Lawyer, Teacher, Mentor: Reginald Jackson, Jr. by Mike Bruno

Long before he was chosen to lead the Toledo Bar and the Ohio State Bar Associations, Reginald Jackson, Jr. was an average kid growing up in South Toledo, in that awkward physical stage, just before a growth spurt period.

To make matters worse, Reg claims that he was the only one wearing glasses in the 5th-grade class photo. Appearances can be deceiving. He obviously had something special on the inside that would lead to greatness.

Reg was an only child. Dad was a news reporter until World War II and acted as a press officer in the Pacific Theater. He later enjoyed a long career in public relations. His mom grew up on a farm in Hardin County. She went to OSU and met her future husband in Columbus.

Reg was a good student, enjoying history, math, and science.

After graduating from Maumee High School, he was nominated by Congressman Lud Ashley to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY. He never made it to Plebe Summer because he didn’t satisfy the vision requirement.

So, Reg had a decision to make. He was also accepted at Denison ($25 entrance fee) vs. Ohio State ($5 fee). He chose OSU to save his parents $20. Again, he was good at math.

It was a particularly difficult math class (Calculus) at OSU, which steered Reg into a new direction. He admired politicians and noticed that many came from legal backgrounds. So he set his sights on a path toward law school.

Along the way, he joined Sigma Chi fraternity, where he associated with an upperclassman by the name of Jon “Golden Throat” Richardson. Jim Jeffery, an alum by then, made an occasional return to the frat house. This was the 1960s version of Animal House.

And that idea of going into politics? That was quashed by the future Mrs. Jackson. Reg was down to one option: a career in law.

1968 was a tumultuous year. February brought the TET Offensive in Vietnam. Reg joined the ROTC and received a three-and-a-half-year deferment to complete law school.

In August of that same year, Reg had a particularly busy weekend, as follows: Friday: Joanne graduates from OSU; Saturday: Joanne marries Reggie; Monday: Joanne’s first day teaching. I didn’t ask about Sunday.

The newly married couple lived in Columbus; Joanne was teaching, and Reg was doing the law school grind at Ohio State.

Upon law school graduation and bar passage, Reg was hired by Fuller & Henry, in Toledo. He worked under Tom Norman, a trial lawyer, and Paul Smart, who primarily served client Toledo Edison.

After 4 and 1/2 years at Fuller & Henry, Reg was hired by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Toledo, to work alongside Jim Jensen and Pat Foley. He handled civil matters and also prosecuted criminal cases like bank robberies and postal fraud.

In 1978, Reg left the U.S. Attorney’s Office to join a few other former federal attorneys, Gerald Openlander, Bill Connelley, and Dave Soutar, to form a litigation-only, boutique law firm. They originally set up in the National Bank Building and moved to 405 Madison in 1983. He remained with the firm for many years until 2015, when he followed Adam Nightingale to Eastman & Smith. He continues the practice today as “of counsel” to Eastman & Smith.

I asked Reg to describe the nature of his practice over the years. He told me that his typical case was complex, lengthy, and involved multiple parties.

He also found time to teach trial practice at UT’s College of Law for many years. In 1982, I was fortunate enough to be one of his trial practice students. Reg considered teaching as part of his growth as a lawyer, as he learned much from his students.

Memorable cases? He hesitated a bit before answering.

In the early 80s. Reg was hired by a commercial walleye fishing group to challenge a state law regulating the harvesting of undersized walleye. This client was a fisherman charged with violating the statute and was cited to appear in the Toledo Municipal Court. During the prosecutor’s pre-trial, Reg informed then prosecutor Jack Puffenberger that he needed his client to be found guilty. Puff was stunned. The two then informed Judge Denise Dartt of the situation. In considering the international implications, Judge Dartt, asked: “And how do you know these are Canadian walleye?” To which prosecutor Puffenberger exclaimed in his best Pepe’ Le Pew, “Canadian walleye have a French Canadian accent”.

Then there was Reg’s encounter with the “King of Torts”, Melvin Belli, in the mid 1980s. Rumor was that the plaintiff was going to bring in Belli for the trial. Reg was representing one of the defendants. Well, week one was in the books without any sign of Belli. Sure enough, in the second week, Belli strolls into the courtroom and rises to conduct a cross-examination. He was admonished by Judge Joseph Grigsby that since he was appearing pro hac vice, and missed the first week of the trial, he would not be allowed to participate, but could sit and “monitor” the trial. The king of torts was dethroned!

Outside of the law, Reg and Joanne, enjoy spending time with their eight grandchildren. He enjoys reading, especially a good biography, and when time permits, golfing with friends.