New judge sworn in: Nick Wallace takes the bench for Grant County District Court

EPHRATA — Nick Wallace was sworn in as a Grant County District Court Judge Monday before a courtroom filled with family, friends and colleagues.

Wallace replaces Grant County District Court Judge Janis Whitener-Moberg, who retired Tuesday.

Grant County Superior Court Judge John Knodell administered the oath to Wallace, who said after the ceremony being a judge was a great feeling.

“It feels wonderful,” he said. “I’m very excited to start a new journey.”

Wallace gave a short speech after taking the oath, in which he said he expects to make tough and uncomfortable decisions.

“My personal preference and my personal druthers often really don’t matter. I’ve got to make a decision that will apply the law as written, and that means that if I reach a conclusion I don’t necessarily personally agree with, so be it,” he said.

As a new judge, he expects to make some mistakes, he said, and asked the district court clerks to set him right when he needs it.

Wallace said he was grateful for the support shown by his family.

His parents provided him with a good work ethic, he said, something he tries to practice to this day. His wife, Theresa Wallace, was supportive of his decision to quit a job to go to law school, and to take a job in a private practice in Ephrata rather than one in the state Attorney General’s Office.

Wallace said he joined the firm of Schultheis Tabler in 1995, and became the managing partner of Schultheis Tabler Wallace in 2006. He gave credit to the original partners, Richard Schultheis and Mike Tabler, for teaching him the tools of the attorney’s trade.

“I had no idea how long I would be there, but I quickly discovered I wanted to stay there as long as possible. Because I had absolutely the two best mentors that a young attorney could have,” he said. “They taught me how to be a lawyer, and to lawyer the right way.”

He also gave credit to Kim Allen, now the Grant County Clerk, but an employee at Schultheis Tabler at the time he joined the firm.

“Coming out of law school, you’re book smart, but you have no clue of how things really work. For the first year of my rookie season, Kim was there showing me the ropes. I will be forever grateful for everything that she helped me out with,” he said.

Wallace also served as a Grant County Superior Court Commissioner, a position where he worked on uncontested cases and handled specific cases assigned to him. He gave credit to superior court judges Evan Sperline, John Antosz, and John Knodell for their willingness to work with him.

It was a challenging position and he wasn’t sure he was ready for it, he said. But he learned with the help of the three judges.

“Judge Antosz, Judge Knodell and Judge Sperline were there to teach me how to be a judge,” he said.