George P. McCarthy.

George P. McCarthy.

Gov. John R. Kasich appointed George P. McCarthy to the Athens County Common Pleas Court on Monday.

McCarthy will take office on May 28, and must run in the November 2014 general election to retain the seat for the unexpired term, which ends December 31, 2016. McCarthy replaces retired Judge Michael W. Ward.

McCarthy joins Judge L. Alan Golsberry on the court, which handles general and domestic relations matters.

McCarthy received his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1987, and earned his law degree from the Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law in 1990. Since 2002, he has worked at Mollica, Gall, Sloan, Sillery & McCarthy Co., LPA.

In 2003, McCarthy founded Athens Sandlot Baseball, and remains a board member of the organization. In addition to being a volunteer firefighter and legal advisor for the Richland Area Fire Department since 1995, McCarthy is also a member of the Benevolent and Protected Order of Elks.