Nominate top practice icon as a Laureate

Nominations of distinguished Illinois attorneys and retired judges for recognition as Laureates of the ISBA Academy of Illinois Lawyers will be accepted through Friday, Dec. 1.

The Academy was established in 1999 to celebrate excellence in the legal profession and to recognize lawyers throughout the state who maintain the highest professional standards.

The Laureates are selected each year by members of the Academy Board of Regents. Nominees must be members of the Illinois State Bar Association who exemplify values and ideals of the best of the legal profession.

Candidates must have practiced law primarily in Illinois for at least 25 years, and have demonstrated a commitment to principles of the profession through a record of service to the law and the public.

A Laureate may be selected posthumously within three years of his or her death.

Lawyers who are not eligible include ISBA past presidents, sitting ISBA board members (and for 24 months thereafter), sitting Academy Regents (and for 24 months thereafter), and sitting jurists.

Laureate nominations must be made in writing and should contain the nominee's full name and address, his or her firm's name and location of practice, and complete biographical information.

The nominator should provide a statement of reasons for the nomination, along with written letters of reference from no more than 10 personal and 10 professional acquaintances.

The nomination packets should be sent to Stephen Anderson, Academy of Illinois Lawyers, Suite 900, 20 S. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60603, so they arrive by Dec. 1.