Joe Kubit grew up working on motorcycles and cars, but his parents always pushed him to study and pursue other careers.

Around the age of 11, Kubit and his family were in a car accident that left his parents and one of his sisters dead. But the Cabot resident continued to follow his parents' advice to study and go to school, and since 1998 he has been a partner with Montgomery, Crissman, Kubit, LLP, a Butler law firm.

Over the years he has practiced in several areas of the law, including personal injury, real estate disputes and domestic relations. And before that he worked as a law clerk for a judge on the state's Superior Court.

Now, he intends to run in the upcoming election in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas this year.

A county judicial position will be on the ballot in 2021 due to Judge Thomas Doerr's decision not to seek a fourth, 10-year term.

In Pennsylvania, Common Pleas judges, district judges and school board candidates can cross-file in both parties for primary elections.

Kubit said he made the decision after long consideration.

“I want to be a resource for the community. I've thought about this for a while,” Kubit said. “Not something I decided recently. I feel like now is the right time for me. With the modest experience I have, I'd be well suited for this position.”After graduating from Knoch High School, Kubit knew he wanted to practice law. He attended Butler County Community College where he received an associates degree in secondary education.After that he went to the University of Pittsburgh, where he majored in psychology and minored in history.“I always enjoyed working with people. And psychology is something I found interesting. I like to work with people and to be able to communicate and understand others,” Kubit said.He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1987, and in 1990 he was awarded a Jurist Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh.During his time in law school he worked as a summer associate at the law firm where he is currently a partner.From 1991 to 1992, he served the late Judge Zoran Popovich of the state's Superior Court.“I learned a great deal from being there,” Kubit said.One lesson, he said was “the importance of a lower court judge to get it right the first time.”The state's Superior Court is an appeals court where decisions made by a Common Pleas judge are challenged through legal proceedings.“The litigation process. is a stressful time for everyone there,” Kubit said. “When individuals and families have to come before court it's a costly and stressful time, so to have to do it all over again at the higher level can be hard.”In 1992, he returned to his current law firm, where he worked as an associate attorney until 1998.“The skill, the ethical firmness of the lawyers in this firm and the great respect they had and their kindness to me interested me in working here,” Kubit said. “I worked for a busy trial lawyer — personal injury defense practice and litigation in general — so he helped with that stuff. I learned a lot from that process.”Kubit said his experience would translate well to being a Common Pleas judge if he's elected.“Being a judge is a huge responsibility and I hope my colleagues and people I've worked with have confidence that I'd work their matters very seriously,” Kubit said.He said he has considered running for several years deciding now was a good opportunity.“I believe that I've been blessed with a great 30 years of experience serving people in this county, and I'm blessed to have had their confidence and helped them through disputes,” Kubit said.Kubit maintains a tie with BC3 as chairman of its board of trustees.Kubit and his wife, Susan, have an 18-year-old daughter, Julie. The couple adopted her when she was an infant. Julie attends Knoch High School, and Kubit said she has special needs.And while Kubit works six days a week, he tried to make time for his family and still maintains an interest in mechanics.“I work six days a work. It's kind of the way I was wired. I come from humble stock. I learned the value of hard work since I was a kid,” Kubit said. “In spare time I like to work on cars and motorcycles. My dad had a small trucking company. We would repair old trucks to keep them going.”

Joe Kubit