Retired Judge Doerr to join Lynch Law Group
Judge Thomas Doerr retired from the bench at the beginning of 2022 after serving as Butler County president judge since 2001.
His next step will be to become a new member of The Lynch Law Group.
Doerr’s first day is Jan. 20, and he will be a partner with the firm.
“We’re going to be drawing on his decades of experience on the bench,” said Dan Lynch, founder and managing partner of The Lynch Law Group. "He’ll also do litigation support and strategic consultation for our litigators. With 30-plus years on the bench, he’s seen more opening statements, closing statements, direct examinations and cross examinations than most lawyers.“
Lynch said he was glad to see Doerr joining the team.
"Our clients will benefit from his wealth of legal experience, and he’ll also serve as a mentor to our young lawyers,“ he said.
Doerr’s practice will focus on mediation (personal injury, commercial litigation and family law), litigation support, strategic consultation and family law.
“Throughout my career in Common Pleas, I’ve been able to resolve most of the cases that have come before me,” Doerr said. “That’s (the) part of the job that I probably enjoy the most, and I wanted to continue in that capacity.”
Doerr was originally appointed to fill the vacancy in District Court 50-1-01 by the late Gov. Richard Thornburgh in October 1986. He was elected to that position in 1987 and continued to serve as district judge until 1991, when he was elected to the Court of Common Pleas. He was retained in 2001 and 2011, and served as president judge from August 2000 until Jan. 2, 2022.
Doerr said he looks forward to applying his experience from years on the bench to his work with the law group.
“For example, one thing I can do if I’m working with attorneys is that they can say, ‘If you were the judge in this case, what would you do?’” he said. “I will be in a position where they can consult with me. Or if they have a case that is difficult to reach a resolution, I can encourage them based on similar cases in the past, (and explain) what’s happened and how they’ve resolved."
Doerr also hopes to get involved with volunteer attorney services and wants to provide free legal services to local nonprofits.
“To various nonprofit groups or that type of thing, I intend to provide some leadership by example to members of the bar who I’ve been trying to encourage while I was a judge to provide free legal services when appropriate,” he said. “I want to take some time out and give back to the community that has supported me so well over the past 35 years.”
Going back to the courtroom is not completely out of the question, but is not something Doerr envisions himself doing anytime soon.
“I’m never going to say that it is never going to happen, but I don’t have any plan to go back into active litigation,” he said. “I guess one reason I don’t is because I’ve been participating so much in active litigation, and that’s one of the most difficult parts of being a judge.”
One of the better parts, he said, is getting the attorneys and clients to sit down and understand one another’s position and reach an agreement on how to resolve a case.
“I envision my role as a mediator as being able to use my experience to get cases resolved before they get to the final stage in litigation,” he said.
Working with The Lynch Law Group, he said, will also give him the chance to carry on the long legal tradition of mentorship by sharing his experience with newer lawyers.
“I want to continue with the history of the profession in helping teach the younger ones who come along the skills of practice that you learn over time,” he said.
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