Lisa Holder White
Lisa Holder White, the first Black woman to sit on the Illinois Supreme Court, has been named Chicago Lawyer magazine’s 2022 Person of the Year.
Holder White, who in July was sworn in to fill the seat of retiring Justice Rita B. Garman, lives by the work-ethic lessons instilled in her by her parents in Decatur. After time working in private practice and an associate judge in the Sixth Judicial Court, Holder White became the first Black judge to take a seat on the Fourth District Appellate Court.
Holder White said she gladly takes on the responsibility of delivering fair justice with an “unwavering devotion to the rule of law.”
She said the honor of the award feels “more special” since Garman was also Chicago Lawyer’s Person of the Year in 2013.
“It makes me very happy to be able to once again follow in her footsteps,” she said. “There is a feeling of gratification in knowing that my contributions to the legal profession, the profession I have wanted to be a part of since I was a young girl, may inspire others to follow the same path.”
Chicago Lawyer is published by Law Bulletin Media, as is the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. The magazine has named a Person of the Year annually since 1991.
To read the full Person of the Year profile of Justice Holder White, visit www.chicagolawyermagazine.com.