Judge Pamela McLean Meyerson, ’83, Retires from the 11th Subcircuit of Cook County Judicial Circuit Court
After a decade, Judge Meyerson retires from the bench
Pamela McLean Meyerson has retired as a judge for the 11th Subcircuit of Cook County Judicial Circuit Court, saying goodbye to a career that spanned a decade and at times tested her commitment to being fair.
“I was motivated to be a judge because I thought I could be the kind of judge that I would like to hear my case,” said Meyerson, who formally stepped down Jan 31. “If I were standing before a judge, I would want someone to take my case seriously, do their homework, know the law and to treat everyone fairly after hearing all sides. I thought I could do that.”
It has been a challenging but rewarding career, during which time she briefly served in traffic court, presided over 1,000s of foreclosures during the economic crisis of 2010 and was then transferred to the chancery division, where she heard a variety of civil cases including neighbors fighting over property lines, class action suits and restrictive employment covenants.
Judges are required to be objective and impartial when deciding cases, which is not always easy, according to Meyerson.
“When making decisions, you have to look at what the law is, not what you would like it to be,” she said. “It can be hard. But I’ve never recused myself from a case because I didn’t think I could be objective in interpreting the law.”
Although she had no lawyers in her family or any particular role models, Meyerson decided to become a lawyer because she felt that it would give her an opportunity to make the world a better place in some way. She liked the idea of advocating for people who couldn’t advocate for themselves.
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