Carter E. Strang

Carter E. Strang is a Partner in the Cleveland office of Tucker Ellis LLP. He has handled a broad range of matters in both state and federal court with a primary focus on environmental, mass tort, and product liability litigation. Carter is a member of the firm's Oil & Gas Group and a member of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association.

He is listed in the annual Top Rated Lawyers Guide to Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Law, published in Corporate Counsel and the American Lawyer, for both 2012 and 2013.

He maintains an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell National Law Directory, its highest rating based on extensive and confidential peer review of legal ability and ethical standards by members of the bar.

Carter is President of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA) and is Past President of the Federal Bar Association, Northern District of Ohio Chapter (FBA-NDOC).

He is a member of The Judge John M. Manos American Inn of Court.

Carter received the 2011 Kent State University Distinguished Honors College Alumni Award, and was selected as a member of the Ohio State Bar Association Foundation Class of 2011. He is a member of the OSBA Federal Courts and Practice Committee.

He is a member of the Kent City Schools Hall of Fame Class of 2011.

He is the 2010 CMBA Volunteer of the Year and the 2009 Distinguished Contributions to the Community Award winner, given by the Ohio Association of Civil Trial Attorneys (OACTA).

He originated the CMBA’s Green Initiative and served as chair of its Green Initiative Committee. He also chaired the CMBA’s 3Rs Committee and co-authored its curriculum. 3Rs received the Ohio State Bar Foundation’s Outstanding Program Award (2008) and received several American Bar Association awards.

Carter is Tucker Ellis’s Pipeline Diversity Program Co-coordinator. He initiated and administers the firm’s partnership (3Rs instruction, mock trial coaching and internships) with Cleveland’s Early College High School. He also serves as Chair of the CEC’s Advisory Committee. Tucker Ellis received the inaugural CMBA Trailblazer Award in 2012 for its Cleveland diversity and inclusion efforts, including its pipeline program at CEC. Carter has overseen expansion of Tucker Ellis’s Pipeline Diversity Program to its Denver, Los Angeles, and San Francisco offices. The Los Angeles program won the Pillar Partnership Spotlight Award in 2010.

He is a member of Tucker Ellis’s Diversity and Green Initiative Committees.

He was the subject of a feature article, "Bar President Carter Strang Says Percentage of Minorities in Law 'Unacceptable'," in The Plain Dealer (July 5, 2012), and he was profiled in the October 2, 2012 edition of Crain's Cleveland Business, "The Interview: Carter E. Strang, President, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association." Other features include "Who to Watch: Law" in the November 2012 edition of Crain's Cleveland Business; "What One Law Firm and One Lawyer Have Done for Our City's Youngsters" in Law Notes, a publication of Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association (Spring 2009); and "Teacher Turned Lawyer," Kent State Magazine (2009). He has been frequently quoted in The National Law Journal and other publications on a variety of topics.

Carter was an Associate and Partner with Arter & Hadden LLP (1984-2003) where he was a contributing author of the “A&H Ohio Product Liability Update." He is a graduate of the International Association of Defense Counsel Academy.

Publications

“Federal Suit Could Impact Utica Drilling,” Crain’s SHALE (December 2012)

“‘Take-Home’ Premises Liability Asbestos Exposure Claims – 2011 Update,” published in DRI Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Newsletter ( 2012) and OACTA Update Newsletter (2012)

“Notice, Selection, Preparation, and Privilege Issues for Corporate Representative Depositions,” published in DRI's In-House Defense Quarterly (Spring 2010)

“‘Take-Home’ Premises Liability Asbestos Exposure Claims - 2010 Update,” published in DRI’s Toxic Torts Newsletter (Summer 2010)

“‘Arranger’ Liability and Apportionment after Burlington,” published in The Federal Lawyer (2010)

“‘Take-Home’ Premises Liability Asbestos Claims—2009 Update,” published in Mealey's Litigation Report: Asbestos (2009) and in the DRI Toxic Tort and Environmental Law and OACTA newsletters (2009)

“Supreme Court Narrows ‘Arranger’ Liability in CERCLA Litigation,” published in Inter Alia (2009)

“Corporate Representative Depositions: Notice Provision of Rule 30 (b)(6),” published in Inter Alia (2009)

“Corporate Representative Depositions: Selection and Preparation,” published in Inter Alia (2009)

“‘Take-Home’ Premises Liability Asbestos Exposure Claim,” published in DRI Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Newsletter (2008) and OACTA Update Newsletter (2008)

“RCRA Citizen Suits in a Post-Cooper Era,” published in Inter Alia (2007), The Federal Lawyer (2006), and the Cleveland Bar Journal (2006)

“RCRA Citizen Suits for Injunctive Relief,” published in Inter Alia (2007)

Presentations

“The Tucker Ellis/Cleveland Early College High School Partnership,” Kaleidescope, News Channel 5 (2011)

“CMBA’s Green Initiative,” Association of Legal Administrators (2011)

“Kent State Shootings: The Legal Implications, a 40 Year Retrospective,” CMBA CLE (2010)

“30(b)(6) Depositions: A Trap for the Unwary,” OACTA CLE (2010)

“Going Green – Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Green Initiative,” Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries Annual Convention (2009)

“Corporate Representative Depositions – an Overview of Rule 30 (b) (6),” FBA-NDOC CLE (2009) and The Cleveland Bar Association (CBA) CLE (2007)

“Increasing Diversity in the Legal Profession,” Los Angeles County Bar Association Diversity Summit (2007)

“Houston We Have a Problem – Use of RCRA Citizen Suits for Injunctive Relief,” CBA Environmental Law Section (2006)

“A Case Between Private Parties,” CBA Federal Practice Seminar (2002)

Representative Cases

Obtained summary judgment in products liability case against manufacturer of a miter saw.

Obtained a defense verdict in CERCLA trial and drafted successful appellee’s brief to the United States 6th Circuit, which rejected appellant’s “passive migration” claims.

Obtained a judgment in a CERCLA trial against prior owner of client’s property, where “innocent landowner” and pre-existing contribution protection were at issue.

Obtained a settlement in a RCRA “Citizen Suit” injunctive action on behalf of a bank arising from contamination of its property from abandoned UST tanks and product lines.

Obtained a judgment against a major international oil company for contamination of a service station’s property during a UST gasoline delivery, and sanctions against its counsel for discovery abuses.

Obtained a defense verdict for coffee maker manufacturers after trial where plaintiff asserted claim alleging the maker caused a fire.

Obtained an injunction against a major international supermarket chain on behalf of a local shopping center owner where the chain closed its store, ceasing payment of its percentage rents.

Obtained a “de minimis” CERCLA settlement on behalf of local car dealers in multi-million dollar claim against them arising from used oil contamination and successfully asserted claims against the clients’ carriers for payment of settlement proceeds.

Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a major oil company in a benzine exposure claim.

Obtained a defense verdict where plaintiff alleged thorasic outlet surgery was necessitated by client’s negligent driving.

Alumni Activities

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (C-M)
     Originator and sponsor, Joel J. Finer Criminal Procedure Award
     C-M Alumni Association Life Member
     Member, C-M Alumni Association Board of Trustees

Kent State University (KSU)
     KSU Alumni Association Life Member
     Honors College Alumni Association member
     Originator of the Leo E. Strang (father/former KSU Head Football Coach)
          Student Athlete Award and Bettie Strang (mother/former Honors College
          employee) Award for Excellence in the Arts

Personal Information

Carter is married to Deedra (Siegel) Strang, a speech therapist with the Shaker Heights Public Schools, and has three adult sons (Steven, Carson, and Kevin).

As a member of the “TEW Wheelers,” Carter has participated in Cleveland’s Bike to Work Day and the MS 150 “Pedal to the Point” MS fundraiser. He was a member of the Team Benjamin Triathlon Team, which participated in the Cleveland Triathalon and raised money for Cerebral Palsy.

He is a former high school teacher and coach (Jennings Scholar and Taft Fellow teaching awards) he was President of the Shaker Heights Youth Hockey Association and a volunteer youth sports coach.

At KSU, Carter was a member of the football and ice hockey teams; was selected for membership in the Phi Alpha Theta (History) and Kappa Delta Pi (Education) Honorary Societies; was a housing rehabilitation program volunteer in Akron; and held leadership positions in various political campaigns.

Full Bio