Emily L. Fitch

Emily L. Fitch concentrates her practice in the areas of civil litigation, agricultural law, property law, insurance law, and criminal law. She began working at the Law Group in November 2021.

Ms. Fitch is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association and is the first female president of the Fayette County Bar Association. She is also actively involved in the Vandalia Historical Society, which promotes local history and the preservation of Vandalia’s historical structures, including the Vandalia Statehouse and the Little Brick House. She is the current secretary on the board of the Vandalia Historical Society.

Ms. Fitch was born and raised in rural Northern Illinois. She attended Valparaiso University in Northwest Indiana where she graduated cum laude in December 2010 with her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Spanish and Political Science.

She graduated cum laude with her Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University (NIU) School of Law in May 2014. While in law school, Ms. Fitch was the Symposium Editor of the NIU Law Review. Her article “An Inconsistent Truth: The Various Establishment Clause Tests as Applied in the Context of Public Displays of (Allegedly) ‘Religious’ Symbols and Their Applicability Today” was published in the Spring 2014 edition of the NIU Law Journal.

After graduating from law school, Ms. Fitch worked at a personal injury law firm in the Chicago suburbs. Ms. Fitch then worked for a small firm in Rockford, Illinois, practicing in the areas of employment law including employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and Whistleblower Act as well as civil rights and nursing home defense. In December 2015, Ms. Fitch moved to Vandalia, Illinois and worked in the general practice of law. Ms. Fitch then served as the Associate Public Defender in Marion County, Illinois, where she gained invaluable courtroom and trial experience handling all types of juvenile and criminal matters from misdemeanor and traffic cases to first-degree murder.

Ms. Fitch has also co-authored two articles in the Illinois Bar Journal published by the Illinois State Bar Association. Her article “What did you say?! The Changing Landscape of Juvenile Custodial Interrogations” was published in the June 2019 edition of the Illinois Bar Journal. Ms. Fitch’s article “What’s That Smell? An overview of the legal changes brought about by the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act” was published in the October 2020 edition of the Illinois Bar Journal. Ms. Fitch’s publication regarding the new Illinois cannabis law led to her being interviewed by the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. That interview led to the October 27, 2020 Sun-Times article which was entitled “Does Illinois’ pot law pass the smell test? Scent of weed can still prompt cops to search vehicles.”

Ms. Fitch continues to reside in Vandalia. She speaks fluent Spanish.