Justice Mary K. O’Brien and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Leah D. Setzen as a Circuit Judge in the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, DuPage County. 

Ms. Setzen was appointed to fill the At-Large vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable John J. Kinsella. The appointment is effective April 10, 2023, and will conclude December 2, 2024, following the November 2024 general election. 

"As a lifelong DuPage County resident, Leah has been involved in the business community as well as many local school and social organizations,” Justice O’Brien said. “When she takes the bench as a circuit judge, those life experiences will help frame her decision-making. She will serve her community well as a circuit court judge." 

Ms. Setzen has worked at Sefton Kelly Family Law, formerly Grunyk Family Law, for the last 17 years and has been a Partner for the last 11 years. She handles all aspects of contested family law cases from inception through trial and appeal and mediates and arbitrates family law matters as court-appointed and private mediator and arbitrator. She also provides monthly case law analysis and presentations to DuPage Bar Association Family Law Committee members. Prior to this she was an associate attorney at the Law Offices of Lawrence K. Rynning from 2004 to 2006 and served as an Assistant State’s Attorney from 2002 to 2004 in the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office. 

"It is an honor and a privilege to have been appointed by Justice O'Brien and the Illinois Supreme Court to join the other esteemed members of the judiciary of the 18th Judicial Circuit,” Setzen said. 

Ms. Setzen earned her Bachelor of Arts from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and received her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law. 

Her professional associations include the DuPage County Bar Association and the Will County Bar Association. Ms. Setzen serves on the Board of Directors for the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and for Naperville Community Television (NCTV17).