Magistrate Paula Durden earned her Juris Doctorate from Ohio Northern University in 1986. She has served in numerous legal roles since. She has served as: Assistant City Attorney for the City of Dayton Law Department Civil Division, Associate at McKinney and Associates Law Firm, Staff Attorney at Legal Aid Society of Dayton, Legal Counsel for the Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority, Magistrate at the City of Dayton Municipal Court, and since 2005, as a Magistrate for the Montgomery County Juvenile Court. She is the wife of Aaron G. Durden, Attorney at Law, and the proud mother of two.