ABOUT

 

Emily Sutton, Principal Attorney

The Illinois Supreme Court appointed Emily to serve as a circuit court judge in the Ninth Judicial Circuit in August 2019. Her term ended in December 2020, and she returned to private practice, opening Sutton Law & Mediation, P.C., in Macomb, Illinois. 

Prior to taking the bench, Emily was a partner with Lucie, Scalf, Sutton & Bougher, P.C., in Macomb. Her legal career has also included practicing with Scholz, Loos, Palmer, Siebers & Duesterhaus, LLP, in Quincy, Illinois, and serving as a law clerk to Fourth Appellate Court Justice Robert Cook. 

Emily has handled cases across the spectrum of Illinois law as an attorney and as a judge. Mediation is a process she values as another tool to resolve conflict. She enjoys excellent working relationships with other attorneys and judges in the area, and she has a reputation for being respectful, ethical, and astute. 

Emily and her husband, Christopher Sutton, live in Macomb. They have five children. 

Experience

Circuit Court Judge, Ninth Judicial Circuit of Illinois, August 2019 - December 2020

Partner, Lucie, Scalf, Sutton & Bougher, Attorneys at Law, P.C., June 2015 - August 2019

Associate, Scholz, Loos, Palmer, Siebers & Duesterhaus, LLP, December 2008 - June 2015

Law Clerk to Justice Robert W. Cook, State of Illinois Judicial Branch, Fourth Appellate District, September 2004 - November 2008

Law Clerk, Neville, Richards & Wuller, LLC, May 2002 - December 2003

Professional Activities

Member, Illinois State Bar Association's Standing Committee on Professional Conduct, July 2021 - June 2024

Contract Author, Thomson Reuters Corp., January 2012 - February 2015

Adjunct Faculty, Quincy University, January 2006 - May 2011

Associate Faculty, John Wood Community College, January 2006 - December 2009

Judicial Extern, United States District Court, Southern District of Illinois, August 2003 - November 2003

Bar Admissions

State of Illinois, 2004

United States District Court, Central District of Illinois, 2009

Professional Memberships

Illinois Judges Association, August 2019 - December 2020 (Member)

Illinois State Bar Association, November 2004 - present (Member), June 2016 - June 2022 (General Assembly Member)

Appellate Lawyers Association, April 2012 - present (Member), June 2015 - June 2018 (Board Member)

McDonough County Bar Association, June 2015 - present

Adams County Bar Association, September 2004 - June 2015

Education

Juris Doctor, Saint Louis University, May 2004

Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, Quincy University, December 1999

Training

Areas of ongoing education include intimate partner violence/domestic violence, substance abuse, racial bias, child sexual abuse, and other childhood trauma, as well as techniques for interviewing children, appellate advocacy, and practice in the juvenile courts.  

Select Trainings:

Community Activities

Board of Education, Macomb Community Unit School District 185, April 2019 - August 2019 (Board Member), April 2022 - current (Vice President)

Macomb Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Monopoly/Lizzie Magie Committee, September 2021 - current

Macomb Historic Preservation Commission, August 2018 - August 2019

Quincy Preservation Commission, November 2013 - May 2015

Historic Quincy Business District (now known as The District), January 2013 - January 2014 (Board Member), January 2014 - January 2015 (Secretary) 

Scholastic Bowl Moderator

Veteran's History Project Interviewer

Community Theater Actor