TOLEDO, OH – Shumaker Partner and Intellectual Property and Technology National Service Line Leader J. Douglas Miller (Doug) has been elected Chairman of the Northwestern Water and Sewer District (the District) Board of Trustees. He will serve a two-year term that expires in December 2024. Doug is deeply rooted in the District, where he has been a board member since 2015 and served as Vice Chairman from 2018 to 2021 and as Secretary from 2022 to the present.

“Doug’s experience in both the engineering and legal world is unmatched,” said President of Northwestern Water and Sewer District Jerry Greiner. “That ability to understand issues and relate them in quick order provides us immediate feedback and direction in our decisions. As well, he has other board relationships, which helps tremendously in our region!”

The District is a regional water and sewer district chartered under Section 6119 of the Ohio Revised Code that serves over 20,000 water and sewer customers in Wood, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, and Sandusky counties.

“I am honored to work alongside an illustrious group of community leaders and to help lead the organization with ongoing financial and strategic oversight to advance the District’s mission to be a premier water and wastewater provider in Northwestern Ohio,” Doug said.

A registered professional engineer in the State of Ohio and a registered patent attorney licensed in the State of Ohio and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Doug understands his clients’ business and technology, and he has the advocacy skills to help develop, manage, and protect their intellectual assets.

Known by colleagues and clients alike for the exceptional quality of his work and for making dry legal issues more interesting, Doug offers comprehensive intellectual property (IP)-related service. He regularly counsels clients from a broad range of industries in a variety of patent-related matters.