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Meet. Probate Court Magistrate Clinton Householder
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: October 27, 2023
He was a legal aid attorney for more than three years, now Clinton J. Householder is hoping to make a difference in the lives of residents as a magistrate on the Summit County Probate Court bench.
Householder was sworn in by Summit County Probate Court Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer and started at the court on Sept. 5.
He replaced former Magistrate Tania Nemer, who left over the summer after being appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as a federal immigration judge in Cleveland.
“Clinton represented clients in probate court as a legal aid attorney,” said Judge Stormer. “We were so impressed with his work that when we found ourselves looking for a replacement for Tania, he immediately came to mind.
“He is fitting right in,” said Judge Stormer. “He started his career at a law firm and made a philosophical decision to leave and go work for Community Legal Aid. He did that because he wants to help people and that is what we are looking for here.
“We have a lot of pro se litigants and he is doing a good job in helping them navigate the court system,” said Judge Stormer.
“He’s a great person with an impeccable work ethic and excellent writing skills, everything one wants in a magistrate in my opinion,” she said.
“When I was asked to serve as a magistrate, I was very excited to do so,” said Householder.
“This position is similar in spirit to the role that I previously held at legal aid,” he said. “At the probate court, we deal with people who are going through vulnerable times and I am committed to helping them the best way that I can.
“A lot of people who come to probate court do not have an attorney and I think the court has done a wonderful job of ensuring that the forms they need to fill out are pro se friendly,” said Householder. “As a magistrate I hope to continue to improve court access in any way that I can.”
A native of East Liverpool, Ohio, Householder received his bachelor’s degree in political science and his juris doctorate from The University of Akron.
During his last two years at Akron Law, he clerked for Brennan, Manna & Diamond (BMD), later starting his career as an associate at the firm in 2017.
“I did a combination of transactional work and litigation while at BMD,” said Householder.
While there, he also continued to volunteer as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) at Summit County Juvenile Court, which he began doing in law school.
In 2019, he joined the Akron office of Community Legal Aid.
“I enjoyed my work at Brennan, Manna & Diamond but I wanted to be more connected to the community,” said Householder. “At Community Legal Aid, I helped people who might otherwise not have had representation.
“I worked on everyday civil matters including landlord/tenant, guardianship and public benefits cases and represented some clients in the area of special education law,” said Householder.
“Some of my work brought me to Summit County Probate Court which is how I got to know Judge Stormer.”
As a new magistrate, Householder hears a variety of matters ranging from guardianships and adoptions to legal name changes and estate cases.
“Since I am fairly new, I am focusing on learning the other side of the bench,” said Householder.
“I want to be helpful to my fellow magistrates and the judge and make sure the court is accessible to the community,” he said.
In addition to his new position, Householder said he wants to become active in the Summit County community.
“My prior role at legal aid involved full-time service to low income, veteran and senior citizen clients and a lot of what I did involved weekend and evening work at clinics, community events and resource fairs,” said Householder.
“I did participate in a few taskforces and coalitions but those opportunities were also related to my employment at legal aid.
“Now that community service is no longer embedded into the job, I am in the process of looking for new ways to give back,” Householder said.