Local judges will headline a "best practices" legal seminar set for May 19 at the Collinsville Doubletree Hotel.
The seminar is part of the "Illinois Best Practice Series," a joint undertaking between United States Arbitration and Mediation and the Washington University School of Law Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Program.
Third Judicial Circuit Judge Barbara Crowder and Twentieth Judicial Circuit Associate Judge Thomas Cannady will give a presentation entitled “Illinois Professionalism and Ethics – View from the Bench.” Clarissa Graff from the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation will moderate the session.
First appointed as a judge in Madison County in 1999, Crowder was elected to the Third Circuit in 2006. She handles eminent domain cases for Madison County and presides over a Law Division docket.
In addition to her judicial duties, Crowder is chair of the Third Circuit Pro-Bono Committee and vice chair of the Illinois State Bar Association. She also is a frequent lecturer for the Illinois State Bar Association and at judicial education conferences. She is a member of the Illinois Bar Association and the Madison County Bar Association.
Cannady was appointed to serve as an associate judge for the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in St. Clair County in 2015. His time on the bench follows a 30-year career in private practice during which he served as a managing partner at the firm Cannady and AuBuchon. At the firm, he specialized in trial litigation, personal injury, divorce, and general practice.
While serving on the Twentieth Circuit, Cannady is also an adjunct professor in the paralegal program at Southwestern Illinois College. He is a member and CLE director for the St. Clair County Bar Association and the Illinois Judges Association.
In addition to the session led by the two judges, the seminar will include talks on the subjects of electronically stored records, medical records and litigation. Continuing education credits are available for Illinois and Missouri attorneys. Those interested have until May 15 to register.