July was a month of celebration, remembrance and action for R&B as we saw the additions of new partners and a number of awards for our attorneys, but also the first anniversary of the Highland Park Fourth of July Parade mass shooting. Additionally, we filed a wrongful conviction complaint over a forced confession of a young mother of two, and progressed many other cases for clients.

We remain appreciative of our relationship with you and encourage you to reach out if we can ever be of assistance.

Always with tremendous gratitude,

The Team at Romanucci & Blandin

 

New Partners Announcement

Picture of Partner Bryce T. Hensley and Partner Michael R. Grieco on the Clark St. bridge near the Romanucci & Blandin offices.

Romanucci & Blandin announced the naming of (left to right in the above picture) Bryce T. Hensley and Michael R. Grieco as partners at the firm. Both are strong contributors individually and as instrumental members of the R&B team.

Bryce helps manage the firm’s complex litigation group representing individuals and classes of victims of toxic exposures, product defects, civil rights violations, automobile accidents, and other catastrophic personal injuries and wrongful death. 

Michael helps manage and litigate the firm's birth injuries, environmental & toxic torts, mass torts & class actions, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse, premises liability, product liability, transportation & car accidents and workplace injury practice areas.

 

Our Thinking: On Sports Hazing and the Highland Park Anniversary

Blue colored graphic of OUR THINKING: BLOGS - FOUNDING PARTNER - picture of FOUNDING PARTNER ANTONIO M. ROMANUCCI - Athletic Hazing: Schools Need to Put Athlete Wellness Over Winning at Any Cost

Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci wrote about the hazing of student-athletes due to allegations against multiple sports programs making headlines in July. He argues that the way to get peak performance from athletes is to prioritize their wellness and that coaches are 100% responsible for the behavior of their teams.

Picture of the Bennett family.

Our client Lauren Bennett was one of those seriously wounded at last year's Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, and she authored an open letter to the public and to civic leaders saying the time to act is now to ensure safety in our communities.

 

R&B Results

Image of police car making a stop at night.

After eight years, Romanucci & Blandin and Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge, together with the City of Chicago and Chicago Police Department, reached a settlement concerning the city's investigatory stop policy, also known as stop-and-frisk. The suit alleged more than 2 million stops by CPD had no articulable suspicion and the vast majority of those stopped were Black and Hispanic men. The settlement terms included both a monetary payout of $5 million for the remaining class group and policy changes for the police. 

 

Case Updates

Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci and client Marilyn Mulero in front of posters at the press conference.

Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci, Partner Bhavani K. Raveendran and Attorney Sam A. Harton were joined by a team from Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge to announce the filing of a lawsuit on behalf of Marilyn Mulero, who was exonerated after spending nearly three decades in jail - including five years on death row - due to a forced confession at the hands of corrupt Chicago Police Department detectives Reynaldo Guevara and Ernest Halvorsen. Guevara has been accused by the Death Penalty Information Center of framing defendants of murder in more than 50 cases. At least thirty wrongful convictions tied to Guevara’s corrupt conduct have been overturned.

 Picture of doctor inserting needle into arm of patient with shirt sleeve rolled up.

Partner Martin D. Gould and Senior Attorney Daisy Ayllón filed a new sexual abuse case in the Columbus, Ohio area on behalf of a woman who experienced abuse at a lab while completing a medical check to acquire her green card. The woman is speaking out to help other immigrants be aware and to call attention to the abuse of vulnerable people new to the United States who may not know where to turn for help.

Picture of a prison with text of Two appellate wins in the Seventh Circuit for in detention death lawsuits

Partner Bhavani K. Raveendran wrote an appellate response brief and argued before the federal Seventh Circuit on behalf of a client whose Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated in jail. Fellow Eva Dickey assisted in researching the brief. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Estate of Aaron Chilcutt, who died by suicide at the Waukegan Police Department Jail, finding that the Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal and allowing the case to proceed to a jury trial. The appeal centered around whether two defendant police officers, who had Mr. Chilcutt involuntarily committed for a reported suicide attempt and two weeks later arrested and booked Mr. Chilcutt in jail, were entitled to qualified immunity for failure to protect Mr. Chilcutt from self-harm. The trial court, whose decision was appealed, found that Mr. Chilcutt’s estate had presented sufficient evidence at summary judgment to create questions of fact regarding the officers’ notice of Mr. Chilcutt’s serious risk of suicide and that those questions of fact must be decided by a jury prior to the qualified immunity analysis. The Seventh Circuit agreed with the trial court and the Estate and dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

In another Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals case, Bhavani and Eva also worked with Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci and Attorney Sam A. Harton, as well as Madeline Meth and Esthena Barlow with Georgetown University Law Appellate Courts Immersion Clinic, to revive a suit against the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office. The lawsuit alleges that the Sheriff's Office delayed medical treatment for Eugene Washington, who died while in pretrial detainment in jail.

Adrian Sainz, AP Kristen Clarke, the assistant U.S. attorney general for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, speaks at a news conference Thursday to announce the investigation

The U.S. Department of Justice announced a civil rights investigation into the City of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department. The federal government will look into claims of "pattern or practice of constitutional or statutory violations" prior to a lawsuit or the possible release of a public report about the city and its police. Our legal team is honored to represent the family of Tyre Nichols, who was beaten to death by Memphis police officers, and we support any and all efforts to seek truth and create positive change.

Picture of the Highland Park, IL downtown at dusk.

Illinois Sens. Richard Durbin and Tammy Duckworth passed a resolution in Washington D.C. honoring those who were killed in the 2022 July 4th Highland Park Parade mass shooting. North Shore Rep. Brad Schneider introduced a similar resolution in the House of Representatives.

 

Legal Leadership

Senior Paalergal Mirena Cece Fontana Fontana and Romanucci & Blandin hosted a group of college students from DePaul's First Generation in Law Scholars Program.

Senior Paralegal Mirena Cece Fontana and Romanucci & Blandin hosted a group of college students from DePaul University's First Generation in Law Scholars Program. Mirena presented on"Civil Litigation & the Paralegal Profession" after giving a tour to the group. Later, Mirena, along with fellow Senior Paralegal Matt Dominguez and Founding Partner Stephan Blandin, answered questions from the students about their legal experiences. This visit was a collaboration between Mirena (Advisory Board Member of the Roosevelt University Paralegal Studies Program), the Roosevelt University Paralegal Studies Program and the DePaul University College of Law. Some of the students who visited us are currently in the Pre-Law Program, and some are entertaining the idea of a legal career. The students were from DePaul University, Roosevelt University and Augustana College - Illinois.

Pictures of Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump and Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci.

Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci and Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump led a presentation at a conference for Federal Defenders titled "Exploring the Intersection of Race and Persuasion: Insights from Plaintiff's Lawyers for Defenders." Together they shared their insights from civil cases like George Floyd, Tyre Nichols and others, highlighting tools and strategies for participants in the Defenders Services training program.

Picture of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) sign at its 2023 annual convention in the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci received two notable honors - the Above and Beyond and Distinguished Service awards - from the American Association for Justice (AAJ) during the organization's 2023 annual conference this week in Philadelphia. Antonio has dedicated more than twenty years of service to AAJ in a variety of roles.

Partner Michael R. Grieco with the F. Scott Baldwin Award at this year’s American Association for Justice annual convention in Philadelphia.

AAJ named Romanucci & Blandin Partner Michael R. Grieco its 2023 recipient of the prestigious F. Scott Baldwin Award at this year’s annual convention in Philadelphia.

F. Scott Baldwin Award winners are chosen by AAJ to represent the “most outstanding young lawyer” in the country based on significant contributions to the New Lawyers Division of AAJ and one or more outstanding trial verdicts. AAJ honored Grieco due to his remarkable success in the past year, which includes two medical malpractice verdicts of $28.7 million and $1.3 million respectively, in addition to a product liability settlement of nearly $3 million and his service for two years as co-chair of the New Lawyers Division Education Committee.

Picture of Unconventional 1983 Claims CLE Presentation and Partner Bhavani K. Raveendran

Partner Bhavani K. Raveendran, Chair of AAJ's Police Misconduct Litigation Group, presented on “Unconventional 1983 Claims” during the Civil Rights section CLE at this year’s annual convention and was honored to be elected Treasurer of AAJ's Minority Caucus.

Picture of Partner David A. Neiman and AAJ Certificate of Recognition

Partner David A. Neiman, a member of AAJ since 2016 who is active on numerous committees including the Gun Violence Prevention Group, received the Certificate of Recognition at this year’s Membership & Awards Luncheon, a distinction that recognizes AAJ members who have made significant contributions through membership, education, or fundraising to sustain and strengthen the organization.

Picture of Senior Attorney Daisy Ayllón presenting at the 2023 AAJ annual convention.

Senior Attorney Daisy Ayllón was recognized for completing the 2023 AAJ Leadership Academy and gave a CLE presentation on “How to Prep Clients to Give Good Testimony by Navigating Expectations and Group Biases” at this year’s convention.

 

Upcoming Continuing Legal Education Opportunity

Romanucci & Blandin Presents: How to Become a Resilient Lawyer CLE

On Wednesday, August 16, Romanucci & Blandin will be hosting a free Zoom CLE program for Illinois attorneys. Dr. Diana Uchiyama, Executive Director at the Lawyers’ Assistance Program (LAP), will be speaking on how to appropriately understand and handle challenges faced in the legal profession.

1 hour of General / Mental Health and Substance Abuse CLE credit is to be provided to Illinois attorneys. ARDC number must be provided to earn credit.

Registration is required prior to the CLE.

Space is limited. Register in advance to save your space.