Mark C. Palmer has served as Chief Counsel of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism since 2015, where he is dedicated to advancing the quality of justice and upholding the rule of law across Illinois. In this role, Mark supports efforts to promote professionalism, civility, and integrity within the legal and judicial systems.
His work includes spearheading statewide initiatives such a statewide lawyer mentoring program, courthouse professionalism trainings, and other educational programming for lawyers, judges, and law students.
Mark’s commitment to innovation in the legal profession extends to serving on the Illinois Supreme Court’s E-Business Policy Board and Illinois Judicial Conference’s AI Task Force. His leadership in ethics and legal technology has earned him recognition as a 2023 vLex Fastcase 50 honoree, which honors “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators.”
Before joining the Commission, Mark was in private practice at Evans, Froehlich, Beth & Chamley in Champaign. His practice spanned litigation and transactional matters with a focus on commercial disputes, banking law, municipal law, and appellate advocacy in state and federal courts. He also served on the federal Criminal Justice Act (CJA) panel, representing indigent defendants in federal courts.
Mark is active in professional and civic service. He serves on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Board of Governors (2019–2025) and Assembly (2013-present), and has chaired the Public Interest Law Initiative’s (PILI) 6th Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee for over a decade. He also mentors undergraduate and law students and serves on the Advisory Council of the National Legal Mentoring Consortium.
Mark has been an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois College of Law since 2009 where he’s taught advanced trial advocacy and continues to guest lecture on ethics, professionalism, and legal technology.
Mark received his J.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law and a bachelor’s from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received a 2024 Outstanding Alumni Award from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Sociology.
Outside of work, he enjoys cheering on Illini sports with his family, exploring local trails at Allerton Park, or tending to their garden.
Select Publications
- Mark’s articles on the Commission on Professionalism blog
- Mark’s articles on Attorney at Work
- “Building unity in purpose,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, April 2025.
- “AI is transforming client journey from marketing to resolution,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, March 2025.
- “Careers in Law,” Reuters, February 2025.
- “Name Dropping | Meet Mark Palmer: Award-winning techie, townie and ahead-of-the-curve attorney,” The News-Gazette, August 2023.
- “Ethical Obligations for Lawyers on the Move,” ABA Law Practice Magazine, May/June 2022.
Multimedia
- “The Chief Counsel,” LawDroid Manifesto, May 2024.
- “McMunigal on Trump Indictment, Simi and Glick on Georgia Grand Jury, Palmer on ChatGPT Ethics, Martini and Susler on Inside Out, and much more,” WGN Radio Legal Face-Off, August 2023.
- “Ethics for Legal Tech with Mark Palmer,” Non-Eventcast Podcast, February 2023.
- “Episode 192: Mark Palmer – Chief Counsel of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism & Former Police Officer,” How I Lawyer Podcast, December 2022.
- “The Crisis in Access to Justice in Rural America,” Talk Justice, An LSC Podcast, March 2022.