News

During the month of May, Akron Municipal Court Judge Annalisa S. Williams and Magistrate Jennifer D. Towell will be accepting awards which recognize their community involvement and dedication to the law profession.

On Friday, May 6, 2022, both Judge Williams and Magistrate Towell will be honored by the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio (GSNEO) as a Woman of Distinction. GSNEO established the Women of Distinction Award in 2012 to honor females who go above and beyond to make our communities better places to live and work. The 10 women honored each year are selected for their remarkable achievements as business, community and civic leaders dedicated to supporting opportunities for women and girls.

The Women of Distinction Awards, which begin at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 6, will be held at the InterContinental Hotel Cleveland at 9801 Carnegie Ave. in Cleveland. The event’s Emcee is Summit County native Betsy Kling who is Chief Meteorologist at WKYC studios in Cleveland.

The following Friday, May 13, 2022, Judge Williams will be receiving the University of Akron School of Law’s Outstanding Law Alumni Award. Judge Williams graduated with a master’s degree from The University of Akron in Urban Studies in 1980 and her Juris Doctorate Degree from The University of Akron School of Law in 1984.

The Akron Law Outstanding Awards Breakfast will be held in the Jean Hower Taber Student Union Ballroom beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, May 13.

Learn more about the GSNEO Women of Distinction Awards here: wda2022.givesmart.com

Learn more about the University of Akron’s 2022 Akron Law Outstanding Alumni Awards here:  https://uakron.edu/law/alum/outstanding-awards

About Judge Williams
Judge Annalisa S. Williams graduated with honors from Kent State University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She received a master’s degree from The University of Akron in Urban Studies in 1980 and her Juris Doctorate Degree from The University of Akron School of Law in 1984.

Judge Williams was elected to the Akron Municipal Court on November 4, 2003 and was reelected in 2005, 2011 and 2017. Judge Williams was selected by her colleagues to serve as the Administrative/Presiding Judge in 2008, 2012 and 2017. Since 2005, Judge Williams has presided over the Mental Health Court specialized docket. Judge Williams has also developed many impactful programs within the Akron Municipal Court, such as the Reading Advancement Program and the Peace of Mind Probation Program which earned the Ohio State Bar Association's 2018 Innovative Court Programs and Practices Award.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of Ohio appointed Judge Williams as a member of the Commission on Specialized Dockets. In 2017, she was appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court to be a member of the Judicial College.

In 2020, Judge Williams was selected as the Kent State University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipient for the year. The Distinguished Alumni Award honors exceptional alumni who have made outstanding contributions in their chosen profession and demonstrated extraordinary service to their community. Earlier this year, Judge Williams also received the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Change Maker Award.

Judge Williams, an Akron resident, is married to Michael D. Williams and they have two adult children.

About Magistrate Towell
Magistrate Jennifer D. Towell started her legal career serving in the United States Navy as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) Lieutenant in the Washington, D.C. Navy Yard Naval Legal Services Office. While serving as a JAG officer, she was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and a Navy Pistol Sharpshooter Ribbon.

Magistrate Towell also worked as the Director of E-Discovery Affairs for Applied Discovery, a division of LexisNexis. In this role, she developed regional strategic initiatives in order to maximize corporate, law firm and government organization partnerships and industry relationships across the United States.

Prior to joining Applied Discovery, she was an attorney with Brouse McDowell in Akron where she specialized in litigation at the trial and appellate level focusing on complex litigation, insurance recovery actions, product liability actions and class action defense.

Magistrate Towell received her Bachelor of Science from Miami University of Ohio, cum laude and her Juris Doctorate from The Ohio State University College of Law. She is admitted to practice in Colorado, Ohio and before the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio.

Magistrate Towell and her husband reside in Bath Township with their three children.

Judge Annalisa S. Williams

Magistrate Jennifer D. Towell