Supreme Court Justices to Administer Oath to New Attorneys in Chicago

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr., Justice Joy V. Cunningham, and Justice Sanjay T. Tailor will preside over the ceremony to admit 208 new lawyers in Chicago on Wednesday, May 6, in the First Judicial District.

The group is among 279 individuals who will be sworn in and admitted to the practice of law in Illinois during bar admission ceremonies held in the state’s five Supreme Court judicial districts.

The bar admission ceremony in the First Judicial District will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Harris Theater located at 205 E. Randolph Street. Justice Cunningham will provide welcome remarks followed by Justice Tailor, who will provide admission remarks.

Speakers representing bar associations at the ceremony will be Jawad Shalabi, President of the Arab American Bar Association of Illinois, Judge Lori Rosen, First Vice President of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, and Judge Bridget C. Duignan, President of the Illinois State Bar Association, who will each deliver remarks.

First Appellate Court Justice Sharon Oden Johnson will make the motion to admit the class. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Maury Slattery Boyle and Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas M. Donnelly will second the motion.

Chief Justice Neville will then administer the Attorney’s Oath with remarks.

Bar association representatives present for the ceremony will also include Kathy E. Bojczuk of the Advocates Society, Stephen Lee of the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago, Judge Travis Richardson (Ret.) of the Black Men Lawyers’ Association, Joan Akalaonu of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Kevin P. Kelley of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago, Judge Nichole C. Patton of the Chicago Bar Association, Antonio C. Lee of the Cook County Bar Association, Angelo Tzivas of the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois, Andrea Belard of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, Catherine Locallo of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, Vincent Rizzo of LAGBAC - Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association, Judge Lucy Vazquez-Gonzalez of the Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois, Margot Klein of the Seventh Circuit Bar Association, Saman Haque of the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago, and Katherine Twardak of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. John H. Simpson will be the representative from the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar.

All of the candidates have passed the Illinois State Bar Examination and a required ethics examination and were certified by the Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. In addition to Chicago, ceremonies will be held Wednesday in Elgin, Joliet, Springfield, and Mt. Vernon.

(FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: James Brunner, Public Information Officer of the Illinois Supreme Court at 217.208.3354 or jbrunner@illinoiscourts.gov.)