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EDUCATION:
University
of
Cincinnati
Bachelor of Arts Degree
1974
Northern
Kentucky
University
Salmon P. Chase
College
of
Law
Juris Doctor
Degree
1978
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LICENSING
:
 | State of
Ohio |
|
U.S.
District Court,
Southern District of Ohio |
|
U.S.
District Court,
Eastern District of Kentucky |
|
U.S.
Court of Appeals,
Sixth Circuit |
|
U.S.
Supreme Court |
|
LITIGATION
PRACTICE
:
Mr. Gustavson has been engaged full-time in litigation since 1978, with
the exception of his time as Safety Director for the city of
Cincinnati
as detailed below. The
practice is concentrated in the areas of civil rights, including police
misconduct and government abuse; wrongful death, including medical
malpractice, product liability and personal injury; gun issues and the
rights of firearms owners; business litigation; and construction disputes.
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PROFESSIONAL AND GOVERNMENT EXPERIENCE:
Mr.
Gustavson is a 1974 graduate of the
University
of
Cincinnati
with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and
a 1978 graduate of the Salmon P. Chase College of Law with a Juris Doctor
Degree. He joined the staff of
prosecutor’s office of the city of
Cincinnati
in 1978 where he served as a trial
attorney. In 1981, he was
promoted to the civil division of the
Cincinnati
solicitor’s office where his duties
included general civil litigation. In
1984, he was promoted to senior assistant city solicitor.
In 1986, he was promoted to chief trial counsel for the City of
Cincinnati
. As
chief trial counsel, his duties included supervision and responsibility
for all City civil litigation attorneys, as well as responsibility for
monitoring an average of over 400 active cases seeking recovery of in
excess of one billion dollars. Mr.
Gustavson’s trial practice primarily involved police misconduct cases,
with an emphasis on police shooting cases, government abuse of citizen’s
rights, injury cases, contract litigation, and construction law and
litigation. In 1991, he was
promoted to deputy city solicitor, courts division.
That position involved the supervision and responsibility for the
staff of the city prosecutor’s office, as well as the city’s civil
litigation attorneys. The
supervisory role involved a staff of over 50 persons, including 25
litigation attorneys. In 1992,
he was appointed safety director for the city. The
safety director administered the Safety Department and was the
administrative supervisor of the Cincinnati Police Division and the
Cincinnati Fire Division, with direct supervisory responsibility for the
Cincinnati Police Chief and the Cincinnati Fire Chief.
The Safety Department was the largest city department with over
2,200 employees and a budget in excess of $140 million dollars.
At the end of 1995, Mr. Gustavson ended his career in public
service to devote his time to litigation matters, primarily on behalf of
plaintiffs.
As examples of skills, duties, and responsibilities in government service,
Mr. Gustavson: Selected the Police Chief and Fire Chief of the city of
Cincinnati; Prepared and negotiated collective bargaining agreements with
the police and fire unions; Was the administrator of all contract issues
with the police union, fire union and AFSCME, including grievances and
discipline; Responsible for budget development, presentation, approval,
and monitoring; Developed a departmental medical separation and ADA policy
that was adopted as the city model; Proposed, negotiated and implemented
the first alcohol free Riverfest Celebration; Responsible for
administration and implementation of consent decree hiring and promotions
of police and fire personnel; Responsible for development and negotiation
of the cable franchise renewal with Warner Cable; Responsible for
development and implementation of Cincinnati's Emergency Operation Plan,
including developing and implementing city-wide training; and he served as
a representative to the Police Technical Advisory Committee as a part of
the International City Managers Association's national benchmarking
project.
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EXAMPLES
OF PRIOR APPOINTMENTS AND VOLUNTEER WORK
:
| Member of the
Regional
Computer
Center
Control Board
|
|
Member
of the Central Warrant ID Board
|
|
Chairman
of the
Cincinnati
Boxing and Wrestling Commission
|
|
Member
of the Mayor's Commission on Youth Violence
|
|
Member
of the
Cincinnati
MIS Steering
Committee
|
|
Member
of the
Cincinnati
Board of Health
Advisory Council for Reshaping Youth
Priorities
|
|
Member
of the International City Managers Association's Police Technical
Advisory Committee
for national benchmarking of police services
|
|
Member of the
Hamilton
County
Domestic Violence
Coordinating Council
|
|
Member of the Keep
Cincinnati
Beautiful Graffiti
Task Force
|
|
Volunteer Lawyer for the Poor Project
|
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EXAMPLES
OF AWARDS
:
| 1993-The
Cincinnati Coalition on Domestic Violence Award for outstanding
service and dedication in the area of criminal justice
|
|
1993-Human
Involvement Project Hipzen Award for promoting youth violence
prevention
|
|
2002-Bill
of Rights Award from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and
Bear Arms for service to the preservation of Second Amendment right
|
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MISCELLANEOUS
AND EXAMPLES OF TEACHING EXPERIENCE
:
|
1987-Local
and national television appearances to discuss pit bulls and the
constitutionality of pit bull bans
|
|
1989-Panelist
discussion with Ohio Supreme Court Justices Andrew Douglas and Herbert
Brown concerning public records issues before the Associated Press
Society of Ohio
|
|
2000,
2001, 2002-Taking and Defending Effective Depositions in
Ohio
for Lorman Education Services
|
|
2001-Contemporary Issues in
Healthcare Litigation for the
Cincinnati
Bar Association
|
|
2000,
2001-Construction Contracting for Public Entities in
Ohio
: Public Bidding for Lorman Education
Services
|
|
2002-Discovery
in Civil Rights Litigation for the
Cincinnati
Bar Association
|
|
2003-Detention,
Arrest, Search & Seizure for the
Cincinnati
Bar Association |
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