Looking more at the 2018 Associate Judge finalists - part 3

Updated May 1, 2018

Concluding today, FWIW has been looking -- in alphabetical order -- at the 34 Cook County Associate Judge finalists. For Part 1, click here; for Part 2, scroll down or click here.

The immediate Past President of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, Curtis Bennett Ross is a family law practitioner, practicing from the Loop Law Offices of Curtis Bennett Ross, LLC. Licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 1980, according to ARDC, Ross's firm website also notes that he is a Certified Public Accountant.

Judge Robin D. Shoffner was unsuccessful in her bid to hold the 8th Subcircuit seat she now holds pursuant to Supreme Court appointment. She also sought a 5th Subcircuit vacancy in 2016.

Before her first judicial appointment, in 2014, Shoffner was trial attorney for the Federal Civil Rights Division of the Corporation Counsel's Office. She also worked as Senior Litigation Counsel for Aon Risk Services, and with the law firm currently known as Albert, Whitehead, P.C. Shoffner is a former President of the Black Women Lawyers' Association and as a past board member of the Cook County Bar Association. She was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1990.

Levander Smith Jr. is an attorney with the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services. He has been licensed in Illinois since 1993. A fairly recent transfer to the Chicago area, Smith previously applied for an associate judgeship in far Downstate St. Clair County in 2013 and 2015.

Trina Smith is an Attorney Supervisor with the Public Defender's Office. She has been licensed in Illinois since 1999.

Judge Patrick Thomas Stanton was appointed to the Circuit Court in late 2016. He was unsuccessful in his bid to hold that 3rd Subcircuit seat in the March primary.

Before his elevation to the bench, Stanton was a member of Dykema Gossett, serving as managing partner of the firm's Chicago office and head of Dykema's firm-wide Business Litigation practice group. Stanton has been licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 1993. He began his legal career with Jones Day, leaving that position to become a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge George Marovich. After completing his clerkship, Stanton joined the firm of Schwartz Cooper, rising to partner in that firm and serving on its executive committee. He joined Dykema in 2008.

Lisa M. Taylor practices with Schwartz Gilligan Ltd. She has been licensed in Illinois since 2001. She previously worked for Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP.

Daniel Alexander Trevino is a partner with Hinshaw Culbertson. A former President of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois, Trevino's current practice focuses on products liability transportation litigation. He has been with Hinshaw since 1999, the year he received his license to practice law in Illinois.

Trevino appeared before Democratic Party slatemakers last year, seeking endorsement for a countywide vacancy, but he was not a candidate in the March 2018 primary.

Lynn Karyl Weaver-Boyle is a partner in the Chicago office of Grotefeld Hoffmann Schleiter Gordon & Ochoa, LLP.

Weaver-Boyle began her career as a Cook County Assistant State's Attorney, where she tried 50 felony cases. Her practice now focuses on large loss property subrogation, construction defects and product liability matters. She has been licensed in Illinois since 1990. Weaver-Boyle also sought the Democratic Party's endorsement this past year for a countywide vacancy, but did not run when an endorsement was not forthcoming.

James Adolph Wright is Of Counsel to the firm of Chico & Nunes, P.C. Licensed as an attorney in Illinois since 1989, Wright has also served as Chief of Staff for the Chicago Board of Education, as Inspector General for the Illinois Toll Highway Authority, and as the Executive Inspector General ("EIG") for the Agencies, Board and Commissions under the Illinois Governor, (the Office of the Executive Inspector General, or "OEIG"). Wright obtained a CPA in 1981 and also holds an MBA.

William Yu is counsel in the Chicago office of Ulmer & Berne LLP. He focuses his practice on class action litigation, products liability, construction, transportation, and professional liability. He was previously a Partner with Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP and Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP. Licensed in Illinois since 1996, Yu began his career in the Municipal Prosecution Division of the City of Chicago’s Corporation Counsel.

Yu is a past President of the Asian American Bar Association of Chicago. He has also served on the inaugural Executive Committee of the Alliance of Minority Bar Associations and is on the Advisory Board of the Korean American Bar Association of Chicago.