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A long-term restoration project between the Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s office and the Supreme Court of Illinois has led to the discovery of some rare, historic documents involving famous and infamous Illinois attorneys.

“I am pleased with the results of this project, which sought to restore and preserve a unique facet of our state’s history,” said White, who also serves as State Archivist. “Since 2010, the State Archives Department has been restoring attorney oaths for the Supreme Court. Approximately 142,000 oaths, some preceding the Civil War, have been restored.”

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier said, “The Court recently had the opportunity to tour the State Archives and see, firsthand, the efforts being made there to conserve these important documents. Attorney oaths offer scholars, educators and students a very tangible, but very fragile connection to the lawyers who have helped shape our laws and the legal profession over the past two centuries. The Court is extremely grateful to the Archives for everything it has done to ensure that this irreplaceable record of the legal profession’s history is preserved and protected for future generations. The work done by the Archives’ staff has been nothing less than extraordinary.”

The law firm of SmithAmundsen recently promoted the following attorneys to partner based on professional achievement: Thomas Hayden, Yesha Sutaria Hoeppner, and Kay Weiler.

Thomas Hayden is a member of the Construction and Product Liability practice groups in the firm’s Chicago office. He focuses on a wide range of areas including products liability, construction negligence, transportation, retail claims, and municipal tort liability. He has represented clients in matters involving commercial litigation, real estate, regulatory issues, civil rights, and numerous other areas of law, and has experience defending personal injury and insurance subrogation claims.

Yesha Sutaria Hoeppner is a member of the Class Action, Commercial Litigation and Toxic Tort & Environmental practice groups in the firm’s Chicago office. She defends clients ranging from small businesses to publicly traded, multimillion dollar companies in a wide variety of class action cases in federal and state courts across the country. Yesha regularly serves clients dealing with consumer fraud and marketing related issues, product defect, breach of contract, and violations of statutes and regulations.

E. Lawrence "Larry" Oldfield, 72, passed away March 18, 2017. Larry was born December 21, 1944 in Lake Forest and was raised in Brooklyn, NY.

He attended Long Island University and Wheaton College. He joined the U.S. Army and served in the 3rd Missile Battalion, 21st Artillery Regiment, where he earned the nickname "Barney" as the Colonel's driver. He received his B.A. in political science from Northern Illinois University and became a Federal Agent for HUD before enrolling at DePaul University Law School in Chicago.

Larry was as an attorney for Ruff & Grotefeld, Ltd., The Hartford Fire Insurance Company as general counsel in the Livestock Department for 10 years, and in 1987, started his own firm, E. Lawrence Oldfield & Associates, in Oak Brook. He then founded Oldfield & Fox, P.C. in 2000. Since 2015, Larry was of counsel, for Stock, Carlson, Oldfield & McGrath LLC. Larry defended litigation cases involving cattle rustling and the sale or purchase of stolen or mortgaged livestock in 26 states and 19 federal jurisdictions, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He was involved in 15 reported appellate cases in the United States, including one that was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. He was the preferred legal counsel in the United States for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), and an annual speaker at their conference. He held the highest peer review rating (AV-Preeminent) from Martindale-Hubbell.

John Darrah, age 78, devoted husband, loving father of five, loving stepfather of five, proud grandfather of nineteen, and doting great-grandfather of three, passed away peacefully at his home March 23, 2017. Born on December 11, 1938, on Chicago's south side, Jack was the eldest son of Paul and Adele Darrah.

Following his graduation from Mt. Carmel High School, Jack went to Loyola University where he graduated with a degree in philosophy. Jack attended night school while working at the Chicago pipeyard. He graduated from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1969. He served as an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission from 1969 to 1971. From 1971 until 1973, he was a deputy public defender for the DuPage County Public Defender's Office. Jack was a DuPage County assistant state's attorney from 1973 until 1976. Then, Jack went into private practice at Ryan & Darrah. In 1986, Jack was elected to serve in the State Court, assigned to the Chancery Division of the 18th Judicial Circuit, DuPage County. Jack served in this capacity until 2000, when he was appointed to the United States Federal District Court for the Northern District of Illinois by President Bill Clinton. In addition to his time on the bench, Jack served as an adjunct professor at Northern Illinois University College of Law and The John Marshall Law School. Jack remained active in the legal community mentoring countless attorneys throughout their careers.