Beth Walker

An advocate for public engagement and civics education, Beth Walker served as justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia from 2017 to 2025, including two terms as chief justice in 2019 and 2023.

Currently a senior status retired justice, she recently chaired the advisory committee to propose rule changes to the Code of Judicial Conduct and continues to assist with special Court projects.

Walker is a founding co-host of “Lady Justice: Women of the Court,” a podcast in partnership with the National Center of State Courts, featuring state supreme court justices discussing the judicial branch of government and their experiences on their state’s highest appellate court.

She founded and chaired the West Virginia Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being and currently serves on the advisory committee to the American Bar Association Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs. She is an active volunteer in support of the West Virginia Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program.

Walker graduated from Hillsdale College in 1987, earned her law degree in 1990 from The Ohio State University College of Law and then spent her entire professional career working in West Virginia.

For more than 25 years before taking the bench, she concentrated her practice on labor and employment law, first as a partner with the regional law firm Bowles Rice and then as associate general counsel for WVU Medicine. She is a fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. 

Walker is also an alum and former board chair of Leadership West Virginia. A lifelong Girl Scout, she also served as chair and long-time member of the board of directors of Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council.