Rockford attorney Thomas S. Johnson is among seven exemplary Illinois attorneys who have been named Laureates of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers, established in 1999 by the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA).

The Laureates will be inducted on Thursday, April 7, at a luncheon at the Westin River North Hotel, Chicago.

Johnson, a senior partner in Williams & McCarthy, was the founding chancellor of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers in 1999. He has stepped forward to spearhead countless ISBA task forces and special initiatives of the Illinois bar and is a recipient of the ISBA Award of Merit.

A past president of the Winnebago Bar Association, he has served on the ISBA Board of Governors and Assembly, and on the American Bar Association's House of Delegates. He is past chair of the board of trustees of Rockford College, which conferred on him an honorary doctorate of humane letters.

The Academy was established "to recognize lawyers who personify the highest ideals of the legal profession," said ISBA President Ole B. Pace III.

Each year, the Academy honors lawyers who have established and maintained the highest principles of the profession as demonstrated by their pervasive record of service to the law and the public, according to Pace.

The Laureates were selected by the Board of Regents from submitted nominations. To be eligible for selection, candidates must have practiced law primarily in Illinois for at least 25 years, must be a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, and must have demonstrated a commitment to the highest principles of the legal profession and to serving the public.

Johnson joins 66 other Illinois lawyers who have been designated as Laureates of the Academy of Illinois Lawyers.

The 30,000-member ISBA, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public.
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[Note: Previous years' Laureates are profiled at http://www.isba.org/laureates/laureates.html]