Login | November 01, 2024
Longtime law librarian Sharon Merklin retires
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: November 1, 2024
As an undergraduate, northeast Ohio native Sharon Merklin considered going to law school, but instead found a way to combine her interest in the legal profession and love of books and research into a career as a law librarian, working for various businesses over the years, including Brouse McDowell and Community Legal Aid Services Inc.
On Sept. 20, Merklin retired after helping to keep the law libraries at Community Legal Aid and Brouse McDowell operating efficiently for many years.
“Brouse McDowell was set to combine with Roetzel & Andress on Oct. 1 and I thought it was a good opportunity to retire from my professional life, even though I enjoyed the work I was doing,” said Merklin.
“During my time at legal aid I worked under four different directors,” said Merklin.
“It was very satisfying work,” she said. “Even though I was behind the scenes I felt like I played a role in helping the thousands of underserved residents who they have represented over the years who would not otherwise have been able to have a lawyer.”
Community Legal Aid Services Executive Director Steve McGarrity thanked Merklin for her dedication to the nonprofit law firm and its clients.
“Legal Aid has over 40 attorneys in four offices with a broad range of practice areas, all of whom depend on having the best legal resources on hand,” said McGarrity. “Sharon went above and beyond expectations in helping select the best resources for our libraries, keeping the materials up to date and negotiating the best deals with the publishers.
“During the pandemic, she began working for us pro bono, which she did until her retirement in September.
“She can take great pride in the role she played in helping tens of thousands of our neighbors find justice over her long career,” said McGarrity.
Merklin’s husband former Brouse McDowell Managing Partner Marc Merklin (now a shareholder at Roetzel & Andress) said he’s proud of what she has accomplished, which includes many volunteer efforts in the community.
“Sharon has spent decades assisting legal aid attorneys and has been doing the work voluntarily for the last several years,” said Marc. “She has also been involved with a number of organizations, including the Doggie Brigade at Akron Children’s Hospital, which brings comfort to sick children.
“Lawyers get credit for the work that they do to help the community but their wives are sometimes overlooked,” he said. “It’s nice to have someone like Sharon who is associated with our profession but not a lawyer be recognized.”
Raised in South Euclid, Cleveland, Merklin attended Case Western Reserve University, earning her bachelor’s degrees in English and sociology in 1982.
“I always wanted to be a librarian because I loved books, but I was thinking about going to law school for a little while,” said Merklin. “One of my professors talked to me about going to paralegal school at the Philadelphia Institute for Paralegal Training. Instead I decided to become a law librarian, which melded everything together.”
It was during her time at Case Western Reserve University that she got to know her husband Marc Merklin.
“We met during homecoming weekend in our freshman year,” she said. “I was dating his roommate at the time. He introduced me to Marc and Marc walked away and said ‘that’s the girl I’m going to marry.’
“We took some of the same classes together as undergraduates, which gave us the chance to get to know one another much better and become very close friends.”
They were married in August 1983, shortly after Merklin earned her master’s in library science from the Matthew A. Baxter School of Information and Library Science at Case Western Reserve University.
At the time of their marriage, her husband Marc was beginning his third year of law school at the university.
While she specialized in law during her master’s program, Merklin’s first job as a librarian was at the Park Synagogue in Cleveland.
When they first moved to Akron in 1984, she worked in the science and technology library at Ohio Edison (now FirstEnergy).
Then in May of 1985, after the birth of her first child, she took a part-time job as the law librarian at Western Reserve Legal Services (now Community Legal Aid).
“The position allowed me to do something that I loved while raising my three children,” said Merklin.
In 1992, Merklin started a consulting business, SRM Library Services, where she ran corporate, law firm and accounting firm libraries as an independent contractor.
Her first clients were Amer Cunningham Brennan Co. and Roderick, Myers & Linton.
“I also ran the corporate law library for FirstEnergy and a few other firms, including my husband’s firm Brouse McDowell (now part of Roetzel & Andress), which I did on and off through the years,” said Merklin. “My last consulting stint with Brouse McDowell was from 2015 to 2024.”
She also took on contractor status at Community Legal Aid until 2020 when she began doing the work pro bono.
Although she is retired, Merklin continues to give back to the community.
She is a longtime volunteer tour guide at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, escorting visitors through the Manor House and the gardens.
She is also a member of the Doggie Brigade at Akron Children’s Hospital which she has been doing since 2005.
Three of Merklin’s certified therapy dogs have been part of the hospital’s Doggie Brigade. The animals and their handlers visit patients during their hospital stays to bring them comfort.
“I began with a Bichon Frisé named Kelly from 2005 to 2009,” she said. “The second dog, Sandy, was part of the brigade from 2006 to 2017 and my current female Maltese Dani has been involved since 2018.”
In addition, Merklin is the membership chair and former president of her synagogue Beth El Congregation in Akron.
In late September, she also completed her term as president of the Ladies Golf Association at Portage Country Club.
“Both Marc and I are very active in the community,” said Merklin. “There is a Jewish phrase, Tikkun Olam, which means to repair the world.
“It’s a value we both share and passed on to our children, who all give back to their communities in various ways.”