RSHC is pleased to announce that name partner Bob Riley has been awarded the highest overall rating by his peers and named Best Lawyers’ 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” for Product Liability Litigation-Defendants in the Chicago area. This is the third time that Bob has been honored as Lawyer of the Year, having been recognized in 2017 for this same honor and in 2016 as Lawyer of the Year for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions-Defendants.

Nine RSHC partners have been recognized by their peers for inclusion in the 2019 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America in nine areas of selection and in three geographic regions. They are reviewed by their peers based on professional expertise and undergo an authentication process to make sure they are in current practice and in good standing.

According to a soon-to-be released survey of 3,000 lawyers by Joan Williams, University of California at Hastings law professor, there is a double standard for women lawyers expressing anger at work or in the courtroom when it’s justified. About to begin a six-to-eight-week federal trial, RSHC Managing Partner, former judge, and prosecutor, Patricia Brown Holmes shared, “… earn the trust of the judge and jury and show them that their stereotypes are wrong. One way that I do that is authenticity.”

RSHC Partner Ron Safer has been selected from hundreds of nominations as one of the 2018 “20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans” by StreetWise because of his extraordinary dedication to pro bono work. Since 2000, Ron has led the charge for seven wrongfully convicted people to be exonerated who would have otherwise spent their lives in prison. The StreetWise Board of Directors and affiliated partners created this new award and annual celebration to recognize and honor courageous unsung-heroes who make Chicago a better place to live and work and inspire others to make a positive impact in our community.

On Friday, July 27, Judge Leinenweber of the Northern District of Illinois entered a permanent injunction against the Trump Administration’s attempts to force the City of Chicago’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts as a condition of receiving federal grant funding. The Court’s injunction invalidates three conditions that the Administration imposed on Byrne JAG funding, and will allow Chicago to receive and use these critical funds for local law enforcement efforts.

Breaking boundaries, leading by example, and committed to making a difference, RSHC Partners Heidi Dalenberg, Patricia Brown Holmes, and Kelly Warner were selected as three of Chicago’s Notable Women Lawyers 2018 by Crain’s Chicago Business. Crain’s recognized 150 legal industry leaders who have served with distinction for decades, demonstrate the power to effect change, and serve as role models and mentors to others. Join us in congratulating Heidi, Patricia, and Kelly, and thanking them for their leadership and dedication to our clients and RSHC.

RSHC Managing Partner Patricia Brown Holmes has been named to Savoy Magazine’s 2018 Most Influential Black Lawyers list, the “best of the best” of Black lawyers within leading national law firms and corporate and general counsel from Fortune 1000 corporations. Join us in congratulating Patricia and all those selected for their professionalism, protection of rights, and community service.

RSHC Associate Layla Dotson Lumpkin has been selected to the 2018 National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 and recognized for her leadership, reputation, influence, stature, and profile as an outstanding black lawyer younger than the age of 40. Only 40 black lawyers and non-black attorneys that promote diversity from each state are selected for membership each year. Please join RSHC in congratulating Layla on this well-deserved recognition.

Congratulations to RSHC Partner Sarah Youngblood-Bates and RSHC Associate Lance Cidre on their selection to the 2018 Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. It is the sixth year in a row that Sarah has been selected, and it is the third year in a row that Lance has been selected. No more than 2.5 percent of the region’s attorneys under the age of 40 or in practice for less than ten years are selected and recognized by their peers for their professional accomplishments in their practice areas.

On July 2, a federal judge in Washington, DC ordered ICE to stop blanket denials of parole to asylum seekers at five of its Field Offices, and to follow its own internal 2009 Parole Directive which requires individualized determinations of parole applications. In issuing his preliminary injunction, Judge James Boasberg relied on ICE data which RSHC lawyers Mishan Wroe and Yakov Wiegmann had helped obtain in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The data showed that the five ICE Field Offices are flouting the 2009 Directive, detaining nearly all asylum seekers even when they pose no flight risk or danger to the public.

RSHC Managing Partner Patricia Brown Holmes shares her opinions and experience with volunteering in nonprofits in Best Lawyers “Women in the Law” Summer Edition 2018 editorial article, “The Profit in Nonprofits.” Volunteer organizations are the lifeblood of the legal profession. Lawyers must participate in nonprofits to help shape the future.

On July 1, RSHC Partner Steve Hankins (’85) begins a four-year term as President of the Alumnae/i Association of Vassar College. He is also serving a second term on the college’s Board of Trustees. Steve says, “We’ll be supporting a new president [Elizabeth Bradley] who has some bold new visions, things every Vassar alum can rally around. We need to ensure that all of our alums feel that they belong. With the right alums engaging our students as mentors, ‘Vassar for a lifetime’ should be clear from day one on campus.”

RSHC Of Counsel (and poet) Cheryl D. S. Walker has been appointed Chair of the eight-person task force to select the second St. Louis Poet Laureate. The selected candidate will serve a two-year term and promote the art of poetry and encourage literacy and learning throughout the St. Louis region. Nominations from the public are being accepted through July 20.

To be a first and a female role model. The Cook County Bar Association awarded RSHC Managing Partner Patricia Brown Holmes the Historic Ida B. Platt Award at their June 22 104th Annual Installation and Awards Banquet held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

We are proud to announce that the Law Bulletin Media Leading Lawyers has named 19 of RSHC’s Illinois attorneys as Leading Lawyers and seven as Emerging Lawyers. RSHC adds two new names this year, as Valarie Hays and Tal Chaiken were named a 2018 Illinois Leading Lawyer and Emerging Lawyer, respectively.

The NCAA’s ‘Year in Residence” Rule permits Division I football student athletes to apply to transfer to different schools and to play at their new school after a year in academic residence. The rule operates to prevent trading from year to year like professional athletes. On June 25 the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected antitrust claims stating the NCAA’s eligibility rules define the status of student athletes and preserve the amateur character of college athletics. Congratulations to the NCAA and Greg Curtner on this victory.

RSHC Managing Partner Patricia Brown Holmes was featured in the June 21 American Lawyer story, “Data Shows Female Lawyers Are Moving Up Faster in #MeToo Era.” "Sexism and racism in the law industry is real,” said Holmes. “The world overall is changing and the law business eventually will catch up.” She expressed, “We are moving in the right direction.”

Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP ranked a top ten firm in Law360’s annual 400 survey as a firm outpacing its peers on attracting and retaining women of color. With women of color making up 19.1% of its workforce, RSHC ranked ninth in the survey. Visibility, community, a voice at the table, and a balanced ladder are hurdles women of color face, and RSHC proactively tries to create an environment at the firm that “engages everyone and creates a camaraderie,” said Managing Partner Patricia Brown Holmes.

Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP ranked sixth in Law360’s Glass Ceiling Report for best law firms for minority attorneys with 20-149 attorneys. At RSHC we believe the power of diversity is the power of collective wisdom. We are proud of our start, but it is just the beginning.

Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP (RSHC) continues to grow its business transactions team with the latest addition of Lisa A. Houdyshell, who has joined RSHC as Of Counsel. A former senior counsel for a Fortune 500 global mining company, Lisa’s 25 years of commercial and real estate transactions experience in the U.S. and other countries will further strengthen the firm’s business transactions practice.