Honorable Judge Kathryn Michael

JUDGE KATHRYN MICHAEL

In November of 2018, Judge Michael was elected to the Summit County Court of Common Pleas General Division.  Upon her arrival to Summit County Common Pleas Court, she assumed the task of the Presiding Judge of the Domestic Violence Intervention Court, an Ohio Supreme Court certified specialized docket program for defendants who are multiple domestic violence offenders.  The Domestic Violence Intervention Court Program holds offenders accountable for their actions through intensive supervision and completion of a batterer’s intervention program, along with other treatment protocols, with the objective of breaking the cycle of generational domestic violence.

Prior to being elected as a judge to the Summit County Common Pleas Court, Judge Michael served our community as an Akron Municipal Court Judge for 13 years.  During her years as a municipal court judge, her peers elected Judge Michael twice as the Administrative/Presiding Judge of the entire court, and during her time as Administrative/Presiding Judge, she assembled a New Judge’s Manual for the Court, the first one of its kind.  Judge Michael also served as Co-Presiding Judge of the OVI Court Program, and as the Presiding Judge of the Family Intervention Court for 9 years, an Ohio Supreme Court certified specialized docket program for domestic violence offenders.

Judge Kathryn Michael earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Akron in 1982 and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Akron  School of Law in 1986. While attending law school, Judge Michael worked as a law clerk for the Summit County Common Pleas Court General Division Judges, and as the employment discrimination law clerk to then attorney, now retired, Domestic Relations Court Judge Judith Nicely.

After graduating from law school, Judge Michael began her legal career at the Cleveland law firm of Arter & Hadden, as an attorney in their litigation section.  After leaving Arter & Hadden, Judge Michael began a full-time private practice in 1988 and maintained it until she was first elected as Akron Municipal Court Judge in 2005.  During her time in private practice, Judge Michael also served as a volunteer mediator for the Summit County Common Pleas Court, an outside mediator for the EEOC, N.D. Ohio office, and as a part-time magistrate at Akron Municipal Court.

Judge Michael service to our community has spanned over 30 years having served on many non-profit boards of trustees.  She is a member of the Akron Rotary Club, a member of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, and a former member of the Junior League of Akron.  A detailed but not exhaustive list of Judge Michael’s community involvement can be found on her LinkedIn page https://www.linkedin.com/in/judge-kathryn-michael-1722a310/.

In an effort to raise awareness about domestic violence issues, Judge Michael taught a Domestic Violence class at the University of Akron School of Law.  Judge Michael also participates in community forums to speak about domestic violence issues.