The state of Ohio permits retired judges to engage in trials as a visiting judge and also to work independently for many uncontested matters such as dissolutions and uncontested divorces.  We often will hire a retired judge to hear dissolution and uncontested divorce cases at Thomas Law Group’s office, thereby saving the parties the inconvenience, possible feelings of embarrassment, and/or financial hardship of traveling to court in a public forum and having their case heard.  In addition, by agreement of the parties, retired judges may also mediate agreements and hear other contested cases, resulting many times in pushing the cases through the system much quicker than some busy court dockets will permit.  If you have a matter that you believe would be appropriate for a retired judge to hear, please contact our office and we will explain in greater detail the process and the types of cases that are appropriate for a private judge.