Eve Belfance

Phone:  330-434-3000

Fax: 330-434-9220

Eve Belfance earned her undergraduate degree from Yale University and her Juris Doctorate from Case Western Reserve School of Law. She initially practiced in the private sector for 15 years focusing on litigation, appellate, family and bankruptcy law. Eve was inspired to enter public service after serving as a judicial law clerk in Washington D.C. Eve was elected to the Akron Municipal Court in 2005 where she engaged in the creation and development of the court’s specialized DUI docket. Eve was then elected to the 9th District Court of Appeals. During her judicial tenure, Eve has written hundreds of legal opinions spanning a wide range of legal subjects. She was on several occasions invited by the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court to sit as a visiting justice. Eve also served on the Ohio Supreme Court committee on appellate curriculum which produced the first-ever comprehensive curriculum for Ohio appellate judges. Eve was also invited to lecture on topics to appellate judges at annual conferences of the appellate judges’ association and has been active in legal education.

Most recently, Eve served as the Law Director for the City of Akron where she was the City’s Chief Legal advisor for the city administration, its departments, divisions, boards and commissions as well as the City Council and the Municipal Court and Clerks. In addition to managing the City’s Law Department, her legal responsibilities included providing written legal opinions and general legal guidance, managing all civil and criminal litigation and labor arbitration, reviewing and preparing all contracts for the City, preparing resolutions and legislation, providing legal advice on Sunshine law matters, Charter matters, Charter Review matters, and labor and employment matters.

Eve offers clients a breadth of legal knowledge and decades of experience in both the private and public sectors. She offers a unique perspective on the judicial process and judicial decision-making, helping clients with strategic decisions in litigation and appellate matters, assisting in case assessment, review and analysis of the record and briefs, and conducting mock oral arguments. In addition, Eve offers a breadth of strategic and legal counsel on public and government matters, including Charter interpretation, public records, public meeting issues, contract and litigation matters. Eve is also effective in alternative dispute resolution offering a skilled, expeditious, and cost-effective path for dispute resolution.

Eve is a native of Akron and has been active on numerous boards, including past service on the Summit County ADM Board, The Women’s Endowment Fund, and United Disabilities Services, among others. She currently serves as the Yale Alumni Schools Committee Director for the Akron area. Eve is an avid reader and enjoys mountain hiking.

Education