Introducing the John E. Thies Excellence in Legal Education Award

The Illinois State Bar Association is pleased to introduce the John E. Thies Excellence in Legal Education Award.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice David K. Overstreet presented Past President John E. Thies (2012-13) with a Certificate of Recognition during the first day of the NextGen Symposium 2025, which was held at the ISBA Regional Office.

The Standing Committee on Legal Education, Admissions, and Competence has renamed this award in honor of John E. Thies with the endorsement of the ISBA Board of Governors. This award recognizes Mr. Thies’ continued hard work and devotion to strengthening the working relationship between the ISBA and Illinois area law schools over the last two decades.

During his tenure as ISBA President, and in the years since, Mr. Thies has led the charge in trying to emphasize the importance of the relationship between ISBA and Illinois area law schools. He enlisted and worked with Hon. Ann Jorgensen and former ISBA President Dennis Orsey to study the crippling effects of law school debt, and how the bar association and law schools could work together to help mitigate the problem.

That study resulted in a focus on practice readiness and identified the need for what eventually became the Rural Practice Initiative. It also spurred Hon. Vincent Cornelius, during his term as ISBA President, to put together a consortium of law school deans to focus on the working relationship between ISBA and our law schools and encourage more emphasis on practice ready programs in the law schools.