Established in 1993, the Miller Becker Center for Professional Responsibility (MBC) is a nationally recognized academic center dedicated to enhancing public trust and confidence in the legal profession and the judicial system.
Center Director
Heather Zirke (bio) is Assistant Professor and Director of the Joseph G. Miller and William C. Becker Center for Professional Responsibility. She is pursuing a research agenda focused on the regulation of the legal profession and international legal ethics. Prior to joining Akron Law, Heather served as General Counsel and Bar Counsel for the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. She is a member of the ABA Standing Committee on International Trade in Legal Services, and she previously served on the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Task Force on the Disciplinary System. Professor Zirke is a frequent speaker on legal ethics.
Contact us
Heather Zirke, Director
330-972-4313
hzirke@uakron.edu
Pleshae McPhee, Program Coordinator
330-972-6363
pmcphee@uakron.edu
The MBC Director’s Office is in Room 205 of the C. Blake McDowell Law Center (map)
MBC Advisory Board
William C. Becker, Jr.
Ohio Attorney General’s Office
R. Michael Cassidy
Boston College Law School
Harry D. Cornett, Jr.
Tucker Ellis LLP (retired)
Joseph N. Gross
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Peter A. Joy
Washington University – St. Louis School of Law
Kenneth M. Kaufman
Moses Singer LLP
Tracy L. Kepler
American University
Jeannette L. Knudsen
The J.M. Smucker Company
Hon. Sara Lioi
United States District Court – Northern District of Ohio
Janet Green Marbley
Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, Supreme Court of Ohio
James Moliterno, Professor Emeritus
Washington and Lee University School of Law
Lucian T. Pera
Adams and Reese LLP
Jack P. Sahl, Professor Emeritus
University of Akron School of Law
MBC Student Fellow
2026 Student Fellow
- Avneet Badhesha
The student fellow assists in the planning and implementation of Miller Becker Center programming. The fellow also acts as a liaison for the Center with University personnel, law students, media and the bar.
DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES
Partisanship, Court Legitimacy, and Judicial Ethics
In-person | 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Thursday, April 16, 2026
Brennan Courtroom, Room 180
The University of Akron School of Law
Charles Gardner Geyh
Speaker: Charles Gardner Geyh, Indiana University Distinguished Professor and John F. Kimberling Chair at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Bio
Heightened public suspicion that the Supreme and lower federal courts are increasingly partisan, political, and agenda driven has imperiled the federal judiciary's legitimacy. Public suspicion has been exacerbated by the behavior of the justices and judges themselves—behavior regulated by codes of judicial conduct. Aided by social science research, Professor Geyh argues that a renewed focus on judicial ethics and a renaissance of "code culture" can play an understudied role in stabilizing public trust.
Credit has been requested through the Supreme Court of Ohio, Commission on CLE, for 1 hour professional conduct.
Questions? Contact Heather Zirke: hzirke@uakron.edu.
Click here for the event flyer.
MILLER BECKER AWARDFOREXCEPTIONAL STUDENT PROFESSIONALISM
The Miller Becker Award for Exceptional Student Professionalism honors annually one full-time and one part-time Akron Law student who:
- Embodies some aspect of the character of Mr. Miller and Professor Becker: exceptional professionalism, leadership, service, or friendship;
- Has a reputation within the Akron Law community for being a person of principle, compassion, strength, and courage; and
- Has upheld the Student Oath of Professionalism by honoring the standards of academic honesty, strengthening the law school community, conducting themselves with dignity and civility, and treating students, staff and faculty with kindness and respect.
NOMINATIONS
The nomination period is open each year between February and March. Akron Law students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to nominate students from a wide variety of backgrounds. Anonymous and self-nominations are not considered.
RECENT CENTER EVENTS
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Charles Gardner Geyh
Indiana University Distinguished Professor and John F. Kimberling Chair, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Presented Partisanship, Court Legitimacy, and Judicial Ethics on April 16, 2026 -
Amy Cyphert
Associate Professor, West Virginia University College of Law
Presented From TAR to LLMs: Gleaning Wisdom from the Alphabet Soup of Lawyers and AI on October 24, 2025 -
David A. Grenardo
Tenured Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, University of St. Thomas School of Law
Presented Mandatory Civility Rules on April 24, 2025 -
Susan Saab Fortney
Stephen R. Alton University Professor, Professor of Law, and Director of the Program for the Advancement of Legal Ethics, Texas A & M University School of Law
Presented The Role of Proactive Regulation in Assisting Lawyers and Promoting Public Protection on October 24, 2024 -
Lucian T. Pera
Partner, Adams and Reese, L.L.P. (Memphis)
Presented Ethics, Lawyering, and Regulation in a Time of Great Change: Field Notes from the Revolution on April 12, 2024 -
Paula Frederick
Chair of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility and General Counsel for the State Bar of Georgia
Presented Why Did the Lawyer Cross the Road? The ABA’s Proposal to Overhaul Model Rule 5.5 and Permit Cross-Border Practice on November 3, 2023 -
Michael Cassidy
Professor and Dean’s Distinguished Scholar, Boston College Law School
Presented Using Rule 5.1 to Combat Prosecutorial Misconduct on March 31, 2023 -
Benjamin Cooper
Senior Associate Dean and Frank Montague, Jr. Professor of Legal Studies and Professionalism, University of Mississippi School of Law
Presented Regulatory Reform in the Delivery of Legal Services on November 4, 2022 -
Margaret Tarkington
Professor, Indiana University McKinney School of Law
Presented The 2020 Election & Constitutional Government: Examining the Rights & Responsibilities of Lawyers on April 20, 2022
MBC Faculty Fellows
Martin H. Belsky is the Emeritus Dean of the Law School. He has organized and participated in various ethics conferences. Professor Belsky also served as the chief prosecutor in Philadelphia and Counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. He currently serves on the board of the Akron Bar Association.See his bio.
Richard Lavoie is a Dean's Club Professor focused on tax ethics and statutory interpretation. See his bio.
Jack Sahl is an Emeritus Professor and former Director of the Miller Becker Center for Professional Responsibility. In 2019, he received the Eugene R. Weir Award for Ethics and Professionalism, the highest ethics recognition the Ohio State Bar Association awards.See his bio. See his bio.