Colleen O’Toole is an Assistant Professor of Law at St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law. Professor O’Toole is an accomplished lawyer with a distinguished career in both U.S. and foreign legal systems. Before joining St. Thomas, Professor O’Toole served as the Ashtabula County Prosecutor in Jefferson, Ohio, where she and her team managed complex criminal and civil cases, representing the county’s 40 civil entities, and prosecuting all major felonies, including death penalty cases.

In addition to her experience as a prosecutor, Professor O’Toole served as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Academy, as a judicial member, and as a legal consultant for the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. As one of two American judges to sit in the expert chamber of the Commercial Court in Abu Dhabi, she resolved complex commercial cases and assisted the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department in developing and pioneering international best practices throughout its legal system. Her work resulted in recommendations to improve procedures, leading her to serve on the World Bank Doing Business Committee to enhance the UAE’s standing on economically efficient systems favorable to international commerce.

Professor O’Toole also served two terms as a judge in the Eleventh District Court of Appeals in Ohio, writing over 800 published opinions and contributing to the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission. She is an active member of the American Bar Association, an Ohio State Bar Foundation Fellow, a member of the executive committee of the Appellate Judges Education Institute, affiliated with the National Judicial College, and a faculty member of the National District Attorneys Association.

Professor O’Toole founded ODIS, LLC., an award-winning tech startup providing legal interpretation services for courts in 170 languages, including American Sign Language, on personal and mobile devices.

Her work focuses on reforming the legal process to provide more effective, efficient, and accountable access to justice. She earned her J.D. from Cleveland State Law School and an LL.M. in Judicial Studies from Duke University Law School.