Newton attorney Robert Logan will assume the role of Judge of the Second Chancery Court District on Jan. 1, 2019, after he was only candidate to qualify for this year’s election.
He will follow incumbent Chancery Judge H. David Clark II, who decided to retire at the end of his term, which expires Dec. 31, 2018.
“This wasn’t anything I had thought about until Judge Clark announced that he didn’t want to run again,” Logan said. “Once he made that announcement, I thought about it and decided to run for the office.”
Logan, who is an attorney with the firm of Logan and Mayo in Newton, said he was happy that he doesn’t have an opponent in this year’s race.
“It’s a blessing to not have to devote the time and money to run a campaign for the rest of this year,” Logan said. “It will give me more of an opportunity to transition from my private practice to the chancery judge position.”
Because he will become the chancery judge, state law mandates that attorneys cannot have a private practice while serving as a chancery judge. Thus, Logan will be leaving his practice to Brian Mayo. He and a new attorney, who is graduating from law school and will be taking the state bar exam later this year, will continue the practice that Logan started.
The chancery judge hears special cases involving family law, estates and guardianships, including divorce, child custody, adoption, alimony, guardianships, lunacy on commitment hearings, wills and estates of descendants.
The judge also has to handle other matters and settle disputes involving equity, challenges to state laws, land issues, titles, contracts, emancipation, insurance settlements to minors and property disputes.
The Second Chancery Court District covers Newton, Jasper and Scott counties.
Logan said his practice deals quite a bit with cases in chancery court, which will help him make a smooth transition to the other side of the bench.
“That’s been a big emphasis with my cases over the years,” Logan said. “So it seemed natural for me to run for chancery judge.”
Logan and Mayo currently serves as attorneys for the City of Newton, the Newton Municipal School Board and the East Central Community College Board of Trustees. That is one thing that Logan said he will miss the most.
“I’ve really enjoyed serving as an attorney with the three entities we served,” Logan said. “I feel that has prepared me for this opportunity.”
