Chief Justice Brown started his legal career engaged in a private law practice in his hometown of Cleveland, handling a wide variety of legal matters in both a small firm and solo practice. He handled civil and criminal litigation, business, real estate, and probate law matters. Brown was one of the first lawyers in Ohio to develop a law practice serving the needs of the elderly and their families. Chief Justice Brown served for nearly 15 years as an elected public school board member for Mayfield City Schools. For a decade, he served the bar association as treasurer, chair of the budget & management committee, and as an elected trustee. Chief Justice Brown owned and operated several businesses, and was honored by his local chamber of commerce as Business Person of the Year.
Judicial career
Prior to his appointment as Chief Justice, Judge Brown served as the Judge for Franklin County's Probate Court where he presided over the largest single-judge court in Ohio, serving as both judge and clerk of the court, overseeing a staff of 50 employees, including seven magistrates. Before serving as Probate Court Judge, Chief Justice Brown served as a Judge and Magistrate on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, General Division where he presided over a large caseload consisting of criminal felony cases, substantial civil disputes, administrative appeals, and a wide variety of other matters, including serving as the probate judge in a significant guardianship case. As a common pleas court judge, he handled more than 7,300 cases on his docket, nearly 4,400 of those civil and more than 3,000 of those criminal cases. After his defeat by O'Connor, Governor Strickland appointed Brown to an open judgeship on the Franklin County Municipal Court. Chief Justice Brown also served 11 years as an Assistant Attorney General for Ohio Attorneys General Lee Fisher and Betty Montgomery, where he worked as both a lawyer and as a manager. As Assistant and Acting Chief of the Consumer Protection Section, he successfully managed a staff of 70, including lawyers, investigators, consumer specialists, and support staff. As Tobacco Litigation Counsel, he helped lead the largest litigation in Ohio history, coordinating the work of six law firms serving as outside counsel, supervising a core team of eight staff attorneys, and coordinating Ohio's efforts with more than 40 other states.
Education
Brown received a bachelor's degree in history from Cleveland State University in 1975 and a law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1979. In June 2009, Chief Justice Brown was named an ASTAR Fellow after completing the two-year Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource program, which is designed to prepare judges to preside over cases involving complex science and technology issues and to serve as a resource to other judges. Chief Justice Brown's service on judicial related organizations also includes: his appointment to the Ohio Judicial Conference Probate Law & Procedure Committee, his appointment to the Supreme Court Commission on the Rules of Practice & Procedure, and his appointment to the Franklin County Criminal Justice Planning Board, which provides oversight for criminal and juvenile justice programs funded through Franklin County.
