekey, it would expand into a book. Wray initially found his calling in the relatively new subject of environmental law. His mentors were Bob Maynard and Russ Frye. Pete Donahue, another Smith & Schnacke stalwart, had the office next to Wray and became another mentor and the model for civility and professionalism. By 1987 Smith & Schnacke had grown to one hundred eighty-three lawyers. In 1989 it fragmented to give birth to a variety of new law firms that still grace the Dayton legal scene. Wray was part of the core group that remained with the firm which was then acquired by the Cleveland law firm of Thompson, Hine & Flory. As often happens after traumatic change, that core group bonded as a team marked by mutual admiration and respect as well as by a high dedication to its craft. Wray had picked the perfect specialty. Almost all of the laws, regulations and case reports that now fill to bursting the field of environmental law have been created since he entered the field in 1980. We all learn as we go, but few of us have the opportunity to learn from A to Z over a span of forty years. Wray has reached the top in the world of environmental law, and he is sought after as an attorney and as a speaker in his field. I refer you to his firm’s website to read his long list of accolades, achievements, articles and presentations. continued on page 7
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