William Batchelder

Title: Adjunct Professor
Phone: 330-972-7409


Biography

William G. Batchelder has a long and distinguished career in state government, finishing as the second-longest serving member of the legislature in Ohio history with 38 years in the Ohio House. First elected in 1968, Batchelder spent 30 years in the Ohio House before leaving to become a judge for the Medina County Common Pleas Court and a judge on the Ninth District Court of Appeals from 1999 to 2005. Upon his return to the legislature in 2007, Batchelder served as Chairman of the House Insurance Committee before being elected as Minority Leader by his peers. During his final four years in office Batchelder was elected as Speaker of the Ohio House, the highest and most prestigious position in the legislature. Speaker Batchelder was responsible for leading the House Republican caucus to a record setting 65 seats, the most seats held by a majority in Ohio History. Term-limits forced Speaker Batchelder to retire from the legislature at the end of 2014.

Speaker Batchelder has established a long career in practicing and teaching law. He spent 31 years of his professional career at the Williams and Batchelder Law Firm in Medina, Ohio, while also serving as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Akron Law School and as an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University Levin College of Urban affairs. Starting in 2015, Batchelder will return to teach law at Cleveland State as well as teach at the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at The University of Akron. Over his career, Speaker Batchelder became known for his great oratory skills, his extensive understanding in parliamentary procedure and the legislative process as well as his unmatched knowledge of the Ohio revised code. A man of integrity and unrivalled work ethic, Batchelder became an expert of the law in numerous areas including banking, insurance, public utilities, charter schools, public pensions and the criminal code.

Speaker Batchelder graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1964, as well as a Juris Doctorate from the Ohio State University College of law in 1967. He currently resides in Medina, Ohio with his wife, Alice. They have two adult children and six grandchildren.