Justice David Overstreet to Administer Oath to New Attorneys in Mt. Vernon

Justice David K. Overstreet of the Illinois Supreme Court will administer the attorney’s oath to 12 new lawyers on Wednesday, May 6, in the Fifth 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 Fifth Judicial District will begin at 2 p.m. at the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts located at 2600 Richview Road in Mt. Vernon.

Justice Overstreet will preside over the ceremony. Laura Beasley, Chair of the Fifth District Character and Fitness Committee, Sarah Taylor of the Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors and J. Nelson Wood, Chairperson of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, will serve as speakers.

William Richardson, the former Deputy Chief Counsel for the Department of Corrections, will make the motion to admit the class. The motion will be seconded by Jerome McDonald, an attorney at Black, Ballard, McDonald, P.C.

Guests of the Illinois Supreme Court will include Fifth District Appellate Court Justice James Hackett, Fifth Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Mark Bovard, Twentieth Judicial Circuit Associate Judge Alana Mejias, Fourth Judicial Circuit Judge Bradley Paisley and Second Judicial Circuit Judge Jo Beth Weber.

Justice Overstreet will rule on the motion, administer the attorney’s oath, and make remarks. A reception hosted by the Illinois State Bar Association will follow the ceremony.

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 Mt. Vernon, ceremonies will be held Wednesday in Chicago, Elgin, Joliet, and Springfield.

The Fifth Judicial District is composed of 48 counties: Alexander, Bond, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Lawrence, Macon, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Montgomery, Moultrie, Perry, Piatt, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, Shelby, St. Clair, Union, Vermilion, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, and Williamson.

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