Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis, Justice P. Scott Neville, Jr. and Justice Joy V. Cunningham will administer the attorney’s oath to 1,111 new lawyers over two bar admission ceremony sessions on Thursday, November 9, in the First Judicial District.

The group is among 1,360 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 first bar admission ceremony in the First Judicial District will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Dorin Forum located at 725 W. Roosevelt Road. The second bar admission ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m.

Chief Justice Theis and Justice Cunningham will preside over the first ceremony.

The speaker for the first ceremony will be President of the Cook County Bar Association Raymond Rushing.

Bar association representatives for the first ceremony will include Anne L. Melichar of the Advocates Society, Cory Cassis of the Arab American Bar Association of Illinois, Renai Rodney of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Elizabeth Monkus of the Chicago Council of Lawyers, Spyridon J. Demakis of the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois, Michael P. Pisano of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, and Maliha Siddiqui of the South Asian Bar Association of Chicago. Judge Rita M. Novak (Ret.) will be a representative from the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar.

Judge John Haynes (Ret.) will make the motion to admit the class for the first ceremony. Adam Zebelian, President of LAGBAC, Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association, will second the motion.

The second bar admission ceremony in the First Judicial District will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Dorin Forum located at 725 W. Roosevelt Road. Justice Neville and Justice Cunningham will preside over the second ceremony.

The speaker for the second ceremony will be President of Illinois State Bar Association Shawn Kasserman.

Bar association representatives for the second ceremony will include Huy Nguyen of the Asian American Bar Association of Greater Chicago, Reginald Guy of the Black Men Lawyers’ Association, John C. Sciaccotta of the Chicago Bar Association, Judge Megan Goldish of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, Jennifer L. Crespo of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, Laura McNally of the Seventh Circuit Bar Association, and Whitney K. Siehl of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois. Linda R. Crane will be a representative from the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar.

Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes (Ret.) will make the motion to admit the class for the second ceremony. Patricia Cintrón-Bastin, President, Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois, will second the motion.

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.

The new attorneys sworn in at the November 9 bar admission ceremonies will bring the total number of licensed attorneys in Illinois to approximately 98,000. In addition to Chicago, ceremonies will be held Thursday in Elgin, Joliet, Springfield, Carbondale, and Champaign.