Over 1,200 New Illinois Lawyers to Be Admitted on Thursday
New attorneys will be admitted to practice in Illinois on Thursday, Nov. 8, with Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court justices presiding and administering the attorney's oath to 1,283 new attorneys at five separate locations across the state.
All of the candidates set to be sworn in have passed the Illinois State Bar Examination and a required ethics examination and were certified by the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. They will bring the total number of licensed attorneys in Illinois to approximately 98,000.
The largest group, 1,051, will be admitted in the First Judicial District during two ceremonies at the Arie Crown Theater, located at 2301 S. Lake Shore Drive, in Chicago. The ceremonies will be at 9:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Illinois Supreme Court Justices Mary Jane Theis and P. Scott Neville, Jr., will preside over the morning ceremony.
Guests of the morning ceremony will include Steven M. Elrod, president of the Chicago Bar Association; Kalia Coleman, vice-president of the Black Woman Lawyers' Association; and Randy K. Johnson of the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar. Appellate Justice Mary K. Rochford and Jerome E. Larkin will move for admission of the class.
Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr., will preside over the afternoon ceremony.
Guests of the second First District ceremony will include Illinois State Bar Association Second Vice President Dennis Orsey, Urie Clark, president of the Cook County Bar Association; Radhika Lohia, president of the Asian American Bar Association; and Thomas Clancy of the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar. Stephen D. Phillips will move for admission of the class. John S. Mrowiec will second the motion.
In addition to Chicago, ceremonies will be held Thursday in Carbondale, Elgin, Joliet, and Springfield.
Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier will preside over the Fifth Judicial District ceremony at 2 p.m. in the Auditorium of Southern Illinois University's School of Law in Carbondale. The speakers for the ceremony will include SIU Professor Suzanne Schmitz, who is a member of the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar, and attorney Perry Browder, who is on the Board of Governors for the Illinois State Bar Association.
Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Thomas will preside over the Second Judicial District ceremony at 10 a.m. at Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, in Elgin. James F. McCluskey, president of the Illinois State Bar Association, will make the motion to admit the class. Attorney Robert Handley will second the motion.
Supreme Court Justice Thomas L. Kilbride will preside over the Third Judicial District ceremony at 1 p.m. at the Renaissance Center, 214 North Ottawa Street, in Joliet. The speaker for the ceremony will be David B. Sosin, President Elect of the Illinois State Bar Association.
Supreme Court Justice Rita B. Garman will preside over the Fourth Judicial District ceremony, which will begin at 10 a.m. in the Auditorium of the Michael J. Howlett Building, Second and Jackson Street, in Springfield. Attorney Angelica Wawrzynek, who is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association's Board of Governors, will make remarks.