Chicago Area

In a move that more than doubles its Windy City presence and adds depth to its office in Wilmington, Del., Fox Rothschild LLP announces a merger, effective June 11, with Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin LLC, a 23-attorney firm with robust practices in bankruptcy, commercial litigation, and real estate. 

Over the past several years, Fox Rothschild has grown its national footprint significantly. The firm opened in Minneapolis in 2016, welcoming more than 80 attorneys via a merger with Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP. In May of 2017, Fox launched a Seattle office through a merger with 39-attorney law firm Riddell Williams LLP. 

Founded in 1988, Shaw Fishman serves major corporations and small businesses in bankruptcy and restructuring, commercial litigation, and real estate.

DuPage County attorney Chuck Roberts of Roberts, P.C., recently became a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

AAML fellows are widely recognized by judges and attorneys as preeminent family law practitioners with the highest level of knowledge, skill, and integrity. Membership is limited to 1,650 family law attorneys in the U.S.

Roberts qualified as an AAML fellow because of his extensive trial experience and his dedication to continuing education and improvement of the family law field. He recently reopened his individual family law practice, Roberts, P.C. Roberts has represented clients in the DuPage County area since 1983 in cases involving divorce, family law, civil litigation, and securities fraud.

The names of 16 new associate judges, selected in a vote of Cook County Circuit Court judges, were announced today by Marcia M. Meis, director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. With respect to the 17th vacancy, a tie prevents a winner from being declared. As such, a runoff is necessary.

Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 39, "[where] a tie prevents a winner from being declared, reballoting shall proceed in the manner provided above for the first balloting except that ballots shall include only the names of those candidates whose tied voted prevented a winner from being declared." Consistent with the rule, the following candidates will be placed on the runoff ballot:

• Levander Smith Jr. 
• James Adolph Wright

Ballots listing the names of 34 finalists, chosen from 272 candidates, were distributed to 252 circuit judges. Ballots were due May 16, 2018.

Ruthe Ann Howes-Palacios, 55, of Des Plaines, died Wednesday, May 2, 2018, at her home after a long illness. She was born March 21, 1963, in Peoria. 

She graduated from Bradford High School, Illinois Central College, University of Illinois, and then earned her law degree from Northern Illinois University Law School. She was a member of Sigma Kappa Sorority.

She married Juvenal Palacios on October 3, 1998. She worked for five years at Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission and 19 years at the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.