Starting in November, Champaign attorney Mark C. Palmer will join the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism as its full-time Professionalism Counsel. While he will maintain an office at the Commission’s Chicago office, he primarily will be based in Champaign and serve the entire State.

Palmer will lead the development and delivery of programs state-wide on promoting integrity, professionalism and civility among Illinois lawyers and judges on behalf of the Illinois Supreme Court. His role will include collaborating with law schools, bar associations, courts, civic and lay organizations in addressing matters of professionalism, ethics, and public understanding of the legal profession.

Prior to joining the Commission, Palmer was in private practice at the Champaign law firm Evans, Froehlich, Beth & Chamley where his law practice focused on areas including commercial litigation, municipal law, banking law, and creditor’s rights, among others. He represented private and appointed clients in both civil and criminal cases in state and federal courts.

Palmer will continue his work as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois College of Law in its trial advocacy program and as a Trial Teams’ Coach since 2009. Additionally, he will stay on as an Instructor for the University of Illinois Police Training Institute where he has trained hundreds of law enforcement officers in Illinois on topics such as use of force and police liability.

Palmer received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his law degree from The John Marshall Law School. He is active in numerous bar and civic organizations including as an Assembly Member for the Illinois State Bar Association and as the Chair of the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) 6th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee.