by Richard W. Millar, Jr.

Some, but probably not many, of you may remember Bulldog Drummond. He was a fictional “gentleman adventurer” who was portrayed in numerous books, short stories, and movies, as well as radio, television, the stage, and even graphic novels. His creator, H.C. McNeile, died in 1937, but his stories were carried on by Gerard Fairlie until 1954. He was a combination of British gentleman and tough guy who was physically unattractive looking, presumably, like a bulldog. In many ways he was a literary precursor to a combination of James Bond and Mike Hammer.

It has been years and years since I have thought of Bulldog Drummond, but my memory was rejuvenated, if you will, by a now former lawyer in Kentucky who describes himself as “The Bulldog.” He has the “The Bulldog Show” on YouTube and had a radio show called “The Bulldog Nation.”

Eric Deters is no stranger to the Kentucky Bar Association and the Kentucky Supreme Court. In 2012, the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld a recommendation to suspend Mr. Deters for sixty-one days based on his conduct in three separate cases. In 2013, the court upheld another recommendation to suspend him for sixty days based on two more separate cases.

His Kentucky license to practice has been suspended since 2013. But he is still working.

In 2019, after reviewing a sixty-five-page recommendation that Mr. Deters' application for reinstatement be denied, the Kentucky Supreme Court directed him to undergo “a full psychological examination.”

The psychologist’s report noted that “His personality style . . . and his ‘bulldog’ reputation will continue to be a challenge to control but . . . the bottom line is, he is capable of ethical conduct if he chooses that path.”

His problem, at least as far as the Bar folks and the court were concerned, was that Mr. Deters continued to practice while under suspension.

Mr. Deters, of course, disagreed. While he continued to work at “Deters Law Office,” he claimed that he was retired as a lawyer and that there is no prohibition for a law firm to continue to use the name of a retired lawyer. And, according to him, a retired lawyer can still work as a paralegal and office manager. He testified that he “transferred the firm to his father as ‘cover.’” But, according to the Kentucky Bar, there is no licensed attorney named “Deters” at the Deters Law Office.

According to the court, during suspension he also oversaw associate attorneys, made compensation decisions for contract attorneys, conducted meetings with clients, provided business cards for associates which said they were employed by “Eric C. Deters and Partners, PSC,” and had social media postings asking prospective clients to call Deters 24/7 and he would make sure they were taken care of. Plus, he received “inappropriate compensation,” meaning amounts that were too high to be commensurate with sums usually paid to law clerks.

It is probably fair to say that Mr. Deters did not help himself in his filed “Exceptions to the Committee’s Recommendation” when he said:

CONCLUSION
Susan Lawson and the rest of the Committee, Ms. Browne and Ms. Herrick are jokes of human excrement who [sic] I refuse to allow to sit in judgment of me. They can all go straight to hell. They couldn’t do what I do for a day. Yet, they judge me? They may judge me because of their positions, but they can’t stop me from what I do, will continue to do and what I say publicly about them. I have EVERY right to be pissed off and EVERY right to speak out.

The Supreme Court described this as speaking “volumes of Deters’ inappropriate ‘no holds barred approach.’” It summarized: “Deters’ practice of law is not governed by constitution, rule of law or procedure. It is anarchy.” It denied his Application for Reinstatement and ordered him to cease “any and all activities related to the practice of law, howsoever designated, including, but not limited to, paralegal, consultant or spokesperson for the Deters Law Firm or any other entity.”

That was on June 17, 2021.

In October, the Bar Association filed a motion with the Supreme Court to hold Mr. Deters in contempt, claiming he was still practicing law.

All of this goes to prove Millar’s Corollary #71:

Even bulldogs can get bitten.

Richard W. Millar, Jr. is Of Counsel with the firm of FSG Lawyers PC in Irvine. He can be reached at rmillar@fsglawyers.com.