Our History
Five decades of law in Watseka
Some firms talk about legacy. This one has simply been here — on the same kind of matters, for the same community, across fifty years.
An office opens in Watseka
Susan Sumner Tungate is admitted to the Illinois bar and opens a law practice in Watseka, the county seat of Iroquois County.
Tungate & Tungate
Susan and her husband James L. Tungate — married in 1973 — begin practicing together as Tungate & Tungate, serving the region for nearly two decades with offices in Watseka, Cissna Park, and Onarga.
To the bench
Susan is selected as an associate judge of the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit of Illinois, serving Iroquois and Kankakee counties. James continues the practice.
Circuit judge
Susan is elected a circuit judge, and voters retain her in 2014 — twenty years of judicial service in all.
A return to practice
After retiring from the bench, Susan returns to the Watseka office. Few Illinois lawyers have seen estate matters from both sides of the bench.
James L. Tungate's legacy
James practices law for more than forty-five years, until his death in November 2024. A scholar before he was a lawyer — Illinois Wesleyan, Northwestern, a doctorate, then a University of Illinois law degree — he was admitted before the United States Supreme Court in 1985. His legacy remains part of this firm's name and story.
The next generation — still in family hands
With Susan now retired, the practice is led by her nephew, J. Sumner Majer — the firm still in family hands. Estate law is generational by nature — and so, it turns out, is this office. The families it serves today are often connected to families it served decades ago, and it intends to be here for the next generation, too.
History & Legacy
“Estate law is ultimately about people, property, responsibility, and what we leave behind.”
Your family's next chapter
A practice with a legacy of its own, helping families plan theirs.