Douglas E. Duckett, Esq.

Douglas E. Duckett is a labor and employment lawyer who serves as a consultant and trainer for public employers in Ohio and throughout the United States. He is a nationally recognized expert and frequent speaker on a wide array of human resources and labor relations issues affecting public employers. From 1985-2009, Mr. Duckett served as in-house labor counsel and personnel administrator for Butler County, Ohio, and in that role, served as chief management negotiator for fifteen bargaining units. Mr. Duckett also represented Butler County in scores of arbitration proceedings and civil service appeals before state agencies and the courts, as well as advising county officials on a array of employment-related issues. After established his private practice in 2009, Mr. Duckett was also appointed in June 2010 to a part-time position as the Human Resources Manager for the City of Loveland, Ohio, where he oversaw the city’s human resources and labor relations functions.  After his retirement from public service in 2015, his private practice became his sole professional focus. 

In 2000-2001. Mr. Duckett served as President of the National Public Employer Labor Relations Associations (NPELRA), the first Ohioan elected to this office. He served on that organization’s Board of Directors from 1994-2002, and continues as a lecturer with NPELRA’s Labor Relations Academy. Mr. Duckett previously served as President of the Ohio Public Employer Labor Relations Association (OHPELRA) from 1992-1994, and served on the OHPELRA Board of Directors from 1990 until 2011. He is also a past president of the Ohio County Personnel Association. In 2001, Mr. Duckett was selected as one of 160 civilian leaders from around the country to participate in the National Security Seminar of the U.S. Army War College. In March 2011, Mr. Duckett received the NPELRA Award of Excellence, the national organization’s highest award, in recognition of career achievement in public-sector labor relations and human resources. He won the OHPELRA Award of Excellence earlier that year. He also received the NPELRA President’s Award in 2004 and 2007, and the OHPELRA President’s Award in 2006 and 2009, in recognition of his service to both organizations. 

 Prior to his appointment with Butler County, Mr. Duckett practiced law for three years with the Cincinnati firm of Strauss & Troy, where he concentrated in labor and employment discrimination law. Mr. Duckett received his Juris Doctor degree with honors from The Ohio State University in 1982, where he also received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1979, graduating cum laude with a dual major in political science and economics. He lives with his family in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he also grew up.