Lisa Dean

Judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Domestic Relations Division) (Full term commencing 1-4-2027) · Summit County, Ohio · November 3, 2026

Also on the ballot: Katarina Cook

Lisa Dean, a Democrat, is a family-law attorney and the elected Law Director for the City of Green, challenging incumbent Katarina Cook for Summit County Domestic Relations judge. She was rated "Good" by the Akron Bar Association and campaigns on bringing compassion to the court, without detailed policy positions found.

What this office decides

The Domestic Relations Division judge handles divorce, dissolution, and legal separation, along with child custody, child support, spousal support, and domestic-violence protection orders between spouses. Judges serve six-year terms and appear on the general-election ballot without party labels, though they are nominated in party primaries.

How this race lines up with you

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Dossier

Researched 2026-09-23 · Claude Code research agent with web search

Donald Trump: nothing found. No search result mentioned Trump endorsing, criticizing, or commenting on this candidate; this is a nonpartisan-ballot local judicial race with no national coverage found.

Who they are

Democrat; elected Law Director for the City of Green, first elected after defeating Stephen Pruneski by 28 votes and re-elected in 2023 (Akron.com; Ballotpedia). She holds no judicial seat and is not the incumbent against Republican Katarina Cook. Dean is an equity partner at Roderick Linton Belfance LLP focused on family law — divorce, custody, support — with 25+ years as a licensed Ohio attorney (campaign site). Earlier she worked in the appellate divisions of the Summit and Portage County Prosecutor's Offices and as judicial attorney to former Domestic Relations Judge Judith A. Nicely (retired) (campaign site). She holds a J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (campaign site). The Akron Bar Association rated her "Good" (Akron Bar Association).

Positions

Crime & policing: No public position found.
Party politics in courts and agencies: No public position found.
Campaign site offers a general philosophy, not a specific position: "Humanity is at the heart of good leadership. A court that lacks compassion can add to the suffering of families in crisis" (campaign site).

Record

No judicial record. Professional record: 25+ years of family-law practice, magistrate in the Cuyahoga Falls Mayor's Court (2014-2019), elected Green Law Director since 2020 (campaign site).

Money

No campaign finance filings or fundraising totals were found in the sources checked.

What we couldn't find

No campaign finance figures or donor information.
No explicit positions on crime/sentencing or judicial partisanship.
No independent news profile of her candidacy beyond the primary and bar rating.

Sources (5)