Illinois Supreme Court Appoints Ashley N. Shambley as ARDC Review Board Member

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed attorney Ashley N. Shambley of Chicago to serve as a member of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) Review Board effective on January 1, 2025, and expiring on December 31, 2027. The ARDC is the Supreme Court agency that investigates allegations of lawyer wrongdoing in Illinois. 

Ms. Shambley is an Assistant Public Defender in the Multiple Defendant Unit of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office in Markham, where she represents persons charged with murder and other serious felonies. She has been with that office since 2012. Prior to joining the Public Defender’s office, Ms. Shambley worked in private practice. 

She serves on the boards of the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Chicago Metropolitan Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and a not-for-profit community organization entitled “Imagine Englewood if.” She is active in the Cook County Bar Association, the Black Women Lawyers’ Association, and the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. 

Ms. Shambley received her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Howard University and her law degree from DePaul University School of Law. 

Ms. Shambley replaces ARDC Review Board member Leslie D. Davis, whose term expired on December 31, 2024. The ARDC Review Board is composed of nine members, all of whom are lawyers appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court. The Review Board sits in panels of three and considers appeals from reports of the ARDC Hearing Board, which functions like a trial court in attorney disciplinary proceedings. Review Board members receive no compensation for their service. 

More than eighty employees and over one hundred lawyer and non-lawyer volunteers work for the ARDC. All funds expended by the agency are from annual registration fees paid by Illinois attorneys; there are no tax dollars used to support the disciplinary system. There are two ARDC offices: 130 East Randolph Drive, Suite 1500, in Chicago and 3161 West White Oaks Drive, Suite 301, in Springfield.