HISTORY

A Tradition of Talent and Service

Williams and Batchelder, LLP has played a prominent role in providing expert and diverse legal services to Medina and the wider community for more than 140 years.

The firm traces its history back to Frank Heath (1852-1931), who was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1880 by the Ohio Supreme Court and established a law practice on the public square in Medina. He was subsequently joined by Attorney John Weber (1895-1958) of Liverpool Township, a 1917 graduate of Western Reserve Law School. Harold Williams (1907-1981), a graduate of Western Reserve Law School, joined John Weber in the practice of law in 1932, and they practiced under the name of Weber and Williams.  William G. Batchelder, Jr., a 1939 University of Cincinnati Law School Graduate who had been in private practice in Medina County, as well as its former Prosecuting Attorney, joined Harold Williams in 1957, and the firm name changed to Williams and Batchelder. To this day, Williams and Batchelder, LLP, is recognized as one of Northeast Ohio's leading small law firms representing individuals, companies, and charitable organizations.

The firm members have always been known for their public service.  Harold Williams served Medina County as a State Representative. John Weber and William G. Batchelder, Jr. both served as Medina County Prosecuting Attorneys. William G. Batchelder, III (formerly State Representative and Speaker of the House) was a partner in the firm until he was elected Common Pleas Judge and later became an appellate judge for Ohio’s Ninth Appellate District. Hon. Alice M. Batchelder, now Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, was a member of the firm until her appointment as a U.S. Bankruptcy judge in 1983 and subsequent service to the nation as a federal judge for the Northern District of Ohio. 

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Robert Bux succeeded his late partner Nevada Johnson (1938-2018) to serve as a Trustee of Medina Hospital, which had a member of the firm on its board since its incorporation in 1942.  William Young is a community director for Hospice of the Western Reserve.  Elizabeth Bux is a director for the Children's Center of Medina County and was appointed to the Medina County Port Authority.