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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 2004

Sterling Lawyer to be Installed as
President of Illinois State Bar Association

Ole Bly Pace III, a principal in the Sterling, Illinois law firm of Ward, Murray, Pace & Johnson, P.C., will be installed as president of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) at the organization's Annual Meeting June 17-19 at The Abbey Resort, in Lake Geneva, Wis.

The 30,000-member ISBA, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public.

Pace concentrates his law practice in state and federal civil litigation, employment law, and education law. During his year as president, he will focus the association's efforts on both new and existing initiatives.

ISBA will convene leaders of the profession in December to seek effective ways to anticipate and respond to future trends that can affect how the profession serves its constituencies.

Pace will continue the ISBA's fight against the unauthorized practice of law. In recent years, the organization has filed lawsuits to stop businesses and individuals who sell unlicensed legal services from causing serious injuries to consumers.

Under his leadership, ISBA will pay special attention to the need to support the independence and integrity of the judiciary, especially during this year's judicial elections. Pace will continue ISBA's efforts to work for a fair solution to the medical malpractice insurance situation in Illinois.

Another priority will be to work to increase participation in the state bar association by lawyers from racial and ethnic minorities.

Pace was elected third vice president in 2001, putting him in line to succeed to the office of president this year. A long-time member of the ISBA, Pace was elected to its Board of Governors and Assembly in 1994. He has actively served on numerous ISBA committees.

Pace is a member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association. He is included in The Best Lawyers in America, a publication widely regarded as the preeminent referral guide to the legal profession in the U.S.

Pace is a past president of the Whiteside County Bar Association, the Greater Sterling Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Sinnissippi Mental Health Center. He serves on the community board of U.S. Bank in Sterling, Rock Falls, and Dixon.

Pace did his undergraduate work at Dartmouth College and Illinois Wesleyan University. He received his law degree from the University of Illinois, where he was an editor of the law review, and was elected to the national legal honorary society, Order of the Coif.

He and his wife, Sheryl Snow Pace, have three grown children.