Peoria attorney Tim Bertschy, who has championed many important causes during his long and distinguished legal career, will receive the prestigious Lincoln the Lawyer Award from The Abraham Lincoln Association during the organization's annual Lincoln's Birthday Banquet on February 12 in Springfield.

Bertschy will be the 13th person to receive the Lincoln the Lawyer Award, which recognizes individuals whose legal careers reflect the character and ideals of Abraham Lincoln.

Bertschy recently retired as a partner at the Peoria office of Heyl Royster Voelker & Allen PC. He grew up in Peoria, attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and obtained his law degree from George Washington University. Bertschy was hired following law school graduation by Heyl Royster in 1977 and worked there for more than 41 years. He spent the majority of his career handling business litigation and local government issues, winning a number of substantial and precedent-setting verdicts in the process.

Bertschy won the Illinois State Bar Association's (ISBA) Lincoln Writing Award as a young attorney, earned a seat on the ISBA board, and was later elected the organization's president. Bertschy was part of an ISBA team that helped to transform Illinois' complex system of statutes into a more logical and user-friendly system. As ISBA president, Bertschy led the board to call for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty following several high-profile exonerations, and proposed the adoption of a fund that provides money for defendants in capital cases who can’t afford adequate legal representation.

Bertschy and Chicago attorney Michael Pope co-chaired a project to provide legal services for the needy, which resulted in the creation of the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation. The foundation helps families in crisis, victims of domestic violence, and senior citizens facing abuse and financial exploitation.

Bertschy's award will be presented during the annual Abraham Lincoln Association Birthday Banquet on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in Springfield. The featured speaker at the banquet will be fellow Peoria resident Ray LaHood, former long-term Illinois Congressman and U.S. Transportation Secretary.