On the Bar with the Kane County Bar Association
The Kane County Bar Association has a podcast!
On the Bar with the Kane County Bar Association is a behind the scenes look into the local legal community. The fourth series of the podcast episodes is out now! Stay tuned for episodes dropping on the 1st and the 15th of every month on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.
Interested in being one of our featured guests? We are looking for engaging stories, events, topics, etc. Please contact Reghan Feehery, Communications Coordinator, at barbriefs@kanecountybar.org to inquire.
We are looking for Podcast Sponsors! Interested in sponsoring our “On the Bar” Podcast? Pricing is $100 for members and $200 for non-members. Please contact Reghan Feehery, barbriefs@kanecountrybar.org for more details.
Lori Schmidt is an Assistant State’s Attorney with the Kane County State’s Attorneys Office. She has served as a Prosecutor for over 20 years. She is the Executive Director of the Kane County Child Advocacy Center and the Supervisor of the Crimes Against Children Prosecution Unit. Prior to becoming an Assistant Kane County State’s Attorney, she was employed with the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office. She is a member of the Illinois Child Death Review Team. She has previously served as a co-chair of the Kane County Bar Association Criminal Law Committee. She was awarded the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office Prosecutor of the Year Award in 2014. She was previously sworn in as a special prosecutor in DuPage and Kendall Counties in Illinois. She received her J.D. from The John Marshall Law School.
As the Director of the Kane County Law Library & Self Help Legal Center, Hallē Eichert draws and builds on her undergraduate degree in English from Luther College and her Master’s Degree in Library and Information Studies with a specialization in law from the University of Rhode Island to create a dynamic law library user experience. Hallē is designated as the Self-Represented Litigant Coordinator for the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts and the Illinois Supreme Court Access to Justice Committee. She has sat on the Illinois Library Association Board, DuPage Library System Board (President), Kane County Bar Foundation Board (President) and Reaching Across Illinois Library System Board, and was a member of the Elgin Community College Paralegal program advisory committee for many years. Currently, Hallē is a member of the Expungement/Sealing Subcommittee of the Standardized Forms Subcommittee of the Illinois Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission, is serving on a statewide Steering Committee for the Court-Library Access Partnership Pilot Program, and co-chairs the Juvenile Justice Center Library Committee. Additionally, she has been a Judicial Education Conference faculty member since 2020, co-teaching on the topic of best practices in working with self-represented litigants. Awards include 2005 Kane County Bar Association Liberty Bell, 2007 Kane County Employee Recognition, 2017 Kane County Chronicle Women of Distinction, and 2021 Jeffrey D. Colman Access to Justice. Hallē also conducts legal research classes for local libraries, library systems, as well as serving on panels at both state and national conferences regarding remote court access. 
Laura Haske is a Kane County lawyer and paralegal educator. She grew up in Elgin and received a bachelor’s degree in English from Belmont University in Nashville, where she met her husband Paul. She worked as a legal assistant before joining her husband in law school in Minnesota. 
Amber Moore graduated from Northern Illinois University College of Law in 1996 with the intended purpose of working in legal aid. There were limited opportunities in legal aid in 1996, and Amber took a job in private practice for several years with Murphy & Murphy before joining Prairie State Legal Services in 1999. She began her tenure at PSLS as a staff attorney in the Batavia office and became a supervising attorney in 2000 in the West Suburban office before transitioning into the managing attorney role in 2023. While at PSLS, Amber has concentrated her practice on family law, where she represents victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in obtaining protective orders and in custody and divorce cases.
Kim Thielbar is the Director of Pro Bono Services. She helps evaluate, organize and expand Prairie State’s overall pro bono program and connects volunteers with clients in need of critical civil legal aid services. Kim has worked at Prairie State Legal Services since 2013, first as a Staff Attorney in the Rockford office, and then as that office’s Managing Attorney in 2015. She was hired as Director of Pro Bono Services in 2019. Prior to joining Prairie State, Kim worked as a Public Interest Fellow at Equip for Equality in Chicago, working in the Special Education Clinic. In 2016, the Rockford Chamber of Commerce designated Kim one of its “40 Leaders Under 40.” In 2017, RAMP Center for Independent Living awarded Kim its “Youth Advocate of the Year” award. In 2019, the Rockford Register Star profiled Kim as part of its “Next Up” series focused on future leaders of the Rock River Valley. Kim received an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, and a law degree from Loyola University in Chicago.
Bruce is the Founder & CEO of Administer Justice which began in 2000 as a direct response to the prayers of Bruce’s wife, Helen. Bruce admits he got caught up as the senior partner in a successful law practice where he argued cases all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Through a series of circumstances and the power of his word, God called Bruce to leave that practice and join the ranks of the poor as he learned and served alongside them. While Bruce has received many awards, spoken at conferences, and published the books Gospel Justice (Moody) and Preserving Power (IVP), he is most grateful for the chance to use the gift of a law degree to serve one of the least of these. A graduate of Judson University and the University of Illinois College of Law, Bruce is also a pastor. He encourages the church, attorneys, and individuals to step out of their comfort zone and in the words of our founding verse, “Administer true Justice, show mercy and compassion to one another.” Zechariah 7:9.
The Circuit Judges of the 16th Judicial Circuit elected Robert K. Villa as Chief Judge effective Monday, December 4th, 2023. Judge Villa is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana (LAS ’92) and the DePaul College of Law (’95). From 1995-1998, Judge Villa served in the Illinois Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division as lead counsel on appeals involving statutory and constitutional issues before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Supreme and Appellate Courts of Illinois and the United States District Courts of Illinois. After leaving government service, Judge Villa was a litigation partner in the Chicago offices of Dykema Gossett PLLC and in 2007, he founded the Villa Law Firm, LLC in St. Charles, which became Griffin/Villa/Williams LLP in 2011. Judge Villa was appointed to the position of Associate Judge in April, 2013. On December 17, 2018, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Judge Villa to the position of Circuit Judge. He was later elected as Circuit Judge of the Sixteenth Circuit, Third Sub-circuit in November of 2020. He has presided over all manner of civil and criminal cases, recently serving as the Presiding Judge of the Misdemeanor/Traffic Division. In 2021, Judge Villa was assigned to the Civil Law Division where he presided until his Chief Judge term began.
Mark Stajdohar is an Assistant State’s Attorney who has worked in the criminal division of the Kane County SAO for over 23 years. He is currently assigned to the Major Crimes Unit. Mark grew up in Naperville and studied political science at Illinois State University. He then went on to Duke University School of Law. He lives in Kane County with his wife, his son and his daughter.
Dr. Vohra is a general pediatrician who holds degrees in law and public policy. He is a cross-disciplinary leader in state and national health policy formulation, and his recent focus has been on improving health outcomes in Central and Southern Illinois. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Vohra was the Founding Chair of the Department of Population Science and Policy, a practicing primary care pediatrician, and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Public Health, Medical Humanities, and Law at the Southern Illinois University – School of Medicine (SIU-SOM) in Springfield, Illinois, where he also served the State of Illinois as the Interim Chair of the Children’s Mental Health Partnership.
John Kezdy graduated from Northwestern University and DePaul College of Law. He became a prosecutor following law school and spent over twenty years at the helm of the Statewide Grand Jury Bureau at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. There, John prosecuted thousands of drug traffickers and firearms traffickers over his esteemed career. He was a frequent lecturer to law enforcement and was well known for his willingness to take on the tough cases. His career was filled with accolades from numerous local, state and federal law enforcement partners. He was constantly seeking to improve the law and to hold bad actors accountable.
Carolyn D. Jansons is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and a 2001 graduate of Northern Illinois University College of Law, magna cum laude. She graduated from Northern Illinois University College of Law and was a member of the Law Review. Carolyn is a partner at Drendel & Jansons Law Group, the same firm in which she began her career in 2001. Carolyn is an active member of the Kane County Bar Association having served on its board of directors and eventually elected Secretary/Treasurer. Carolyn ascended through the ranks and was the KCBA President in 2017-2018. Carolyn continues to be an active member of the Family Law Committee and focuses her practice on family law. 
Otto S. Hurtado is a family law attorney, certified mediator, Guardian ad Litem, and co-chair of the Judicial Evaluation Committee. He owns and operates The Law Office of Otto S. Hurtado, located in Geneva, Illinois, and primarily handles family matters (Divorce, Parentage, Adoptions, Orders of Protection, etc.) in Kane, DuPage, Kendall, and DeKalb Counties.
Born in Guanajuato, México, Judge Valdez and his family moved to Elgin, Illinois, when he was a child. He graduated from Larkin High School and then went on to study political science and public administration at Augustana College. His law degree is from the University of Iowa. He practiced law in Elgin for twenty years, the last ten as a solo practitioner offering services in criminal, family and real estate law. He was appointed as an associate judge in 2019 and then as a circuit judge in 2022.
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Elizabeth Flood is a graduate of Larkin High School in Elgin. She received degrees in both Finance and Law at the University of Illinois. She worked at the the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office for seventeen years in both the criminal and civil divisions, before being appointed as an Associate Judge in 2013. In October of 2019, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Judge Flood to Circuit Judge, and she was the fifth female in Kane County to be elected Circuit Judge in 2020. As a judge, she has presided over Traffic/Misdemeanor, Family, and Criminal Felony courtrooms, and served as the Presiding Judge of the Family Division.
Judge Bradley David was appointed to the position of Associate Judge in 2019. Since being appointed to the bench, he has previously served in Traffic/Misdemeanor and Family Court and currently sits in Divorce Court. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge David was in private practice and took on a variety of roles at David & Associates. David is a graduate of Dundee-Crown High School, the University of Illinois and Northern Illinois University School of Law.
The Honorable Clint Hull is the current Chief Judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit. Judge Hull was appointed to the position of Associate Judge in March of 2009.