The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Former magistrate changes roles with city
Paul E. Miller appointed assistant law director
The city of Mentor law department is back up to full capacity.
Former Mentor Municipal Court magistrate Paul E. Miller recently was sworn in as assistant law director. His first day was Nov. 26.
Miller, 53, succeeds Joseph P. Szeman, who was promoted to law director following the retirement of Richard A. Hennig.
“I thought it was an excellent way to serve the community I live and work in,” Miller said. “It was an opportunity I was really excited about and, so far, I haven’t been disappointed; there’s a lot going on.”
Miller will serve with Szeman as co-counsel to the Planning Commission and counsel for the Zoning Appeals Board. He also will be back-up police prosecutor for Lisa Klammer.
He was magistrate and acting judge for 15 years, and continues his private law practice in the city.
“The Planning Commission is a very different challenge and it’s going to take a little getting used to,” he said.
The assistant law director position is part time and will pay $52,000 annually.
Miller received his law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, graduating magna cum laude in 1997. He worked in the Lake County Public Defender’s Office from 1995 through 1999, moving from law clerk and legal intern up to assistant public defender.
He was a Laketran Board trustee from July 2012 to May 2018, when he ran in
“I thought it was an excellent way to serve the community I live and work in.” — Former Mentor Municipal Court magistrate Paul E. Miller
the primary election to be the democratic candidate for the bench of retiring Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard L. Collins Jr.
Miller’s diverse background is anticipated to be a boon to the city, Szeman said, “given that his primary responsibilities are going to be handling our municipal income tax cases, property maintenance and zoning violations, and cocounsel with me on various other litigation.”
Miller, a Mentor resident, was selected out of about 15 applicants.