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Vincent F. Cornelius

  • September 7, 2016 | People | ISBA News
    President Cornelius to receive NIU College of Law Alumnus of the Year Award

    ISBA President Vincent F. Cornelius will receive the NIU College of Law Alumnus of the Year Award on Wednesday, Sept. 14 from 5:30-7:30 at the University Club of Chicago. Northern Illinois University College of Law Dean Eric Dannenmaier and the NIU Law Alumni Council will honor eight outstanding alumni and friends of the school during its annual awards reception.

    The 2016 award recipients were selected based on outstanding achievements in their careers, demonstrated service to the NIU College of Law or their community, and professional integrity.

    The program will feature brief remarks beginning at 6 p.m. from the award recipients.

    The 2016 honorees include:

  • September 1, 2016 | People | ISBA News
    President Cornelius featured in Chicago Lawyer magazine

    ISBA President Vincent F. Cornelius was featured in the September issue of Chicago Lawyer magazine in an article titled "Meet the new presidents from three of Illinois’ largest bar groups."

    ISBA has been there for Vincent Cornelius since he joined fresh out of law school. When he set out to start his own practice — The Law Offices of Vincent F. Cornelius in Wheaton in 1995 and a second office in Joliet in 1999 — ISBA offered practice development programs and connected him with people who could tell him how they had done the same.

    Now as ISBA president, Cornelius is looking to convince the latest crop of lawyers out of law school that ISBA can be an important part of their career.

    “I think that’s what’s going to make the difference for us,” he says. “That’s the only way that we and similarly situated associations are going to not only survive, but thrive.”

    Read the full article at http://www.chicagolawyermagazine.com/Articles/2016/09/Meet-the-new-presidents-from-thr.aspx

  • August 11, 2016 | ISBA News
    NIU Law reception to honor ISBA President Cornelius

    Northern Illinois University College of Law is hosting a reception to honor ISBA President and NIU Law alumnus Vincent F. Cornelius (’89). Cornelius, the principal of the Law Offices of Vincent F. Cornelius - with offices in Wheaton and Joliet - concentrates his practice in civil and criminal litigation. A major focus of Cornelius' year as president will be the future of young lawyers and preparing them for the profession.

    Date and Time

    • Wednesday, August 24, 2016
    • 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

    Location

    • NIU College of Law
    • Marshall Gallery
    • DeKalb, IL

    Complimentary cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served.

    RSVP

    Please rsvp to lawevents@niu.edu by August 18

     

  • July 8, 2016 | ISBA News | Practice News
    President Cornelius testifies before Supreme Court Rules Committee

    ISBA President Vincent F. Cornelius testified Friday before the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee in support of Proposal 15-05. This proposal amends Supreme Court Rule 941 and creates Supreme Court Rule 943.

    Rule 943 would create guidelines for when restraints can be used on a minor in delinquency proceedings arising under the Juvenile Court Act. The ISBA supports Proposal 15-05. The proposal is available at www.illinoiscourts.gov/SupremeCourt/Public_Hearings/Rules/2016/070816_Proposal_15-05.pdf

    "The shackling of these minors that is automatic, routine, presumptive," President Cornelius said, "is unnecessary, inappropriate and I dare say something less than Third World."

  • June 22, 2016 | ISBA News | Practice News
    Stepping to center court

    Looking out the windows of his 7th floor corner office in downtown Joliet, ISBA President Vincent F. Cornelius is surrounded by his roots.

    Cornelius can stand in one spot and point to Washington Junior High School, which he attended and where his mother taught for 34 years; out another window is the former location of Joliet Catholic High School, where he graduated in 1982 and which has since merged with sister school Saint Francis Academy; and at a slightly different angle is the University of Saint Francis, where he graduated in 1986 as an Academic All-American basketball player.

    Cornelius - whose agenda as ISBA president includes working to brighten the future of young lawyers, advocating for diversity and inclusion in the profession, and offering relevant continuing legal education for small-firm members - says he once set foot in his office when it housed another firm and had his eyes on it for awhile.

    "I wanted this suite because the space and all of [the surroundings] meant so much to me," he says. "I can kind of walk all around my suite here and see all over town - the neighborhoods that I lived in, the memories that I had."

    Read more about President Cornelius and his plans for the coming bar year in the July Illinois Bar Journal.

  • June 15, 2016 | ISBA News
    Vincent F. Cornelius installed as 140th ISBA President

    Vincent F. Cornelius was installed as president of the 32,000-member Illinois State Bar Association on June 17, 2016. The installation took place at the association's 140th Annual Meeting at the Westin O'Hare in Rosemont. Cornelius is the Principal in the Law Office of Vincent F. Cornelius with offices in Joliet and Wheaton. He is the 140th ISBA president, and the first African American to lead the association as president. View pictures from the installation at iln.isba.org/gallery/1050/annual-meeting-2016-installation

    A major focus of Cornelius' year as president will be the future of young lawyers. Cornelius has ambitions for a collaboration with Illinois law schools and law school deans, the Illinois Supreme Court, the American Bar Association, and others to prepare young lawyers for the profession. As a small-firm attorney, Cornelius understands the concerns of his peers, including solo practitioners, and he plans to address their issues as well.

    The ISBA Annual Meeting featured programming from the association's Solo and Small Firm Conference. Cornelius will also focus on offering assistance for small-firm members through enhanced Law Practice Management Resources.

    Cornelius will also highlight diversity and inclusion in the profession, and the issue of implicit bias.

    1 comment (Most recent June 18, 2016)
  • June 6, 2014 | ISBA News
    ISBA presents Law Enforcement Award to Campton Hills Police Chief

    Daniel N. Hoffman, chief of police of the Campton Hills Police Department, received a 2014 ISBA Law on June 5, during a luncheon of the Kane County’s Mental Health Protocol Committee at the Kane County Judicial Center. ISBA 3rd Vice President Vincent F. Cornelius was on hand to present the award.

    Chief Hoffman was nominated by Judith W. Brawka, chief judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit in Kane County.

    The ISBA’s Law Enforcement Award was created to recognize sworn law enforcement officers for conduct that promotes justice and to distinguish those individuals whose service to the public brings honor and respect to the entire criminal justice system. It is given to recognize those who truly excel in the field of law enforcement. In addition to Chief Hoffman, four other law enforcement officers from judicial districts throughout Illinois will be honored.

    Chief Hoffman was recognized for an entire career devoted to community safety and service, initially as a commander in the Aurora Police Department and more recently, in Campton Hills. As a member of the Kane County Mental Health Task Force, he helped develop Crises Intervention Team protocols and training, which give first responders the tools to calm persons in a mental health crisis.

  • February 19, 2014 | Events | ISBA News
    ISBA 3rd VP Cornelius honored at event

    ISBA 3rd Vice President Vincent F. Cornelius was honored by the Black Bar Association of Will County at the group’s Annual Barrister’s Ball on Feb. 15 at the Bolingbrook Golf Club. On hand for the event were (from left) President-elect Richard D. Felice, President Paula H. Holderman, Cornelius and 2nd Vice President Umberto S. Davi.