Akron Law names Heather Zirke director of the Miller Becker Center

Heather Zirke director of the Joseph G. Miller and William C. Becker Center (MBC) for Professional Responsibility and assistant professor of law

The University of Akron School of Law has named Heather Zirke director of the Joseph G. Miller and William C. Becker Center (MBC) for Professional Responsibility and assistant professor of law. Founded in 1993, the MBC is a nationally recognized academic center dedicated to enhancing public trust and confidence in the legal profession and the judicial system. Zirke had served as interim director since the May 2023 retirement of long-time MBC director and Emeritus Professor of Law John P. (Jack) Sahl. She has also been a senior lecturer at the School of Law.

Zirke was previously principal of the Zirke Law Firm, concentrating in legal ethics, lawyer grievances and disciplinary defense. Prior to entering private practice, she spent 16 years as general counsel and bar counsel for the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association where she investigated and prosecuted lawyer misconduct, allegations of the unauthorized practice of law and bar admissions matters. She has appeared before the Board of Professional Conduct, Board on Character and Fitness, Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, the Eighth District Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Ohio. She is a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Proactive Management Based Regulation Committee and previously served on the Court’s Task Force on the Disciplinary System. She is a frequent speaker on matters of professional responsibility.

“I am thrilled that Heather has agreed to join us as the Miller Becker Center director and assistant professor of law,” Dean Emily Janoski-Haehlen said. “Heather brings a wealth of knowledge and practice experience in the areas of professional responsibility and ethics to our faculty, and I am excited to see her future plans for the Center unfold.”