DANVILLE – Two private-practice attorneys in Danville will be the newest members of the Vermilion County judiciary.

Derek J. Girton, a partner with Acton & Snyder LLP, and Karen E. Wall, a partner with Spiros and Wall, PC, recently were selected as associate judges of the Fifth Judicial Circuit. The announcement was made Monday by Cynthia Y. Cobbs, director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts in Springfield.

"I'm extremely honored and humbled to be given this opportunity," Wall said from her Danville office Monday. "I will do the best job that I can."

Girton could not be reached for comment.

Wall and Girton will replace Vermilion County Associate Judges Joseph P. Skowronski Jr. and Gordon R. Stipp, both of whom are retiring on July 31. Skowronski has served 26 years on the bench, and Stipp has served more than 15 years.

Associate judges serve four-year terms. At the end of their terms, the circuit judges vote on whether to reappoint them.

Their annual salary in 2009 was $165,588.

Wall and Girton were selected from 22 applicants from Vermilion County by the circuit judges of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, Chief Judge Tracy Resch said. Their swear-in date has not been announced.

The new appointees will serve at the Vermilion County Courthouse alongside Circuit Judges Michael Clary, Claudia Anderson, Craig DeArmond and Nancy Fahey and Associate Judge Mark S. Goodwin. They, along with Goodwin who was seated last December, will hear traffic and criminal misdemeanor cases, small claims and civil matters up to $50,000 and contested divorce cases.

A Watseka native, Wall, 38, received a bachelor's in political science from Illinois State University in 1994 and a law degree from John Marshall Law School in 1997. Upon graduating, she worked for Manion, Devons & McFetridge LTD in Hoopeston.

In 2005, she left to form her own firm in Danville with attorney Jim Spiros. During that time, she's concentrated on injury law.

Wall said she went into the legal profession because she has always enjoyed helping people. She sees moving to the bench as a natural step in her legal career.

"It's something I've always wanted to do, and this seems like the perfect opportunity," she said.

Wall and her family – husband, Ron, and sons, Michael and Spencer – live north of Danville. Outside of work, she is active with the Bismarck United Methodist Church and volunteers at Bismarck Elementary School, which her sons attend.

Girton, who will be 47 on Aug. 8, is a Vermilion County native. He and his family wife, Laura, and two sons, Zach and Kyle, live in Oakwood, where he has been active with the school board, the Oakwood Men's Club and coaching youth sports. He's also been involved in Downtown Danville Inc. and local social service agencies.

Girton earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Penn State in 1988, and a law degree from Ohio Northern University in 1993. In the summers after his first and second years of law school, he clerked for DeArmond, who was then the Vermilion County state's attorney.

He has been in private practice for about 17 years and has concentrated on criminal law over the last 10 years. For the last several years, he has served as the court-appointed conflict counsel in the felony division.