It Happened in Crawford County: Garverick twins now attorneys in Bucyrus
Twins Madison and Mackenzie “Kenzie” Garverick have a unique perspective of what they’ve done together. They are the daughters of Scott and Tami Garverick, and their sisters are Ashley Roe and Jess Garverick. When their dad passed away in 2016, the friends who came to calling hours remarked on how proud their dad was, commenting, “so you’re the girls who are going to become attorneys.”
The girls were raised in the Colonel Crawford school district, first attending elementary at Whetstone and Sulphur Springs. Madison sang in the choir for a couple years and tried out eighth grade volleyball. Kenzie said she is very un-athletic, playing volleyball for just one season. Basically, they studied hard; they are both bookworms and enjoyed sharing books with their junior high school neighbor and friend Sarah Cichanowicz Juhlke.
Early on in high school, both girls were interested in different careers — Madison wanting to be a pediatrician and Kenzie a psychiatrist. When they were about 17, they were filling out applications for jobs. Mom had worked for Attorney Terry Gernert for several years and offered to check with him about after-school work. He hired both girls even though they didn’t have much extra time. They were already taking post-secondary college courses through North Central State College. However, they liked the jobs, and it changed their minds as to their career paths. Now, they wanted to go to law school.
The girls graduated from Colonel Crawford High School in 2015 and elected to go to OSU-Mansfield for their undergrad classes for all four years. They could commute easily, and it saved them a lot of money. They had a full ride to college based on scholarships they had received before graduating. Their goal was to save money for law school.
When they graduated in 2019 with bachelor’s degrees in social work, they both enrolled at Ohio Northern University at Ada and began studying for their juris doctor degrees. The first semester was incredibly tough; it was so different. They were taught to begin thinking like a lawyer. Then, all of sudden COVID hit and the classes went virtual. It was a difficult transition at first, but it also meant they didn’t have to commute one hour each way, saving 10 hours a week commute time and gas money. Efforts were made any way possible to save money, including sharing textbooks. Eventually they had to secure separate books so they each had room to write notes in the margins.
They completed one semester entirely online, but by the end of that semester, the school started to reopen campus for the first semester of their second year. There were many restrictions because of COVID, so about three-fourths of their classes were still online. The girls didn’t have time to commute back and forth, so they completed the online classes in the library.
During their third year, they also began working at the Crawford County Courthouse, shadowing two different magistrates for an externship. They observed the magistrates in the courtroom and helped with drafting and research. Then, in the midst of everything, Common Pleas Judge Sean Leuthold offered them jobs to clerk for him in between semesters. They did a lot of research and writing for the judge. They alternated between working for him and also with the law firm Kennedy, Purdy, Hoeffel and Gernert. It was a good opportunity because they could see the opposite side of what they had been doing. At the firm, they would see the client's perspective, but at the courthouse they would see the judicial perspective. They were careful not to make a conflict of interest by working on the same case at the firm and at the courthouse. They recused themselves if it was anything related to the firm.
It worked well. They commuted two days a week and remained online for the rest of their classes. The girls graduated with the juris doctor degrees in May 2022. After seven years of school, they were happy it was over. However, they still had to take the two-day bar exam, studying 50 hours a week for 10 weeks. About 13 weeks after the exam, the results were released and they passed in the 90% percentile. Their emotions were high. They made it and words couldn’t describe their feelings. Madison and Kenzie were sworn in by the Supreme Court of Ohio on Nov. 14, and it’s the first time they can sign their names as a lawyer.
They continued to work for the same firm, transitioning back to work after graduation, but this time as associate attorneys. They are doing a lot of court-appointed work, including criminal defense, juvenile court and custody matters. They also have private hires when people come to the firm needing advice on probate, estate and business planning matters. Clients can get all their needs taken care of at one place.
Look for part two of the Garverick twins' story next week.
Go online for more of Mary Fox’s stories and photos on bucyrustelegraphforum.com. If you are interested in sharing a story, write Mary Fox, 931 Marion Road, Bucyrus, OH 44820 or email littlefoxfactory@columbus.rr.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Twins Madison and Kenzie Garverick take the same path to a law degree
