Granite City attorney Dennis J. Orsey is the first Madison County attorney to be selected as president of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), according to a press release announcing his new position.
Orsey will serve as the 144th president of ISBA.
He will be installed as president of the ISBA on June 19 by Justice Lloyd Karmeier at the Illinois Supreme Court building in Springfield.
As ISBA president, Orsey will concentrate on initiatives including the Rural Practice Initiative, which promotes access to justice in rural communities. The initiative will work with law schools and young lawyers to entice attorneys to practice in rural areas. It will also address law school debt and examine the challenges in finding legal jobs sufficient to both pay off debt and begin practicing law.
Orsey also plans to continue to champion the ISBA Leadership Academy, which began in 2019 with the goal of training attorneys to develop the necessary skills to take on leadership positions within the ISBA and legal profession.
Orsey received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and his J.D. from Southern Illinois University School of Law.
Orsey concentrates his practice in representing downstate police and fire pension funds.
Since 1997, Orsey served as deputy general counsel for the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association and represents more than 50 police and firefighter pension boards.
Early on in his career, Orsey served as an assistant attorney general and regional office director for the Granite City Regional Office for 11 years. He went on to establish his own general practice law firm in Granite City in 1995.
Orsey served many years on various ISBA sections, committees and the Assembly. He then served three terms on the Board of Governors before being elected as Third Vice President in 2017. He was also the recipient of the ISBA Board of Governors Award in 2013.