CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Supreme Court Chief Justice Evan Jenkins has appointed Thirteenth Judicial Circuit (Kanawha County) Judge Maryclaire Akers to a seven-year term in the Business Court Division.
Judge Akers replaces Twenty-Fourth Judicial Circuit (Wayne County) Judge James H. Young, Jr., who has served in the Business Court Division since it began operating in 2013 and asked not to be reappointed when his term ends on December 31.
“I thank Judge Young for his years of service on the Business Court and Judge Akers for accepting the appointment,” said Chief Justice Jenkins.
“Judge Akers will be an excellent addition to this hard-working group of judges who take on Business Court Division cases in addition to their regular dockets and receive no additional pay for doing so.”
“I am delighted to have Judge Akers join the Business Court Division,” said Twenty- Third Judicial Circuit (Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties) Judge Michael D. Lorensen, Chair of the Business Court Division. “I am looking forward to working with her. I appreciate her willingness to help us.”
The Business Court Division is a specialized court docket within circuit courts; any party or judge may seek a referral of business litigation to the division. The Supreme Court Chief Justice reviews all motions to refer. Once a case is assigned to the Business Court Division, the division chair assigns one of the division judges as the presiding judge and may assign resolution judges in the case.
The Business Court Division has seven judges who serve seven-year terms. They can serve consecutive terms. The other members of the division and their terms are as follows:
“I appreciate the confidence the Supreme Court has shown in me with this appointment,” said Judge Akers, whose term on the Business Court will end December 31, 2028. “I look forward to working with my peers across the state in important matters that impact West Virginia businesses.”
◼ Judge Lorensen, whose term ends December 31, 2026;
◼ Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit (Hardy, Hampshire, and Pendleton Counties)
Judge H. Charles Carl, III, whose term ends December 31, 2022;
◼ Eleventh Judicial Circuit (Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties) Judge Jennifer P.
Dent, whose term ends December 31, 2025;
◼ Sixth Judicial Circuit (Cabell County) Judge Paul T. Farrell, whose term ends
December 31, 2023;
◼ Nineteenth Judicial Circuit (Barbour and Taylor Counties) Judge Shawn D. Nines,
whose term expires December 31, 2027; and
◼ Senior Status Judge Christopher Wilkes, whose term ends December 31, 2024.
Judge Akers is a Kanawha County native and 1992 graduate of George Washington High School. She has a 1995 bachelor’s degree in Journalism from West Virginia University. She graduated from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1999.
Judge Akers practiced law in Kanawha County for over twenty years, most of that time in the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office where she served as Chief of Staff, Special Assistant United States Attorney, and a Senior Assistant Prosecutor. Judge Akers also worked as a private attorney, has served as General Counsel to the West Virginia Ethics Commission, and as a West Virginia Assistant Attorney General.
Judge Akers has served on the community boards of Daymark, Charleston Area Medical Center, and Harmony Health. She has also served on the board of the West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the West Virginians Against Violence Committee, and the West Virginia Center for Children’s Justice. Judge Akers was a Commissioner for the West Virginia State Elections Commission from 2020 to 2021. She has also given multiple presentations for West Virginia Handle with Care and other agencies.
Judge Akers was named a West Virginia Rising Star by Virginia & West Virginia Super Lawyers Magazine, 2009. She was awarded a United States Attorney Award for Distinguished Service, United States Attorney, SDWV, 2011 and was named as one of West Virginia’s Lawyers & Leaders by West Virginia Executive Magazine and West Virginia University College of Law in 2020.
She is married to Charleston attorney JB Akers, and they have three children.
