RSHC in the news

Vault’s “2020 Best Midsize Law Firms to Work For” names RSHC tops several different categories. RSHC was named #1 in Best Midsize Law Firms for Diversity, and #1 in Best Midsize Law Firms for Pro Bono. RSHC was also named #14 in Best Midsize Law Firms for Technology and Innovation, #18 for Firm Culture, and #23 Overall.

Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP (RSHC) announced the hiring of two new partners, Jeffrey W. Morof and Shalem A. Massey. Jeffrey W. Morof has spent his entire career defending aerospace clients and the aviation insurance market in product liability and commercial litigation matters, including serving as national counsel for two large aerospace manufacturers. Shalem A. Massey is a litigator with experience handling high-stakes and “bet the company” matters for businesses and insurers in the aerospace and technology industries.

Congratulations to RSHC Partner Sarah Youngblood-Bates on her selection to the 2019 Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. It is the seventh year in a row that Sarah has been selected. No more than 2.5 percent of the region’s attorneys are recognized by their peers for their professional accomplishments in their practice areas.

RSHC is working to change the face of the legal profession, literally, and figuratively. We are pleased to announce that RSHC has been named a Top Five firm for minority lawyers AND a Top Ten firm for minority equity partners.

Ron Safer and Eli Litoff are proud to be part of the team that secured Bernard Williams’ release from Cook County Jail on Friday. In February, the Court of Appeals vacated Mr. Williams’ murder conviction and granted a new trial, but a Cook County Judge ordered that Mr. Williams be held without bail until his new trial was completed.

RSHC is delighted to announce that the Cook County Bar Association’s Board of Directors selected RSHC Associate Raymond Rushing to receive the 2019 CCBA Junior Counselor Award, which recognizes a member of the Cook County Bar Association who has been admitted to practice law in Illinois for five (5) years or less, for outstanding service rendered to the legal profession and to the Bar Association. Raymond will be presented with this award at the CCBA’s 105th Annual Awards and Installation Banquet to be held on Thursday, June 20, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

RSHC proudly announces that Partner Merili Seale has been recognized by the National Bar Association as one of the nation’s top 40 lawyers under the age of 40. The award commends those most deserving for their high achievement in the legal field based solely on merit, and their commitment to the practice of law, community service, and social change. Merili and fellow award recipients will be honored at the 10th Anniversary of the Awards ceremony on July 24 during the NBA’s 93rd Annual Convention in New York City.

Congratulations to Drahcir Smith and the entire 2019-2020 Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. (BWLA) Board of Directors and Scholarship Fund Board, who were installed on June 3. The group pledged their renewed commitment to making an “impact” on the legal profession, as well as the general community-at-large, and changing so many lives.

RSHC is proud to sponsor and have RSHC Partners, Meghan McMeel and Kate Stimeling, presenting at The Women, Diversity & Change Summit programs in Chicago (June 6) and San Francisco (June 11). Meghan will be speaking at the June 6 program on strategies for strategically fostering effective sponsors for women in law to progress their careers. Kate will be presenting on the June 11 San Francisco panel, “Sponsors, Influencers & Career Engineering.” The conference will explore and inspire lasting change for women and minorities in the legal profession.

Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila is extremely proud of our three partners recognized as top Gen X practitioners in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business. Joseph McCoy, Kelly Warner, and Josh Lee serve in senior leadership roles at the firm as well as actively serve on boards of professional associations and organizations giving back to their profession and community.

RSHC is proud to announce that RSHC Employment Counsel Drahcir Marie Smith has been elected the 2019-2020 Corresponding Secretary for the Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. (BWLA). Drahcir served as a BWLA Board Member at Large for the 2018-2019 term. Congratulations to all of the new BWLA Officers and Board members!

Raymond D. Rushing, a product liability litigator and former diversity co-chair of a global law firm, joins Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila’s product liability group adding a wealth of experience in the medical device, consumer and industrial product defect, and mass tort claims area.

RSHC Managing Partner Patricia Brown Holmes was the special guest on the March 15 Rare & Scratchy Rock ‘N Roll retrospective podcast hosted by Radio Dave Milberg featuring 30 Feminist Hit Singles Before Their Time between the 1950’s and 1990’s. The history and snippets of thirty (30) hit songs about female empowerment by Aretha Franklin (Respect), Helen Reddy (I am Woman), Gloria Gaynor (I Will Survive), and more were remembered for their strong and positive impact.

Patricia Brown Holmes made history when she was elected RSHC’s first Managing Partner in April 2018. She is the first and currently the only African-American woman to head a national law firm that is not women- or minority-owned. RSHC is a top ranked firm for gender and racial diversity.

Whether a land sale, lease, or financing with a fast-paced lifecycle, Craig Jeffrey brings order to chaos, creates the roadmap, and then executes the plan. Through the lens of his parents, who were small business owners, he saw the important role a lawyer played in helping businesses and communities thrive. Enjoy reading what Craig’s planning and a little serendipity have led to in the January 2019 Leading Lawyers Magazine—Real Estate, Construction & Environmental Edition.