Jerome E. Larkin took office March 19 as administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. For the previous 11 years, he had been deputy administrator to Mary Robinson, whose last day was March 16.

Simultaneously, ARDC chief counsel James J. Grogan took on additional responsibilities as deputy administrator. Both men have devoted their entire legal careers to the registration and disciplinary system.

Larkin, a graduate of the Loyola Uni-ver-sity School of Law, joined the ARDC in 1978 as staff counsel. He became chief counsel in 1984 and assistant administrator in 1986.

A past president of the National Or--gan---ization of Bar Counsel, he recently received its President's Award for Lifetime Achievement. Loyola has also honored him with its Robert Bellarmine Award.

Robinson lauded Larkin's appointment, saying “I know he will throw his full energies into assuring that the ARDC will remain effective in its task of lawyer regulation and responsive to the challenges inherent in the changing face of the profession.”

Commission chair Benedict Schwarz II added that Larkin “has a wealth of experience and contacts in the lawyer discipline field, and he is the person most familiar with the administrative challenges of running the ARDC.”

Grogan, also a Loyola law graduate, joined the ARDC legal staff in 1979. Like Larkin, he is a past president of the National Organization of Bar Counsel.

He serves on the advisory committee of the National Center for Prosecution Ethics of the National College of District Attorneys, and teaches legal ethics at Loyola, where he is an adjunct professor, and DePaul.

Grogan has lectured on professional re--sponsibility during countless seminars and basic skills courses conducted by the ISBA and other bar-related organizations.

Larkin is only the fourth administrator in the 24-year history of the ARDC. Preceding him were Carl H. Rolewick, 1973 to 1988; John C. O'Malley, 1988 to 1992, and Mary Robinson, 1992 to 2007.