Several of the state’s newest attorneys were sworn in by Illinois Supreme Court Justice David K. Overstreet during the Nov. 5 ceremony at the SIU Simmons Law School. That included Dean Hannah Brenner Johnson (shown with Overstreet), receiving an out-of-state transfer license. (Photos by Russell Bailey)
November 10, 2025
SIU Simmons Law School hosts swearing-in ceremony for new attorneys
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School hosted a swearing-in ceremony on Nov. 5 for 35 new attorneys in Illinois — including welcoming Dean Hannah Brenner Johnson to the state’s legal practice.
“It was an honor for SIU Simmons Law School to host the Illinois Supreme Court’s swearing in ceremony for admission to the bar,” Brenner Johnson said. “We were thrilled to welcome back many of our graduates and open our doors to graduates of other law schools for this celebratory event. Simmons Law School was founded to serve our regional community in Southern Illinois, and we are so proud to be able to be a part of this ceremony.”
Brenner Johnson was sworn in as an out-of-state transfer. A native of Elgin, Brenner Johnson began as law school dean on July 1 after serving as a professor of law and vice dean for academic affairs at California Western School of Law.
The moment “was particularly meaningful for me, personally, to be sworn in as a member of the bar in my home state of Illinois,” she said.
Of the new attorneys who participated in ceremonies at SIU, 15 were new SIU Simmons Law School graduates or alumni.
Illinois Supreme Court Justice David K. Overstreet presided over the ceremony. Also participating in the proceedings were Presiding Justice Michael McHaney, Fifth District Appellate Court; Judge Jim Giacone, Second Judicial Circuit Court, and Judge Christy Solverson, First Judicial Circuit Court.
Brenner Johnson; Suzanne Schmitz, SIU Simmons Law School professor emerita and president of the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar; Thomas Speedie, of the Illinois State Bar Association Board of Governors, and J. Nelson Wood, vice chair of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, also spoke.
The Fifth Judicial District is composed of 48 counties. The new attorneys were among 1,637 lawyers sworn in at ceremonies in the Illinois Supreme Court’s five judicial districts. Similar ceremonies were held in Champaign, Chicago, Elgin, Joliet and Springfield.