When Foundation board member Judge Bill Klatt was a student at Notre Dame Law School, he dreamed of becoming a judge.
“I thought I would really enjoy serving the community in that way,” he said. “But of course, I had no idea how someone becomes a judge.”
Along the path to reaching his goal, Judge Klatt applied his work ethic and curiosity to every opportunity throughout his legal career. He started in private practice, eventually becoming a partner at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey (now Squire Patton Boggs). At Squire, Judge Klatt took the advice of his colleague and former Columbus mayor Greg Lashutka, who said that to become a judge, “you just have to get in the game.” He ran for the Tenth District Court of Appeals in 1994, and although he lost, the experience opened a door to a new role, one that was a step closer to his dream.
“As a result of running, then-Chief Justice Thomas Moyer called and suggested that I might be good for a position working for Betty Montgomery, who had just been elected attorney general,” he said.
He secured the position overseeing legal operations for Montgomery’s office, where he remained for four years. Then, when newly elected Gov. Bob Taft took office, Judge Klatt became his chief legal counsel. When a vacancy opened on the Tenth District Court of Appeals in 2002, Gov. Taft appointed Judge Klatt to the bench, and the rest is history.
“I loved it from the very first day,” he said. “[Being a judge] is all the best parts about the practice of law plus the opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives and in the pursuit of justice.”
Judge Klatt cites a long list of things he appreciates about being a judge. He enjoys researching and writing, collaborating with lawyers and other judges, and advancing the development of the law. He likes that the law is vast and always changing, and that he’s always learning. Because Courts of Appeals handle a wide range of cases, from disputed traffic situations to serious criminal cases and complex civil matters, the work is interesting and challenging.
Although the job could be intense, Judge Klatt emphasizes that he still made time for leisure pursuits like playing in a band and learning new instruments, even while serving on the bench full time.
“One of the things about when you’re doing something you really love, which I’ve had the privilege to do, is that even when you’re working really hard at it, you’re doing something that you enjoy,” he said. “And so, I still had a lot of emotional energy to do other things.”
In 2021, Judge Klatt received the Ohio State Bar Association’s Moyer Award for Judicial Excellence, one of Ohio’s highest judicial distinctions. He loves being a judge so much that he continues to serve as a retired assigned judge even after formally retiring from the Tenth District in 2023. And he continues to remain heavily involved with the Foundation as a board member, recently becoming vice president.
“When your entire focus is to advance justice, that’s just a wonderful goal to have in your job,” he said. “Not that many people have that opportunity.”
The Ohio Access to Justice Foundation is the largest funder of civil legal services in Ohio. A gift to the Foundation supports Ohio’s legal aids.