Hon. April Troemper urges law students to aim high

By Alice Noble-Allgire, Professor, SIU School of Law “Set your sights high, realizing that when life throws you an obstacle, there’s always Plan B and sometimes Plan C” — that was the message Judge April Troemper delivered to students at a Women in Leadership Workshop hosted by Southern Illinois University School of Law last month. A 1998 graduate of the SIU law school, Judge Troemper was asked to give the opening day’s luncheon address on January 13 to inspire students to follow in her footsteps as a successful attorney, a member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s Board of Governors and, most recently, among the esteemed ranks of the state’s judiciary as an Associate Circuit Judge for the Seventh Judicial Circuit in Springfield. Judge Troemper used her own experience to demonstrate that hard work, perseverance, and creating genuine relationships are the pathway to leadership.  After describing a number of personal and financial obstacles that threatened her ability to attend college, Judge Troemper said that’s when she learned an important life’s lesson: “When life throws a huge obstacle in the way, come up with a Plan B and go around it.” Judge Troemper employed that advice in finding her way into college and again after graduating from law school.  Her lifelong dream was to become a judge and she planned to get there after gaining experience as a criminal attorney. But she had to turn down the federal defense post she was offered because of its location. So she modified her career plan by taking a position in a law firm specializing in medical malpractice defense and developing a “Plan B” to make partner in a law firm. En route to that goal, she was encouraged to set her sights on a leadership role within the Illinois State Bar Association and won a statewide election to a position on the Board of Governors in 2008. In trying to balance her career and her family, the mother of two confessed that there was a period where she felt inadequate in both roles. With the support of an understanding spouse, however, she pushed forward and ultimately achieved her goal of a judgeship last year, becoming the fifth female judge to ever serve on the six-county circuit. Judge Troemper encouraged students to take advantage of networking opportunities and membership in bar organizations, but “be true to yourself.”  That means creating genuine relationships through bar association work, she said, rather than attempting to forge fake connections for selfish reasons. “You have to take advantage of opportunities where you can prove yourself not only as an attorney but as a leader,” she said. In balancing her work and family, she did not have the same opportunities to create relationships on the golf course or at other social gatherings, “so I had to prove my abilities in some other ways.” Judge Troemper’s address was the featured event on the first day of the Women in Leadership workshop, which is the introductory course of SIU’s new Women in Leadership program. The program was developed in 2010 as a way of addressing the under-representation of women in leadership positions in the legal profession Thirty students – both men and women – attended the 2011 workshop, which featured programs on leadership attributes and skills; gender and communication; gender and negotiation; gender in the legal workplace; networking; developing a personal/professional brand; seeking election to leadership positions; and balancing career and family. The program concluded with a networking dinner with practicing attorneys and judges.