Marianna Brown Bettman (center) is presented with a proclamation by Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh (right) and Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval (left) naming the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Help Center in her honor
Marianna Brown Bettman, former Judge on the Ohio First District Court of Appeals, Emeritus Professor of Law at the Donald P. Klecamp College of Law at the University of Cincinnati, and longtime columnist about legal matters for the Israelite has been recognized recently for her lifetime of public and community service.
On October 21 Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Pavan Parikh announced by proclamation that the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Help Center, of which Professor Emerita Bettman is a co-founder, will be named in her honor and appear in the Help Center. Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval participated in the proclamation ceremony.
The Help Center in the Hamilton County Courthouse offers unrepresented persons in civil matters free limited legal advice and helps them successfully navigate the court process. Help Center Director Nicha Zingarelli describes the Center as Hamilton County’s civil legal “urgent care.” Parikh’s proclamation recognizes that Professor Emerita Bettman has dedicated her career to public service, legal education, and advancing access to justice in Hamilton County and throughout Ohio. It also highlights her election as the first woman judge on the Ohio First District Court of Appeals.
When Mayor Aftab Pureval was Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, he asked Professor Emerita Bettman, his former law professor, to set up a Help Center for the courts and she did. The Center is a joint venture between the Clerk’s office and the College of Law. Since its founding the Center has greatly increased the numbers it serves: in 2025 it helped nearly 25,000 people.
Parikh presented the proclamation to Former Judge Bettman during the conference of the national Access to Justice Network. The Network conference brings together justice professionals and others interested in innovations for the legal system to increase justice in civil matters in courts for indigent and other under served members of communities. This year the Network chose Cincinnati for its conference and over 400 attendees at the First Financial Convention Center celebrated with Professor Emerita Bettman when she was presented the Help Center proclamation by Parikh.
