Tuesday, August 30, 2011
 
sponsored by


Left to right: Attorney Blinn Bates, 11th Judicial Circuit Judge Paul Lawrence and Logan County Assistant State's Attorney Jonathan Wright

Lawrence to run for 11th Judicial Circuit

Send a link to a friend

[August 30, 2011]  Monday afternoon, 11th Judicial Circuit Judge Paul Lawrence was in Lincoln to announce to Logan County that he plans to run for election to the seat he now holds. 

 

Lawrence was appointed to the 11th Judicial Circuit in November of 2010 at the retirement of sitting Judge Michael Prall. 

Appearing on the north side of the Logan County Courthouse, Lawrence was welcomed by several county leaders as well as Judge Thomas Harris Jr., Assistant State's Attorney Jonathan Wright and attorney Blinn Bates of Woods & Bates Attorneys at Law. 

The 11th Judicial Circuit encompasses five central Illinois counties: Ford, Livingston, Logan, McLean and Woodford. According to Bates, Lawrence has expressed that he wants to personally visit each county and make his announcement of candidacy. 

Monday afternoon Lawrence said he has a fondness for Logan County, recalling a year that he spent serving in the Logan County courts and expressing a hope that he will be able to return to the bench in Lincoln at some time in the future. 

Water

Currently Logan County has a resident member of the 11th Judicial in Harris. Lawrence said that if the occasion should arise that Harris has a conflict in hearing a case, he is hopeful that he will be the one appointed to fill the bench. 

Lawrence is a native of the Bloomington area and resides there now with his wife, Helen Ogar, also an attorney. 

He began his legal career as a second-generation lawyer working with his father, William B. Lawrence. Monday afternoon as he spoke to the small gathering outside the courthouse, he also noted that a third generation of Lawrence attorneys is on the horizon, as his daughter Rachel is enrolled in her parents' alma mater, the University of Missouri, studying law. 

He also noted as he spoke about his children that his twin daughters, Mary and Molly, are involved in high school sports in Bloomington, and in the near future their team will be playing against Lincoln in volleyball. He joked, saying, "Oct. 20, they are coming here to Lincoln. So as much as I love Lincoln, I'll be rooting for the Raiders that night." 

In addition to Rachel, who is the oldest, and Mary and Molly, who are the youngest, Lawrence's son John is attending the University of Illinois, studying biology, and son Tom is a senior at Bloomington High School. 

In a news release forwarded to LDN Monday night, Lawrence wrote: "I have been honored to serve the citizens of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit and I will continue to utilize my experience and integrity in rendering just decisions to all those who appear before me." 

[to top of second column]

Lawrence is a graduate of Bloomington High School and a member of the school's hall of fame. He attended the University of Illinois and received a bachelor's degree in accounting. He passed the CPA exam before graduating from the University of Missouri School of Law. 

He practiced law 17 years along with his wife and father before seeking an appointment as an associate judge for the 11th Judicial Circuit in 2002.   

After a review process by a citizens' screening committee, he was appointed as a circuit judge at the recommendation of Supreme Court Judge Rita Garman on Nov. 3, 2010. 

Lawrence noted tremendous support he has received from the communities he serves as well as the Illinois Bar Association. He received a 98 percent approval rating in his latest bar poll. 

Additional information included in his news release included his service to the community. 

Lawrence serves as the chair of the 11th Judicial Circuit Family Violence Coordinating Council and is a member of the Illinois Judicial Conference Committee on Criminal Law. 

He speaks to children experiencing divorce for the Kid's Turn Divorce Education program at the Children's Foundation.

He has served as president of the Bloomington Kiwanis Club, YMCA Adventure Guides and the Young Men's Club and has served on the boards of Beyond the Books Educational Foundation, Project Oz, Home Sweet Home Foundation, Children's Foundation Development Council, Student Advocacy Coalition and American Junior Baseball. 

Lawrence's campaign committee is co-chaired by former Circuit Judge William Caisley and Mary Caisley. His Logan County campaign committee is chaired by Blinn Bates. 

[By NILA SMITH, with additional text from file received]

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor