Lessons in lawyering

Sonia Antolec is director of legal hiring and recruiting for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, where she is responsible for hiring attorneys for the second-largest prosecutor’s office in the United States. She began her career as a Cook County assistant state's attorney in the misdemeanor and juvenile divisions and also served as chief administrative law judge for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Antolec is a member of Loyola’s part-time law faculty, serves on the Law Alumni Board of Governors, and is a former coach of Loyola’s team that competed at the Hispanic National Bar Association’s Uvaldo Herrera Moot Court Competition.

How did your legal education help prepare you for your career in public interest law?

Loyola’s emphasis on values-based education is vital to my work as a public servant and a young prosecutor. The power of a prosecutor is immense, and I understood its weight and complexities because of my legal education. Loyola encouraged and empowered me to practice with the utmost integrity as one of my core qualities and to pay attention to everyone .  

Who was your favorite professor at Loyola?

Every professor I had was a blessing—either for their expertise or because they went out of their way to meet with and coach me through law school, without making me feel like an outlier for being a single, working mom.

I made it through my first week of law school thanks to Professor Diane Geraghty and former Assistant Dean Pam Bloomquist. The full-time day schedule didn’t quite work for raising my toddler son and working part-time while in law school. When I went to Dean Bloomquist crying because I thought I had to withdraw, she and Professor Geraghty, who was serving as interim dean, immediately adjusted my schedule so I could take night classes and only one daytime class. Adjusting my schedule allowed me to keep full-time credits and work part-time while raising my son.

Early in your career, you were suspended and resigned from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for dropping charges in a flawed case. The news of your suspension and resignation went viral and you were lauded as a hero for standing up for justice. How did this experience shape your perspective?

Because of my upbringing and education, the decision itself was a no-brainer and I never struggled with what was the best way to proceed in the case. I struggled with why I was punished for doing the right thing. The ordeal also helped reaffirm that people will support those who do the right thing. Assistant state’s attorneys I worked with and attorneys I’d never met—from all over the city—reached out to show their support. To this day, it means the world to me.

What do you like best about practicing law?

I love that law is dynamic. In just 12 years as an attorney, I’ve been able to practice criminal, civil, and administrative law, all while serving the public.

What are the qualities you look for when hiring?

The common thread in recruiting for the public sector and government agencies is making sure you’re hiring well-qualified, good people who at their core bring a sense of humility, selflessness, and resilience. It takes a special kind of person to enter and stay in the public sector because public servants are often overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated.  

What’s ahead for you in your career?

I’ve been very fortunate and have worked very hard for what I have achieved. I hope to continue on the same path while helping others get to where I am today. I would either like to run for local office or be a judge one day. Now that my son is soon off to college, it’s the perfect time for me to assess what my future holds.

How do you spend your time when you’re not working?

When I’m not working in any role, I’m spending time with my son, mom, and family or practicing hot yoga. It once seemed like every second was accounted for in my life. Now, I thoroughly enjoy the small things I often rushed to do, like grocery shopping or walking my dogs.