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Judge Krichbaum honored by the Ohio Supreme Court
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: June 14, 2018
Throughout his career, Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge R. Scott Krichbaum has served on the boards of a number of community organizations and on legal committees and commissions, earning accolades for many of his efforts.
In April, he received a certificate of appreciation from the Ohio Supreme Court for his 20 years of service on the Board of Bar Examiners.
Initially appointed to the 18-member panel of the Board of Bar Examiners by the late Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer, Judge Krichbaum began his first five-year term on April 1, 1998.
The Ohio Supreme Court subsequently reappointed Judge Krichbaum to three additional five-year terms in April of 2003, 2008 and 2013.
“It was a genuine labor of love and an unbelievable commitment,” said Judge Krichbaum. “It is a very solemn responsibility and I am very honored that I was appointed to four separate terms.”
As a member of the board, Judge Krichbaum wrote questions for and graded Ohio bar exams that are given to prospective lawyers in February and July.
“When I began on the board, each member wrote two essay questions, one for each bar exam,” said Judge Krichbaum. “Now only 12 members write the questions.
“The chair and secretary to the board, who is an employee of the Ohio Supreme Court, assigns the subject matter to us and we research and prepare questions that undergo three rounds of review before they can be added to the test.”
Thomas J. Scanlon, a partner and founding member of Collins & Scanlon in Cleveland said Judge Krichbaum mentored him when he was first appointed to the Board of Bar Examiners in 1999.
“Judge Krichbaum was an excellent mentor and very helpful in getting me to write the questions in a less complicated manner so that they could easily be answered,” said Scanlon, who continues to serve on the Board of Bar Examiners.
“He was extremely dedicated to his position on the board,” Scanlon said. “He rarely missed a meeting and he always said yes to anything he was asked to do.
“Not only did he earn the certificate of appreciation, he is probably one of the most deserving persons to receive it.”
Born and raised in Youngstown, Judge Krichbaum received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Youngstown State University.
He then took a job as a common pleas court bailiff, working for the late Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Clyde Osborne. While a bailiff, he attended The University of Akron School of Law at night.
In 1980, he began practicing as a criminal defense lawyer in Youngstown, serving as special assistant prosecutor for the North Meridian Road Appropriations Project from 1982 through the mid-1980s.
Prior to taking the bench as a common pleas judge in 1991, Judge Krichbaum sat on the board of the Mahoning County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities for five years, including serving three years as the recording secretary.
A longtime member, former president and trustee of The Mahoning County Bar Association, Judge Krichbaum is a past president and trustee of the Community Corrections Association and a former and current chair of the Corrections Planning Board.
Judge Krichbaum has been appointed by the state Supreme Court to the Ohio Courts Futures Commission, Ohio Judicial Ethics Committees and the Ohio Judicial Conference.
The judge is a former adjunct professor at Youngstown State University and has lectured extensively and conducted seminars at a number of legal institutions in the state, including The Mahoning County Bar Association, the Association of Municipal/County Judges of Ohio, the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Law Enforcement Training Seminar Institute and the Mahoning Valley Chiefs of Police Association.
In 2005, he received The Mahoning County Bar Association’s Distinguished Service Award.
“Community service has always been a high priority to me,” said Judge Krichbaum, who lives in Boardman with his wife Sharon and their Boxer dog, “Elvis Presley Krichbaum.” They have two adult sons, Zack and Brian.
“My service on the Board of Bar Examiners was of the utmost importance since the board helps determine whether recent law school graduates can become lawyers in the state,” Judge Krichbaum said.