Department of Information Systems General Counsel Anthony Black was elected Eighth Circuit trustee on the 2015 board of trustees for the American Inns of Court, a professional association of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals.

Courts in the Eighth Circuit include Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

"It is both an honor and a privilege to represent the interests of the Eighth Circuit members at the national level of our organization and I look forward to the opportunity to do so," Black said.

Black was elected to the board of trustees to a four-year term that began July 1. He will participate in an orientation as a trustee for the Eighth Circuit in Washington, D.C., Oct. 22. Orientation activities include an event commemorating the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, a dinner at the Mayflower Hotel celebrating the 35th anniversary of the founding of the organization and a Celebration of Excellence event hosted by Justice Elena Kagan, at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The first American Inn of Court was founded in Utah, in 1980. Today, there are nearly 400 chartered American Inns of Court in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Tokyo and more than 30,000 active members nationwide.

Black has served as DIS general counsel since 2004. He previously served as an assistant attorney general for the state of Arkansas, the deputy city attorney for Little Rock and as a law clerk to Chief Justice Jack W. Holt, Jr. of the Arkansas Supreme Court.