Login | April 30, 2025
Roderick Linton Belfance adds more legal power to the team
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: July 5, 2024
Two well-known Akron attorneys recently joined Roderick Linton Belfance (RLB), adding depth to several of the firm’s practice areas.
Plaintiff personal injury attorney Michael J. Elliott and former Akron Law Director Eve Belfance, who served on both the municipal and 9th District Court of Appeals benches, started at the firm in May.
Roderick Linton Belfance Managing Partner Bill Chris said he’s excited to add these two seasoned practitioners to the firm.
“Bringing in someone like Mike Elliott allows us to serve our clients in a number of different litigation areas,” said Chris. “Mike has done a lot of work in the plaintiff personal injury practice area, and while we already had people here who could do that, they did not have the same experience as Mike.
“Eve Belfance is known throughout the community because of her work as a judge and the Akron law director,” said Chris. “In the realm of municipal law, her name is known nationally.
“Roderick Linton Belfance has always been a great place to practice, and with the additions of Mike and Eve, it is even better! We are happy to welcome both Eve and Mike to the firm.”
Elliott, who started as a partner on May 21 said joining Roderick Linton Belfance was a chance to “reinvigorate” his civil litigation practice.
“I’ve known Bill since I started practicing,” said Elliott. “The firm has a great reputation and a very collegial atmosphere. I thought it was a good fit and a great opportunity for me.”
Belfance, who is a principal of the firm, began in early May.
“I’m very excited,” said Belfance. “First of all, Roderick has a tremendously talented group of people and a lot of diversity in practice areas. I am involved in several areas, including municipal law. My years of experience with the city allow me to offer much insight and wisdom in the area of municipal law.
“I’m also providing strategic support to the appellate practice, evaluating matters on appeal and assisting counsel in preparing their oral arguments. In addition, I am getting a chance to do some alternative dispute resolution, which I think is needed in different arenas.”
In Belfance’s case there is one additional benefit. She once again is working alongside her mother Roderick Linton Belfance Principal Kay Belfance, as she did earlier in her career.
“I love working with my mom,” said Belfance. “She is a trailblazer and such an amazing woman. She is a very gifted lawyer, and we complement one another’s strengths. I am very analytical and detail oriented and she is a strategic thinker who brings the larger picture into focus. I’m the writer and she’s the doer and it has always worked out great.”
Kay Belfance said she is very happy that her daughter chose to join the firm.
“She is knowledgeable and thoughtful,” said Kay. “If she doesn’t know the answer to something she will find it. She is a creative problem solver.
“She was an outstanding jurist and law director,” said Kay. “I think we are very lucky to have Eve join our firm. She possesses experience and depth in so many different areas of the law. From a personal standpoint, I love working together once again.”
A native of Akron, Belfance majored in women’s studies at Yale University, taking time off after graduating to study in Greece and explore her career options.
“I had a Rotary Club Scholarship for which I applied as a junior to go overseas and study Greek after graduation,” said Belfance.
When she returned to Ohio, she began working as a legal assistant in her mother Kay Belfance’s law office. At the time, Kay Belfance was not associated with RLB.
“I was not one of those people who had it all figured out as an undergraduate,” said Belfance. “That’s the reason I majored in women’s studies. I had a lot of different areas that I was interested in, including social justice, and women’s studies allowed me to explore gender through multiple academic lenses such as history, psychology and literature.
“I was very interested in psychology, but I was also attracted to law because of the breadth and scope of the education. After working in my mom’s law office, I decided that law school was the right path.”
After earning her juris doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1990, she began working as an associate at Calfee, Halter & Griswold in Cleveland. She had been a summer associate at the firm during law school.
She then returned to her mother’s law firm, this time as an attorney.
Belfance moved to Washington, D.C. in the late 90s, where she was a judicial clerk for U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia Judge Martin Teel Jr.
In the early 2000s, she re-joined her mother’s firm, working alongside her until she was elected to the Akron Municipal Court in 2005. Belfance also completed one term on the 9th District Court of Appeals from February 2009 to February 2015.
When Daniel Horrigan was elected mayor of Akron, he asked Belfance to serve as the city’s law director, which she did for approximately eight years. Toward the end of her tenure, she joined the transition team under Mayor Shammas Malik, taking on the role of human resources director until the current human resources director was hired by the administration.
“It has been a privilege to be a public servant and I treasure my tenure in public service,” said Belfance. “As a jurist, I feel I was able to make a difference in people’s lives as well as make valuable and lasting contributions to the understanding and application of the law.
“As law director, I am proud of the quality and wide range of services our department has provided to the city and proud of making important changes that have improved the department. It was also such a pleasure to mentor and guide the development of the phenomenal legal talent in the law department. There are so many quiet heroes in local government who perform invaluable services to our community. I also cherish the many friendships I’ve made along the way.”
A member of the Ohio State Bar Association, she has served as Yale Alumni Schools Committee director for Summit and Medina counties for many years.
“I interview prospective students upon the request of the university,” said Belfance. “It’s a way to give back to the school.
“I was involved with quite a few community organizations before I became law director,” she said. “I stepped down to avoid any conflicts of interest.”
She has been a member of the board at a number of organizations including the Women’s Endowment Fund, United Disability Services, Summit County ADM (Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services) and the Akron Bar Foundation.
She is now hoping to become re-engaged in the community through service on government boards or commissions, whether local or statewide.
“I have a passion for education, mental health and wellness and helping the disabled,” Belfance said.
“Our profession is a helping profession,” said Belfance. “My goal is to find spaces at the firm and in the community where I can use my experience to provide the most effective assistance. I’ve been a public servant for many years and I plan to continue to be of service.”
Elliott grew up in Uniontown and graduated from Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron.
He obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science from Ohio University.
Prior to starting at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, he lived in Cleveland and worked for UniCare Corp., where he helped uninsured patients gain coverage through governmental assistance programs.
After earning his juris doctor in 1998, he started working for attorney Lawrence Scanlon.
“We did a lot of plaintiff personal injury work,” said Elliott.
He left for a brief period to work for a small civil defense firm that merged with Stark & Knoll.
“I stayed on for a year or two after the merger,” said Elliott. “I primarily handled insurance defense work.”
He then returned to the Scanlon firm, which later became Scanlon & Elliott.
In the fall of 2022, Elliott joined Sheri A. Peters Co., focusing on estate planning and probate litigation. He remained at the firm until starting at Roderick Linton Belfance.
Elliott is a former chair and past member of the Akron Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Candidates and has served on the Grievance Committee and its Investigative Subcommittee.
He is also a previous member of the Summit County Association for Justice, where he sat on the board of trustees and was president.
He currently serves on the advisory board of the Akron Area YMCA.
Elliott lives in Akron with his wife Kim, who is an Akron Public Schools teacher, and their two children.
Elliott said his goal at Roderick Linton Belfance is simple: “I want to become an invaluable member of the firm and assist in its growth in any way possible.”