Lawyer takes on politically popular name before launching campaign for judgeship
Image from Shutterstock.com.
Michigan lawyer Nicholas John Bobak is running for a judgeship with a new name.
The lawyer added his wife’s politically popular “Hathaway” surname to his name, making his new legal name Nicholas John Bobak Hathaway, the Detroit Free Press reports in a story noted by the Associated Press.
On his campaign website, he uses the shorter name Nicholas John Hathaway.
He is seeking a judgeship in Wayne County, Michigan, where at least 10 people with that last name have served as judges in the last 20 years. Currently, three judges in Wayne County have the last name Hathaway, as does a retired judge who is helping hear cases.
He told the Detroit Free Press that he changed his name to honor his wife, who has been a judge since 2013.
“If I had a nickel for every time an attorney asked me ‘Are you going to change your name and run for judge?’ I wouldn’t need a job,” he told the publication. “This is a decision we made within the bounds of our family and our marriage.”
