Conway, Sarah G.

Mark H. Ferguson joined Sorling, Northrup, Hanna, Cullen & Cochran, Ltd., as of counsel in 2001 and became chief operating officer in 2003.

After practicing law in Springfield, Illinois, from 1978 through 1986, Mr. Ferguson joined Firstbank of Illinois Co., a Springfield-based, publicly-traded, multi-bank holding company, as Chief Financial Officer. In 1988, he became President and Chief Executive Officer of Firstbank, and was elected Chairman of the Board and CEO in 1989. From 1988 through 1998, under his direction, Firstbank became the largest and most profitable independent banking organization headquartered in downstate Illinois, acquiring banks and other financial services companies in central and southern Illinois and in the western suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri. Following Firstbank's merger with Mercantile Bancorporation of St. Louis in 1998, Ferguson served as Chairman and CEO of Mercantile Bank of Illinois and, until his retirement in July of 2001, as Illinois Regional President of Firstar Bank of Illinois, the successor to Mercantile.

Prior to his banking career, Ferguson's practice in Springfield focused on mergers and acquisitions, commercial banking, securities, and general corporate transactions. He is licensed to practice in Illinois and is admitted to the bar of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, the U.S. Tax Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Ferguson is available to assist with banking and corporate operational, acquisition, and transactional issues.