Elisa Hill

Elisa Hill

Chief Magistrate

Magistrate Elisa Hill was born and raised in Ravenna Ohio.  She graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree.  Elisa obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Akron School of Law.

 

Elisa was a law clerk for Edward L. Gilbert LLC while attending law school.  She then began working for the Honorable Judge James R. Williams as a Judicial Assistant for several years.  In February 1999, Elisa was appointed by then Mayor Donald Plusquellic as an Assistant Prosecutor for the City of Akron.  While at the Prosecutor’s Office, Elisa  was the Domestic Violence Prosecutor, Police Legal Advisor and Felony Court Prosecutor.  She prosecuted hundreds of domestic violence and civil protection order violation cases.  Elisa joined the Summit County Domestic Relations Court in June 2017 as the Honorable Judge Katarina Cook’s Judicial Attorney. 

 

Elisa is an active member and current treasurer of the Akron Canton Barristers Association.  She is on the board of Greenleaf Family Center.  Elisa is a graduate of Class VII of the Child and Family Leadership Exchange.  She is also a member of the Akron Bar Association, the Ohio Association of Magistrates, and several other community organizations, such as Sarahs House.

 

In her spare time, Elisa runs marathons, gardens and loves to read.  She also enjoys spending time with her husband, retired Akron police officer Arthur and her twin boys.

Julie King

Magistrate

Bio coming soon.

Cara Ford

Cara Ford

Magistrate

Magistrate Ford is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor in English. She obtained her Juris Doctorate Degree from the University Of Akron School Of Law and has bar admissions to the Ohio State Bar, United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.

Magistrate Ford has previous experience working for Judge Brenda Burnham-Unruh in Summit County Court of Common Pleas, Child Support Enforcement Agency as a Hearing Officer and as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the City of Akron. Most recently, she was in private practice with a focus on criminal defense, juvenile issues, and evictions for two apartment complexes.  For over 5 years, she was a Guardian ad Litem and volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for children. Additionally, while maintaining her private law practice, she was the crossroads attorney for Summit County Juvenile Court where she represented juveniles who had abuse / dependence problems and mental health issues.

Magistrate Cara Ford came to Domestic Relations Court in May of 2019.

Magistrate Ford is married with two children. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, and The House of the Lord where she volunteers in the nursery and marriage ministry.

Richard Stahl

Magistrate

Bio coming soon.

Jason Adams

Jason Adams

Magistrate

Magistrate Jason Adams is a lifelong Akron resident, graduate from of the Akron Public Schools, The University of Akron (Bachelor of Arts in economics, minor in labor economics), and The University of Akron School of Law.

Magistrate Adams has been an attorney for over 30 years and is licensed to practice in Ohio and United States Federal Courts (Northern District of Ohio and Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals).  Adams’ previous experience includes being an Akron Municipal Court Judge, Judicial Attorney and Magistrate for the Summit County Common Pleas Court – General Division, small business owner/private practice attorney, as well as a bailiff for the Barberton Municipal Court and clerk for the Akron Municipal Clerk of Court.

Magistrate Adams is a member of the Ohio Association of Magistrates and the Akron Bar Association, and previously as a member of the Akron Bar Association – Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee.

Magistrate Jason Adams is currently the President of the AHEPA 63, Inc. – a HUD sponsored senior living facility in Tallmadge, Ohio and Board Member of the AHEPA National Housing Corporation in Fishers Indiana – providing affordable housing  (mainly HUD 202 funded properties) for low income and disabled seniors in twenty-one states.   Jason is previously a Board Member of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Tarry House Incorporated (temporary residential housing facility for adults with mental disabilities), and the Cascade Locks Park Association – all in Akron, Ohio.

David Lombardi

David Lombardi

Magistrate

Bio coming soon.

Kimberly Rivera

Kimberly Rivera

Domestic Violence / Dating Violence Civil Protection Order Magistrate

Magistrate Kimberly Y. Smith Rivera graduated summa cum laude from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.  She moved to Ohio in 1988 and worked as a Human Resource Manager for five years before attending Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where she served on the Law Review and as President of the Mock Trial Team.  She obtained her Juris Doctorate degree, cum laude, in 1996.  Upon graduation, she served for two years as law clerk to Judge Daniel B. Quillen (now deceased) of the Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals, and for one year as law clerk to Justice Deborah L. Cook of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Following her clerkships, Magistrate Rivera began working in private practice as a litigator in a wide variety of areas of law, including but not limited to employment, contract, constitutional, consumer finance, and appellate work.  She is licensed to practice law before the United States Supreme Court, all Ohio and North Carolina State Courts, all Federal Courts in Ohio, and the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Magistrate Rivera serves on the Board of Directors of True Freedom Ministries and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Akron Better Business Bureau.  She has served as a volunteer arbitrator for the Cleveland and Akron Better Business Bureaus for over 20 years.  She plays saxophone in the Cuyahoga Valley Concert Band and does volunteer work for the Summit County Humane Society.  She is a member of Christ Community Chapel in Hudson, where she plays in the orchestra and sings in the choir.

Magistrate Rivera became a part-time Magistrate Judge for the Domestic Relations Court in 2022, and continues to maintain part-time private practice with a nonprofit law firm.  She was born and raised in Middlebury, Indiana, and has been married to her husband, Francisco, since 2005.

Christopher Snyder

Christopher Snyder

Magistrate

Magistrate Christopher Snyder is a life-long resident of Summit County, Ohio.  He graduated from the University of Akron where he received an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.  He later earned his Juris Doctorate from University of Akron School of Law.  He is currently admitted to practice law in Ohio, and certified to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and United States Supreme Court.

After graduating, Magistrate Snyder was engaged in private practice for 17 years.  His practice focused on criminal defense litigation, juvenile, domestic relations, civil litigation, and bankruptcy.  He also served as a Guardian ad Litem for the Summit County Juvenile Court.  Magistrate Snyder also served as a part-time Magistrate in the Akron Municipal Court where he heard small claims cases, evictions, traffic matters, and felony arraignments.  He was appointed as a Magistrate of the Domestic Relations Court in January 2019.

He is a member of the Ohio Association of Magistrates, Akron Bar Association, and Ohio State Bar Association.

 

Lynn Seifert

Magistrate

Magistrate Seifert grew up in a small rural town outside of Youngstown, Ohio and attended Youngstown State University where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. After graduation, and before attending law school, she worked with individual’s with special needs.  She then attended The University of Akron School of Law where she received her Juris Doctor in 1999.  During law school, Magistrate Seifert was trained as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) which is where her interest in Family Law matters began.  Since law school, Lynn has focused her practice on Family Law issues.  She has served as an assistant county prosecutor for Cuyahoga County in the Children and Family Division, where she represented Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services in cases of dependency, neglect and abuse. She is a trained mediator who has worked for both Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court and  Summit County Juvenile Court as a Mediator. Lynn has served as a Guardian Ad Litem and Parent Coordinator on countless cases and has practiced in Summit, Medina and Cuyahoga Counties. Magistrate Seifert spent a number of years in private practice and was a partner in the law firm of Seifert & Cox LLP from 2017 to joining the Summit County Domestic Relations Court as a Magistrate in February of 2023. 

Lynn has two college age children of her own from her first marriage and step-son from her second husband, who she unfortunately lost to covid in 2022. Lynn had a Shared Parenting Plan for her children after her divorce and has a very positive co-parenting relationship with her ex-husband.  In her off time, she loves to spend time with her family and her animals (one dog, two cats and a horse!).