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Lawyer’s murder reminds bench, bar of daily perilsBy Stephen Anderson For 33 years, Gregory Clark practiced law in Rockford. For many of those years, he was a conflict attorney for indigent clients of the Winnebago County public defender. Law enforcement officials are investigating the possible involvement of one of those clients in Mr. Clark’s murder on Feb. 6. He was shoveling snow outside his home when somebody jumped out of a blue van and shot him several times in the back. After the incident, 17th Circuit Chief Judge Janet R. Holmgren said it was a reminder of the perils that face lawyers and judges, especially criminal defense attorneys. “It’s part of the job,” she told a reporter for the Rockford Register Star. “It’s a horrible thing to think you are at risk and your family is at risk. It’s incumbent on people in those positions to do things to ensure their safety, but you also lead a life. You don’t expect the sanctity of your home to be violated.” Frank A. Perrecone, president of the Winnebago County Bar Association, said bar members “are numb, seeing one of our own gunned down for doing his job. I’ll always remember Greg’s smile; it’s ingrained in my mind. Perrecone, who serves on the ISBA Committee on Legislation and the Insurance Law Section Council, noted that a moment of silence had been held by the WCBA board, on which Mr. Clark served for three years. “Twenty years ago, there was this movement to equip courthouses with security devices to prevent violence to attorneys and judges,” he added. “The you started seeing it happening away from the courthouse. Now, it’s home. It’s in our backyard.” A day after the killing, interim associate dean Guadalupe Luna of the Northern Illinois University College of Law, commented on the nationwide increase of disruptive courtroom incidents. “Some clients seem to believe lawyers wrote the laws,” she observed in a Rockford newspaper interview. “They don’t understand that attorneys are tethered to the laws of the state.” Victim respected clientsA Rockford native, Gregory Howard Clark attended Rockford College before serving for two years in the Army. He graduated in 1975 from the Drake University Law School and returned to his home town. He was found Feb. 6 by his wife on the sidewalk outside his home and was rushed to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center with several gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead that afternoon at age 60. Criminal defense was just part of Mr. Clark’s varied law practice, which included business litigation, personal injury, family law, employment law and estate planning. His Web site included these statements: “When you come into my office, the only attorney you will deal with is me. I rely on a small core staff. Nothing gets lost in the shuffle. All of my clients are treated with honesty, fairness and respect.” As a public defense attorney, Mr. Clark accepted clients when the defenders office had conflicts, such as appeals based on ineffective assistance of counsel, or cases in which defenders were witnesses. “We are shocked and saddened,” Winnebago County Bar Association executive director Holly Nash said when she heard of Mr. Clark’s death. “He was a genuinely nice person.” Arthur R. Swanson, a friend and former colleague, echoed comments from many that he “was a good guy.” Another attorney, James T. Zuba, said he “epitomized civility in lawyers.” Outside the courtroom, Mr. Clark did volunteer work for the Rockford Symphony Orchestra, and he was a fisherman, a hunter and a golfer. Survivors include a son-in-law, Barton L. Henbest, who practiced with Gregory Clark.
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