The Hon. Elizabeth M. Rochford is an associate judge for the Lake County Circuit Court in Illinois. She was appointed to the bench by the judges of the 19th Judicial Circuit on December 27, 2012.
Over the course of her judicial career, Rochford was instrumental in developing a family law courtroom dedicated to serving self-represented litigants in Lake County.
Rochford earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Loyola University Chicago in 1982. She then completed a J.D. at Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1986. As a law student, Rochford clerked at Corboy & Demetrio.
After graduating from law school, Rochford began her legal career as an assistant state’s attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She served in that capacity until 1990, at which time she entered into private practice. She specialized in estate planning, probate, trusts and trust administration, real estate, and administrative law matters, supplementing her practice with service as a commissioner for the Illinois Court of Claims.
Her memberships have included the Lake County Bar Association (president), the Illinois Judges Foundation (president), the Illinois State Bar Association (secretary), and the Illinois Judges Association (secretary). She also sat on the Illinois Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Advisory Committee, the Illinois Judicial Conference Public Relations Task Force, and the Illinois State Bar Association Trusts and Estates Committee.
She is a recipient of the Presidential Service Award from the Illinois Judges Association (2020), the Woman of Influence Award from the Illinois State Bar Association (2020), the Access to Justice Award from the Lake County Bar Association (2019), and the Woman of Vision Award from the Lake County Women’s Coalition (2019).
Raised in Chicago, Illinois, Rochford is the daughter of a police officer and a special education teacher. She and her husband, Mike, have two grown children. When not presiding over legal proceedings, Rochford enjoys walking and visiting the lakeshore in Michigan.
She is registered as a Democrat.