Judge Joel J.C. Powless: Professional Background and Legal Expertise

The Hon. Joel J.C. Powless is a resident judge on the 4th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois. He was appointed to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court on March 1, 2019.

Prior to his appointment, Powless was the state’s attorney for Clay County, a position to which he was named in 2016. Before that, he was a sole practitioner in his own private practice, representing clients in estate planning, wills, and trusts. Powless supplemented his practice with service as a municipal hearing officer for the Flora City Court.

Powless earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2006. He then completed an LL.M. in tax law at the University of Miami School of Law and a J.D. at St. Thomas University, Benjamin L. Crump College of Law.

He was licensed to practice in Illinois (2011) and Kentucky (2011).

After graduating from law school, Powless began his legal career as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for the 42nd Judicial Circuit of Kentucky. During his tenure there, he also worked as an attorney at Long & Long in Benton (2011 to 2012).

He was raised in Flora, Illinois.