On Monday, Gov. Mike Parson filled two associated circuit judge vacancies on opposite sides of the state.
For the Seventh Judicial Circuit, Alisha O’Hara will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of the David Chamberlain to Circuit Judge. For the 21st Judicial Circuit, Virginia Lay will fill the vacancy created by the end of Judy P. Draper’s term.
O’Hara, of Kansas City, has been practicing law since 2007. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.
During her career, O’Hara has served as an Assistant Public Defender, an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, and currently Supervising Attorney of the Child Support Division of Clay County. O’Hara is also an adjunct professor at Missouri Western State University as well as a parent educator with the Clay County Family Court.
O’Hara is currently a member of the Clay County Bar Association, Association of Women Lawyers, and Missouri Child Support Enforcement Association.
Lay, of Clayton, is a Special Assistant Circuit Attorney for the Missouri Division of Employment Security as well as an adjunct professor at Washington University School of Law. She earned a B.A. in English and American Studies from Columbia University and a Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law.
Lay is currently a member of the Missouri Bar Association, St. Louis County Bar Association, as well as the Missouri Bar: Criminal Practice and Procedure Committee, and the Missouri Bar: Criminal Practice and Procedure Committee.
Alisha Shurr was a reporter for The Missouri Times and The Missouri Times Magazine. She joined The Missouri Times in January 2018 after working as a copy editor for her hometown newspaper in Southern Oregon. Alisha is a graduate of Kansas State University.
