After being elected 10 months ago, Collins Pettaway, Jr. will finally take his seat on the bench as circuit court judge for the fourth circuit.

Pettaway will be sworn in at the Dallas County Courthouse on Sunday evening and this ceremony follows several congratulatory events held in his honor.

On Saturday, the Dallas County Bar Association held a wine and cheese social for Pettaway at the Voting Rights Museum on Highway 80 East.

“Its been very busy,  I’ve been working on many cases and trying to conclude a 20-year law practice,” Pettaway said at the event Saturday. “It has not been easy.”

He said it has been difficult in the time since his election to wrap up all of the cases he had. For now, all of the cases that he has not yet finished, he said, will be transferred to other attorneys and as for the ones that are finished — those files will be kept at his law firm for safe keeping. He has practiced law with Chestnut, Sanders, Sanders & Pettaway for 20 years now and in total has practiced law for 28 years.

He said he will use what he has learned as a lawyer to help him judge while on the bench.

“I have mostly learned how to deal with people,” Pettaway said. “I seek to be as understanding as possible and judge with the right type of temperament and compassion needed to do what is right.”

Pettaway also said he will try to be considerate of others time while judge.

Pettaway beat out incumbent Circuit Court Judge Tommy Jones  in March of 2012.

Pettaway beat Jones with 176 votes in Dallas County and in Wilcox, Perry, Bibb and Hale Counties he also won.