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Director and Staff Karen Litscher Johnson As the first Director of the MCLE Board of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Karen Litscher Johnson works under the direction of the Supreme Court of Illinois and the MCLE Board to establish and conduct the Board’s operations. Her experience includes six years as National Director of Professional Development for the world's largest law firm, DLA Piper LLP. In that role, she planned and managed the firm’s attorney education programs for all of its U.S. offices, including supervising accreditation of hundreds of courses in multiple MCLE jurisdictions. Before joining DLA Piper, Ms. Johnson was a Litigation Partner with a mid-sized Chicago law firm, Much Shelist Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C. Her practice concentrated on commercial disputes with an emphasis on employment and environmental matters, including trial and appellate work. Ms. Johnson received her Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was a founding member and Chair of the Chicago-Area Professional Development Consortium, a group of professionals engaged in attorney education at law firms, government entities and bar associations. She also served as Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section (“YLS”), leading more than 10,000 Section members and 125 volunteer attorneys in leadership roles. During eight years in YLS leadership, she planned dozens of educational programs and organized numerous public and bar service projects. Ms. Johnson has served as a board member for the Chicago Bar Association and the Center for Conflict Resolution. Before becoming a lawyer, Ms. Johnson worked as a radio reporter and anchor in Madison, Wisconsin.
Richard Palmer Richard Palmer began as Deputy Director of the MCLE Board of the Supreme Court of Illinois in July, 2006. Prior to his employment at the MCLE Board, Mr. Palmer was a Partner and Director of Professional Development at the Chicago law firm of Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP, where he served as the firm's first Director of Professional Responsibility for seven years. Mr. Palmer created and administered the firm's professional development programs. As a Litigation Partner for 12 years, Mr. Palmer handled complex litigation matters representing primarily pharmaceutical, chemical and agricultural products manufacturers. Mr. Palmer received his Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University College of Law. After law school he served as a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Nicholas J. Bua of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Mr. Palmer served as a Board Member and Vice Chair of the Membership Committee of the Professional Development Consortium (pdclegal.org). Mr. Palmer was also a founding member and Chair of the Chicago-Area Professional Development Consortium.
Nikita Williams Nikita Williams began as Registrar of the MCLE Board of the Supreme Court of Illinois in July, 2006. Ms. Williams is an attorney and her most recent experience includes Supervisor of National Court Accounting at JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., where she managed the preparation of JPMC Illinois Guardianship court accountings. Ms. Williams also held positions at JP Morgan Chase Bank as Account Executive for retail accounts, and Assistant Banking Center Manager, AVP. Prior to JP Morgan Chase Bank, Ms. Williams was a Commercial Operations Analyst, AVP at American National Bank. Ms. Williams received her Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Ms. Williams served as a summer associate at Steven G. Watkins & Associates, P.C. She is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
Support Staff Resa Welch Sandra Cannon Tina Larson |
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