From intern to Summit County prosecutor: How Elliot Kolkovich made it to the top

In late 2022, Elliot Kolkovich thought he had reached his dream job. After years of hard work, he had become a federal assistant attorney for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Youngstown.

But the lack of trials, slow beat of cases and partially remote office left him wanting more after eight months, so he returned to the Summit County Prosecutor's Office, where he started as an intern nearly a decade prior.

Within months of his return in January, Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced her retirement due to health reasons. She picked Kolkovich as her successor. Local Democrats quickly approved the choice, and he got to work.

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Now over a month into the job, Kolkovich hopes to bring new energy to the office that Walsh's long tenure saw evolve to encompass more than just put criminals behind bars.

"It's impossible not to give a cheesy answer," Kolkovich said about his new job, grinning. "It really is the most exciting, rewarding and fulfilling thing I've ever done."

Who is Elliot Kolkovich?

Kolkovich, 43, spent the majority of his legal career in Summit County and at the prosecutor's office he now leads, but he didn't start in law or Ohio.

Born in Staunton, Illinois, he earned an undergraduate degree in journalism while working at the student newspaper. Although he enjoyed newspaper work, he sought a different career as the industry struggled in the early 2000s. In several years, he moved four times to make that new career possible.

Washington DC, he said, buzzed with public service. Wanting to be closer to his now wife, he took this energy back to Illinois for law school. After earning his law degree, he took on two internships simultaneously in Ohio as he studied for the bar exam.

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While living just outside Columbus, Kolkovich started at the Ohio Attorney General's Office and drove the four-hour roundtrip to and from the Summit County Prosecutor's Office.

The Summit County Prosecutor's Office hooked him almost immediately.

"I liked the immediate feel I had when I walked in; there was a buzz in the office like things were going on," Kolkovich recalled. "I didn't realize it at the time, but Summit County is such a wonderful place to start as an attorney or prosecutor."

He explained that Summit County was big enough to have many interesting cases to work on while the smaller office gave the ability to take on multiple roles and projects.

The first of 36 trials

After he passed the Ohio bar exam in 2011, the Summit County Prosecutor's Office hired him as an assistant prosecutor. He started in the juvenile division before moving onto the criminal division, where he fell in love with courtroom action.

Kolkovich recalled how he won his first trial and rode into his second trial and lost. This loss, he said, still haunts him over 10 years later.

"It's just crushing," he said of his first loss. "I remember the defendant testified in my second trial and my cross examination was terrible."

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He peppered the defendant with questions without laying the groundwork, Kolkovich explained. This allowed the defendant to evade each question.

"He walked right around my questions and right out the door," Kolkovich said.

This was a learning moment, he said. Although the defeat stung, he used it to improve the courtroom skills he would rely on across 34 more trials in the criminal division.

What case impacted him the most?

During his decade-long tenure in the criminal division, Kolkovich worked on many cases, but one stood out. A family member was accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

"I remember meeting with her once, and I was talking to her about how the defendant may plead guilty and how the victim has an opportunity to speak at that," he said. "Then she stopped me."

The girl told him she was not a victim, she was a survivor, he recalled. The word "victim" is commonplace in law, but she saw herself as more than just a victim.

When the defendant pleaded guilty, Kolkovich kept that in mind.

He introduced her as a survivor.

"I just remember her guardian and counselor were just so happy in that moment," he said. "You work in an office that has 5,000 cases a year, so it was that extra moment that reminds you to never lose sight of what you're doing."

Using 'inside baseball' to plan for the future

As the Summit County prosecutor, Kolkvich spends hours each week pouring over the minutia of office and the legal system. While many might find this work yawn-inducing, he affectionately calls it "inside baseball."

It's that "inside baseball" he hopes to focus on in the months leading up to the November election.

He hopes to pull from his experience as a grand jury supervisor and his technical knowledge of case management systems to create a more efficient work structure that allows for upward mobility, increased focus on mentorships and the ability to shift workloads.

His time with grand juries and the case management system allowed him to understand how interconnected the prosecutor's office is, he explained, and how it fits into the larger court system.

"With this, you see how our decisions as a prosecutor affect the support staff who affects the advocates who affect the next thing," Kolkovich said.

At the same time, he hopes to continue and add to what his predecessor accomplished, including events, classes and programs while growing the prosecutor's office and bringing a new generation of attorneys.

With these plans, Kolkovich said he will likely not prosecute any cases this year. Instead, he will focus on his new job and learn the ropes.

Kolkovich was an intern when John Galonski first met him.

Over the years as Kolkovich rose through the ranks, Galonski noticed how he took on more tasks but always remained at ease.

"He is very humble about that," said Galonski, chief assistant prosecuting attorney in the civil division. "He is somebody who is very good at listening, analyzing and adapting if that's needed."

Over a decade later as the county prosecutor, the former intern is visiting each division in the prosecutor's office to better understand their functions, Galonski said.

Preparing for an upcoming election

This might be Kolkovich's dream job, but Summit County voters will have the final say.

In the fall, the Democrat will face off against Republican challenger John Greven, a former assistant prosecutor turned prominent defense attorney with years of legal experience.

Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Elliot Kolkovich recalls path from intern to Summit County prosecutor