Bowling Green attorney Shawn Alcott filed paperwork Monday announcing her campaign for the Kentucky Supreme Court, becoming the second candidate in the election for the judgeship being vacated by retiring Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr.

Alcott is running for the court’s 2nd District seat and joins Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Kelly Thompson as a candidate.

Minton is retiring effective at the end of his second eight-year term this year.

Alcott is a Bowling Green resident who practices with the Kerrick Bachert law firm, concentrating on health care law and the representation of hospitals, clinics, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals.

Over her career, Alcott said others have mentioned to her that she would be well-suited to be a judge, and she began to seriously consider a future on the bench in the past year.

“I’ve been in practice for 28 years and have loved serving my clients, whether they are businesses or individuals,” Alcott said. “It’s time for me to think beyond what I’m doing individually on the micro level and think of what I can do to serve this commonwealth.”

Born in Illinois, Alcott grew up in Central City and graduated from Vanderbilt University, where she said a panel discussion she attended that featured several members of the legal and journalism professions piqued her interest in a career in law.

She received her law degree from the University of Kentucky in 1993.

“Learning there how to do legal research, break issues down and take everyday problems and apply the law to them was very fulfilling and fascinating,” Alcott said.

Alcott was a law clerk for Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Joseph R. Huddleston and also served as an assistant Warren County attorney before joining the firm of Kerrick, Grise and Stivers, the predecessor to Kerrick Bachert.

While her work currently focuses on issues in the medical field, Alcott has also represented several city and county governments and a local water district, and she said those experiences have brought her close to many issues affecting families in the state.

“I’m very excited and also very humbled,” Alcott said. “The task of running a campaign in an election like this is a daunting task, but I’m committed to giving it my very best effort.”

The makeup of the 2nd District has changed thanks to legislation signed into law last week by Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear that creates new boundaries for state Supreme Court districts.

Formerly a 14-county district that stretched west into Daviess, Henderson and Union counties along the Ohio River, the reshaped 2nd District now encompasses a swath of 17 counties extending north from Bowling Green and its surrounding counties to Bullitt and Spencer counties, bordering Louisville.