Wheaton attorney to lead Illinois Bar Association

A Wheaton family law attorney has been sworn in as the 138th president of the Illinois State Bar Association.

Richard D. Felice took the oath during Friday's annual meeting of the association at the Grand Geneva Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Felice was not immediately available Friday, but according to a written statement he will focus on three special projects during his tenure.

The first will be to form a task force to study the impact of law school debt on future attorneys facing a stifling job market.

The task force, led by Second District Appellate Justice Ann Jorgensen, "will study in-depth the concept of practice-ready new lawyers and consider constructive changes to law school curricula," he said.

The second initiative is the formation of a solo and small firm practice institute series, offering educational programs to such practitioners in five settings throughout the state.

The third program will focus on expanding the association's civics education program to high school students. It also will work with Illinois Judges Association President Michael Hyman on the "Courtroom in the Classroom" project.

Felice was elected the bar association's third vice president in 2010 after having served two three-year terms on the board of governors. He is an officer of the ISBA Mutual Insurance Company and serves on the board of the Illinois Bar Foundation.

He was an appointed member of the Illinois Supreme Court's Rules Committee, and a past president of the DuPage County Bar Association, DuPage County Bar Foundation and the DuPage County Chapter of The Justinian Society of Lawyers.

The 32,000-member association, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public through illinoislawyerfinder.com, consumer brochures and distribution of legal information.