Kumari Shreya
While Robert Billot‘s contribution to the DuPont case is certainly undeniable, he also received much help from lawyers like Harry Deitzler and Larry Winter. Though not associated with Taft, the two lawyers played crucial roles in ensuring that the public’s voice was heard and that the information collected by the team became known to the public and the justice system. Thanks to their work, Deitzler and Winter are prominently seen in Todd Haynes’ ‘Dark Waters,’ an on-screen adaptation of the legal battle against DuPont.
Harry Deitzler is a Proud Grandfather
An alumnus of West Virginia University College of Law, Harry Deitzler worked as a plaintiff’s lawyer in West Virginia and represented the DuPont case in the state’s court. The personal injury lawyer was portrayed by Bill Pullman in ‘Dark Waters.’ Presently, Deitzler remains a prominent presence in the legal industry and continues to work hard to represent the interests of his clients. He joined Hill, Peterson, Carper, Bee, and Deitzler as an Attorney in March 1991 and has also been a Partner in the firm since then.
Since 2001, Deitzler has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Deitzler Foundation, an organization he helped establish. He is also a Board Member for Public Justice and Parkersburg Homecoming. For his contributions to the DuPont case, he even won the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award in 2005. A phenomenal lawyer by all accounts, Deitzler actually has varied interests, as evidenced by his role as a Legal Writer for Motorcycle Consumer News.
Based in Vienna, West Virginia, Deitzler is just as dedicated to his personal life as he is to his profession. Both he and his wife, Kathe, are firm believers in charity and founded the Deitzler Foundation for the express reason of helping those in and around Parkersburg, West Virginia, the area most affected by DuPont’s actions. The couple has two children: a daughter named Erin and a son named Brad. They are also proud grandparents to Bevi, with Deitzler often sharing pictures of his grandchild on social media. He and his wife are also quite fond of their dogs, Taunus and Jaeger.
Larry Winter Has His Own Law Firm
It was Larry Winter who had helped Robert Bilott with filing the 1999 lawsuit against DuPont on Wilbur Tennant’s behalf. He is a former employee of Spilman, Thomas, and Battle, a firm that had once represented DuPont. However, by 1999, he had left to establish his practice with a focus on personal injury. It was his expertise that made him an invaluable asset in the case against DuPont that was going on in West Virginia.
Just like Harry Deitzler, Winter also received the 2005 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. By this time, he was working for Winter, Johnson, and Hill. In fact, even today, Winter is still a managing member of the firm. His partners in the venture are Nancy Hill and David Johnson. Now based in South Charleston, West Virginia, Winter has been practicing law for over 50 years, having gained his bar license in the state in 1970.
Though preferring to keep the details of his personal life private, Winter has indeed opened up about his work on the DuPont case. He certainly developed a good bond with Bilott and had even noticed the strain the case had put on the lawyer in the past. “I had the impression that it was extremely tough on him. Rob had a young family, kids growing up, and he was under pressure from his firm. Rob is a private person. He didn’t complain. But he showed signs of being under enormous stress,” he told The New York Times Magazine.
Additionally, Winter has openly expressed his surprise that Taft Stettinius and Hollister chose to pick up the DuPont case, given the financial impact that this undoubtedly had on them. “There was a threat that the firm would suffer financially,” he explained. In ‘Dark Waters,’ the lawyer is portrayed by Kevin Crowley. The character, even in the movie, is shown to be relentless in the pursuit of justice.
