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Magistrate Judge Burke sworn in today in Akron
ASHLEY C. HEENEY
Legal News Reporter
Published: October 21, 2011
Former Ohio Lottery Commission Director Kathleen Burke said becoming a magistrate judge for the Northern District of Ohio was a welcome change back to the law.
Her formal investiture is today at 3 p.m. in the auditorium of the Akron-Summit County Public Library in downtown Akron across the street from the John F. Seiberling Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. She was officially sworn into office Aug. 20 by Chief Judge Solomon Oliver, Jr., who will also ceremonially swear her in before colleagues, family and friends.
With about seven weeks with the court, which included a week of official training for the bench and hiring her staff–Ivonne Baez as courtroom deputy and Ron Gehring as law clerk, Burke said the opportunity to be a magistrate judge is an exciting one.
“It’s comfortable because it’s a return to the law. It’s challenging because the federal courts deal with a wide variety of cases–criminal and civil, which makes it interesting, as well as challenging.
Burke said she will work with parties to resolve the case by settlement, but if that is not doable, her goal is to carry the case forward to give them a fair trial.
Before serving from 2009 to 2011 as lottery director, an appointment made by then Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and confirmed by the Ohio Senate, Burke worked for Jones Day in Cleveland for 30 years (as partner from 1982 to 2009) practicing civil litigation, commercial litigation, contract disputes, insurance coverage litigation and bankruptcy.
Originally from New York, Burke’s mother immigrated from Ireland and her father immigrated from Newfoundland. Burke went to college, and law school at St. Johns in New York on merit scholarships.
Over the years, she has been involved in helping the system of justice work better, from rules changes in The Supreme Court of Ohio to assisting with Legal Aid efforts. Most recently, she was an officer with the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, a position she relinquished to become magistrate judge. Burke, a resident of Shaker Heights who hopes to move closer to Akron in the near future, said she’s also worked with the Cleveland Metro Bar Association for the 3Rs program (rights, responsibilities, realties) in which lawyers tutor high school students to improve passage of the Ohio Graduation Test, but chiefly aid in the students’ understanding of the U.S. Constitution.
Burke also holds the honor of serving as the first woman president of the Ohio State Bar Association, from 1993 to 1994. Her husband Bill Gaskill, was a law firm administrator at Jones Day and is on the board of Metro Health in Cleveland. They have three adult children–oldest Chris is an attorney, daughter Kelly is a special education teacher and youngest daughter Shannon is a recent college graduate with her sights set on advertising. In her own personal time, Burke said she likes gardening and refining her golf game.
“My goals are really to a do a good job for a court and the litigators and lawyers,” she said of her new career position, “and to treat everyone who comes before me with respect and fairness–and really to bring to the job the years of experience that I have for everyone who has a case in front of me.”