The Circuit Judges of the 19th Judicial Circuit have selected two finalists to fill the current associate judge vacancy.

This opening is due to the upcoming retirement of Associate Judge George D. Strickland, who has served the people of Lake County as a judge for over 19 years.

Chief Judge Daniel B. Shanes is pleased to announce that the finalists are Eric J. Kalata of Lindenhurst and Sari W. Montgomery of Riverwoods.

Kalata received his Bachelor of Arts from Lake Forest College in 1992. He earned his Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1996 and was admitted to practice law in Illinois that year. Kalata is a member of the Jefferson Inn-American Inns of Court and the Lake County Bar Association. He is currently an assistant state’s attorney serving as chief of training for the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. An experienced trial attorney, he has tried hundreds of cases to verdict.

Montgomery received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago in 1991. In 1994, she earned her Juris Doctorate from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and was admitted to practice law in Illinois that same year. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Lake County Bar Association, the Association of Women Attorneys of Lake County, the Chicago Bar Association, and the Chicago Council of Lawyers. Montgomery is currently an adjunct professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and a partner at Robinson, Stewart, Montgomery & Doppke LLC.

The Lake County Bar Association’s Judicial Selection and Retention Committee evaluated and recommended both finalists.

“Selecting Associate Judges is one of the most challenging and important duties of the Circuit Judges,” Shanes said in a news release. “The important work of the Lake County Bar Association in reviewing and evaluating judicial candidates greatly assists us.”

After certifying Kalata and Montgomery as finalists to the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, each circuit judge will cast a secret ballot to select Lake County’s next associate judge. The ballots will then be tabulated by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, and Chief Judge Shanes will be notified of the results.