Makela A. Hayford
Staff Attorney

Email Makela
Office: 330-434-3461
Cell: 330-217-3558

Education: Case Western Reserve University, B.A., Case Western Reserve University School of Law, J.D.

Practice: Criminal Law

Makela Hayford is an Ohio attorney committed to advocating for people navigating powerful institutions and difficult circumstances. She earned her law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 2022. In law school, she served as President of both the Student Bar Association and the Black Law Students Association.

Her work includes First Amendment advocacy through the Initiative for a Representative First Amendment at Harvard Law School, where she helped defend the speech and protest rights of marginalized communities. She has also represented hundreds of low-income tenants facing eviction and unsafe housing conditions across Northeast Ohio, advocated for Black trans women and LGBTQIA+ immigrants, and represented people living with HIV/AIDS in civil matters to preserve their access to life-sustaining medication.

Makela brings rigor, compassion, and creativity to her practice. She works to understand each client’s circumstances and to provide representation that reflects their lived realities, priorities, and goals. She believes the law should be a source of dignity, fairness, and protection for all people, not only for those with power. Makela once won a case by climbing into a dumpster with a camera, and she would absolutely do it again. Makela joined the Summit Legal Defenders in January of 2026.