About Candice M
Candice M Thomason combines legal training and clinical mental health education in a practice anchored in central Illinois. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Chestnut Hill College in 2010. She completed a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Valparaiso University in 2014 and received her Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University School of Law in 2014.
Her educational path reflects an interest in both the mechanics of the criminal justice system and the human elements that often sit at the center of legal disputes. The M.A. program added formal training in counseling theory, assessment and client work. The law degree followed, giving her the credential to bring those complementary perspectives into the courtroom and into client consultations.
Thomason is admitted to practice in Illinois and has built a practice tied to the region. She has been a member of the Peoria County Bar Association since 2015 and joined the McLean County Bar Association in 2022. Those local affiliations have put her in contact with prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges across several county courthouses. They have also connected her to bar programs and local legal education efforts.
Colleagues and clients describe her approach as steady and practical. Her combined training in criminal justice and counseling shapes how she evaluates cases that involve behavioral health issues, competency questions or mitigation matters. She has experience addressing the intersection of mental health and law in client interviews, case strategy and during negotiations. That perspective can be useful in sentencing discussions, diversion options and in preparing mitigation materials when a court will consider an individual’s background and needs.
Thomason maintains an office in Bloomington and conducts work across Illinois from that base. She handles matters that draw on both her legal training and her clinical mental health background. In practice she applies those skills in client intake, case analysis and advocacy before courts and administrative bodies. She remains active in the local bar associations and continues to work from the Bloomington office, serving clients throughout the state of Illinois in matters that involve criminal justice and mental health considerations.
