Judge Kani Harvey Hightower

Judge Kani Harvey Hightower was elected as a Summit County Domestic Relations Court Judge on November 8, 2022.

She was an Akron Municipal Court magistrate from January 2020 through December 2022. She worked as a private trial attorney in numerous counties for over fourteen years in the areas of family, juvenile, criminal, civil, and probate law – handling complex and high level criminal and civil litigation, as well as conducting numerous jury trials.  Hightower also practiced appellate law and briefed cases with the Ohio Supreme Court.  Much of Hightower’s practice focused on the representation of indigent and underrepresented clients, or of individuals struggling with significant needs. As an attorney, Hightower believed that every individual needed fair and competent representation.

Judge Hightower is also an adjunct professor at the University of Akron Law School where she taught from January 2009  to December 2020, then resumed teaching in 2023..  Prior to that, she served the public as a Clerk of Council for the City of Aurora, Ohio from 1998 to 2004.

Judge Hightower is the proud mother of three children and happily accepts the title of “sports mom.”

Judge Hightower holds a Juris Doctor from the University Akron School of Law, certificates in general mediation and divorce mediation, and a Bachelors of Arts degree from Kent State University. She is also an active member of various professional and community service organizations, including, but not limited to the Akron Bar Association, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated, Jack and Jill of America, and 100 Women Strong Ohio.

Judge Hightower is also a graduate of Stow-Munroe Falls High School and a product of the public school system. As a life-long Summit County-area resident, Judge Hightower knows our community and is committed to being a fair voice on the bench.