On Thursday, March 1, 2012, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois will host its 98th Annual Judicial Reception. The Judicial Reception, which will be held at the Hotel Allegro from 5:00pm to 7:30 p.m., brings together members of the bench and bar to  celebrate the achievements of the Illinois judiciary.

This year, the WBAI is pleased to honor two eminent jurists with the presentation of the WBAI’s Mary Heftel Hooton Award: The Honorable Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, of the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, and The Honorable Judge Debra B. Walker, of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Domestic Relations Division. Each year, the WBAI recognizes a select number of distinguished jurists who share in the WBAI’s determined commitment to promoting the success of women attorneys and advocacy for women’s interests by presenting them with this award. The award’s namesake, Judge Mary Heftel Hooton, was a First Municipal District Judge and served as President of the WBAI in 1976. In 1993, she kindly bequeathed her estate to the WBAI, enabling the WBAI to acquire and maintain its current offices in the Chicago Bar Association Building. The WBAI imparts the Mary Heftel Hooton Award in her honor.

Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer graduated from Valparaiso University and earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School. Following a one-year clerkship with Justice Rosalie Wahl of the Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge Pallmeyer practiced in the area of commercial litigation for several years with the Chicago law firm of Hopkins and Sutter. From 1985 until 1991, Judge Pallmeyer was an Administrative Law Judge with the Illinois Human Rights Commission, a quasi-judicial agency responsible for enforcement of the state's antidiscrimination laws. On October 1, 1991, Judge Pallmeyer was appointed a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. She served as Presiding Magistrate Judge from 1996 until 1998. On July 31, 1997, President Clinton nominated her for a seat in the U.S. District Court in Chicago. The Senate confirmed her nomination on October 21, 1998. In March 2002 and April 2003, Judge Pallmeyer traveled to Romania to consult with Romanian court officials on judicial administration and court reform. Judge Pallmeyer has presided over dozens of civil and criminal trials, including the prosecution for public corruption of the former Governor of the State of Illinois, George Ryan. She speaks frequently on practice and procedure in federal court and on substantive legal issues including, in particular, employment law matters. Judge Pallmeyer is an honorary fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and an advisor for ALI-ABA Continuing Professional Education. She is an active member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, and the American Bar Association.

Judge Debra B. Walker was elected judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County in November 2008. After three months in Traffic Court, she was assigned to the Domestic Relations Division, where she currently sits in Expedited Hearings. Judge Walker hears disputes pertaining to custody, visitation, property division, maintenance, child support, and domestic violence. Formerly, she was assigned to Parentage Court where she presided over an emotionally charged, high volume call with numerous pro se litigants, necessitating courtroom management based on the tenets of professionalism and civility. Judge Walker is the newly appointed Vice Chairman of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism, for which she also chairs the Audit/Finance Committee. Judge Walker has been an integral part of this body since its inception as the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Civility in 2001. Additionally, Judge Walker serves as the Vice President of the Illinois Bar Foundation Board of Directors. She is a Past President of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, a Past President of the North Michigan Avenue Business & Professional Women’s Network, and an active member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Economic Club of Chicago. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Walker was a partner with Clausen Miller, P.C., where she specialized in defending professionals sued for malpractice. Judge Walker is a 1982 University of Illinois College of Business graduate with an accounting degree. She passed the CPA examination on her first attempt and served as a staff accountant with McGladrey & Pullen prior to attending law school. She is a 1987 University of Illinois College of Law alumna. She has served her alma mater on its Board of Visitors and was the charter chairman of its Recent Alumni Advisory Board. Judge Walker grew up on a small farm near Carthage, Illinois with four brothers and a sister. She now lives in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago with her husband, Richard C. Christian, Jr., a filmmaker, and her two young children.

The WBAI is proud to award these two outstanding and accomplished Illinois Judges with the Mary Heftel Hooton Award. The reception in their honor, and in tribute to the efforts of the entire Illinois judiciary, anticipates welcoming nearly 350 guests. Nearly 163 State and Federal Judges and more than 244 attorneys attended the 97th Annual Judicial Reception, which took place on March 3, 2011 at the Hotel Allegro in Chicago. This year’s Judicial Reception Committee is chaired by WBAI members Sarah Breitlander, Rosa M. Tumialán, and Eugena Whitson-Owen.

Since 1914, the mission of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois has been to promote and foster, advance and protect the interests and welfare of women lawyers; to encourage a spirit of friendship and mutual helpfulness among its members; to aid in the enactment of legislation for the common good and the administration of justice; and to promote and protect the interests and the rights of women.

Tickets for the March 1, 2012, event are $90.00 for WBAI members and $100.00 for nonmembers. Judges' tickets are complimentary. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door for $125.00. For more information on the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, to purchase tickets, or to become a sponsor for this event, please visit http://www.wbaillinois.org. Tickets and other event information are also available by phone at (312) 341-8530.