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Starting in November, Champaign attorney Mark C. Palmer will join the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism as its full-time Professionalism Counsel. While he will maintain an office at the Commission’s Chicago office, he primarily will be based in Champaign and serve the entire State.

Palmer will lead the development and delivery of programs state-wide on promoting integrity, professionalism and civility among Illinois lawyers and judges on behalf of the Illinois Supreme Court. His role will include collaborating with law schools, bar associations, courts, civic and lay organizations in addressing matters of professionalism, ethics, and public understanding of the legal profession.

Prior to joining the Commission, Palmer was in private practice at the Champaign law firm Evans, Froehlich, Beth & Chamley where his law practice focused on areas including commercial litigation, municipal law, banking law, and creditor’s rights, among others. He represented private and appointed clients in both civil and criminal cases in state and federal courts.

Palmer will continue his work as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law in its trial advocacy program and as a Trial Teams’ Coach since 2009. Additionally, he will stay on as an Instructor for the University of Illinois Police Training Institute where he has trained hundreds of law enforcement officers in Illinois on topics such as use of force and police liability.

The widely respected Chicago-based personal injury law firm of Burke Wise Morrissey Kaveny (BWMK) recently named Brian T. Monico a partner of the firm.

Monico joined BWMK in 2011. Before that, he practiced for six years at Propes & Kaveny LLC with Lorna E. Propes, now a judge in the Cook County Circuit Court Law Division, and BWMK’s Elizabeth A. Kaveny.

Monico also served as an assistant state’s attorney in the Criminal Appeals Division of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and was a judicial extern to Chief Judge Charles P. Kocoras of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Before that he worked for Merrill Lynch and the Bank of New York Capital Markets.

“It is easy to spot a star in a dark starry-filled night sky, but not quite so easy in the crowded streets of the Chicago Loop and the dark halls and courtrooms of the Richard J. Daley Center,” said Kaveny of her long-time colleague.  “Nonetheless, Brian Monico shone like a star from the beginning of his legal career, and I am so thankful that my former partner, Lorna Propes, and I had the vision to see what an outstanding trial attorney he would rise to become.  I am proud to now see him rise even higher and welcome him as my partner at BWMK.”

Joseph Tybor, the longtime Chicago journalist and press secretary for the Illinois Supreme Court, died Saturday at his home in Countryside. He was 68.

Tybor’s 30-year journalism career included comprehensive coverage of a broad array of subjects, including the Vietnam War, Notre Dame football and his must-read “On the Law” column that ran weekly in the Chicago Tribune.

For the past decade and a half he was a diligent advocate for the Illinois Supreme Court and spearheaded key changes to the Open Meetings Act, which allowed cameras into Illinois courtrooms for the first time.

"My colleagues and I are deeply saddened by Joe’s passing. He was truly dedicated to his role as the voice of the Illinois Supreme Court, and we watched in awe as he continued to carry out his duties even as he fought his illness," Chief Justice Rita B. Garman said. "He was an example to us all of courage and strength. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, in which he took such great pride. We will miss his professionalism, his optimism, and his cheerful demeanor."

“His relationships with reporters and his love and passion for the law made him such an absolute great fit at the Supreme Court,” Tybor’s son, Adam Tybor, said. “He was amazing at his job - he fought for his beliefs."

Molly Warner Lien, age 67, died on September 11, 2015, at the Meijer Heart Center in Grand Rapids as a result of cardiomyopathy and complications of heart surgery. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 26, 1948, the only child of the late Cornelius and Donna (Dora M.) Beukema. She grew up in Homewood, Illinois, and she attended the Interlochen Arts Camp, and finished her last two years of high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy, graduating in 1966 with a major in voice. She won the concerto competition twice at the Arts Camp and again during her senior year at the Arts Academy. She also played the leads in several productions, including those by Gilbert & Sullivan, and the high school musical. 

After attending the University of Michigan her freshman year, she graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in music. She sang numerous operatic roles, but ultimately was drawn to a career in law. She graduated with honors from the Emory University School of Law in Atlanta in 1978 where she was President of the Women’s Law Student Association, Articles Editor of the Law Review, a member of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honorary Society, and a member of the Order of the Coif. She was also voted the Wall Street Journal Award by the Faculty for Outstanding Academic Achievement in the field of law.