People
William D. Mason
Bill Mason serves public sector clients, including municipalities, counties, school districts and other governmental agencies, through creative and innovative thinking. Specifically, he assists political subdivisions with economic development projects and bond financing. Additionally, Bill serves as Receiver and Receiver’s Counsel in foreclosure and receivership actions.
In his most recent role as Chief of Staff for Cuyahoga County from 2019-2022, Bill was responsible for all of the operations of the Cuyahoga County government Executive Offices, including coordinating the planning, creation and operation of the first Diversion Center in the State of Ohio; creating and managing the implementation of the County’s first central booking system which allows police officers from around the county to drop off inmates to the jail in a timely fashion and provide inmates with immediate medical screenings for mental illness and substance abuse treatment, bond review, diversion from the jail and early case review by prosecutors; and directing labor negotiations for 39 labor unions.
Bill practiced public sector and public finance law with Bricker from 2012-2019. Prior to his first stint at the firm, he served as Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney (1999 to 2012). While at the County, Bill created the Community Based Prosecution (CBP) Unit; created and served as chairman of the statewide Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force; created a mortgage fraud unit and helped establish the Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force in response to the foreclosure crisis; worked with leaders to reform the County’s criminal justice system and created the Cuyahoga County Forensic Crime Lab; streamlined his office’s operations and instituted electronic records and a state-of-the-art case management system; and was a main proponent in getting a charter on the ballot that led to the restructuring of the County’s government. Bill also served as President of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association while at the County.
Before taking office as Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, Bill was Law Director for the City of Parma, Ohio.
Experience
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Long-term care certificate of occupancy issue
On behalf of a large long-term care client, kept a multi-phased renovation project involving long-term care and assisted living beds on schedule, solving a complex certificate of occupancy issue for an older nursing home facility.
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Cleveland-area solar farm development
Represented Cuyahoga County in closing a $10 million financing transaction for the development of a solar farm on former landfill property near Cleveland. The solar farm covers 17 acres and consists of over 35,000 panels – the largest in the state. Likewise, the firm negotiated several related agreements, including a 30-year power purchase agreement. The project was completed in summer 2018 and was named Solar Builder’s “2018 Gold Project of the Year.”
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Negotiation of a $1 billion electricity supply contract
The Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) is the largest public retail energy aggregation in Ohio, serving about 900,000 electric and gas customers across 14 counties. NOPEC’s electric supplier abruptly notified NOPEC that it was terminating its contract, thus leaving NOPEC’s nearly half-million electric customers to return to utility service at higher rates. Bricker attorneys sprang into action to prevent NOPEC's customers from paying these increased rates. The team negotiated a new complex electricity supply contract with NOPEC's replacement supplier (worth approximately $1 billion); and, within 10 days, our client had signed a new three-year contract. With our assistance, NOPEC obtained two waivers from the PUCO to meet the expedited enrollment timeline. Meanwhile, within two weeks, our litigation team settled a TRO and injunction case involving the original supplier, which resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement payment to NOPEC. In addition, our energy litigation team dissolved an ex parte TRO issued against NOPEC to a competitor regarding the NOPEC customer enrollment process. We also obtained a complete dismissal of the competitor’s lawsuit on the basis that the PUCO had exclusive jurisdiction over the matter.
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Class action litigation
Served as Special Master, overseeing the administration of an $850 million class action lawsuit.
Professional & Community Activities
- Chairman, Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force
- Former Chairman, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force
- Former President, Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association
- Member, Parma Area Chamber of Commerce
Presentations & Published Works
- Co-author, Dr. Sam Sheppard on Trial: Case Closed (a book based on his experience as prosecutor in the 2000 wrongful imprisonment lawsuit), Kent State University Press, 2003
Awards & Recognition
- Recipient, Parma Area Chamber of Commerce, Parma Pride Award, 2013
- Recipient, U.S. Department of Justice first Internet Crimes Against Children Leadership Award
Education
- Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (J.D.)
- Kent State University (B.A.)