Madison County Judge receives excellence award in legal advocacy

By Tribune Staff • EDWARDSVILLE – Madison County Associate Judge Veronica Armouti received the Advocate Award for Excellence in legal advocacy 

Armouti received the Advocate Award for Excellence in legal advocacy at the inaugural Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) Illinois Region Legal Leaders Awards held on Jan. 8 in O’Fallon, Illinois. 

Beyond the courtroom, Armouti is deeply engaged in the community. She supports local and pro bono organizations, serves on boards to share her legal expertise and mentors students pursuing careers in law. Armouti was the first Illinois judge to complete the Harvard Law School Judicial Executive Leadership Program and was part of the National Judicial College delegation to the Judicial Renaissance II Conference hosted by the Judicial Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of the Republic of South Korea. Armouti also teaches “Disabilities in the Courthouse,” a required continuing legal education course for judges at the statewide education conference and at new judge orientation. 

Armouti was raised in downstate Illinois and credits her upbringing and early mentorship with shaping her lifelong commitment to public service. After living abroad and in the Chicago suburbs, she returned to Southern Illinois to raise her family and build her legal career. Serving the community that helped develop her, she says, was both a natural and deeply meaningful choice.