Fortune 500 and other market-leading businesses turn to the elite trial teams and C-Suite advisors of Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP (RSHC) to handle their most pressing challenges.

Noted by the Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards as “a true diversity and inclusion pioneer for the profession,” the firm draws from its authentic diversity to assemble bespoke teams for each engagement, incorporating multiple perspectives to craft legal strategies and deliver business insights that create success in both the courtroom and boardroom. RSHC attorneys are united by a culture of excellence that is relentlessly client-focused, dynamically innovative, and passionately committed to winning.

Our lawyers are regularly retained to resolve some of the most challenging, complex, and high-stakes legal issues that our clients face. Our litigators handle the full range of investigation and advocacy, from whistleblower allegations to government investigations, from pre-litigation demands to full-blown multi-district litigation, and from discrete internal disputes to substantial and public corporate crises.

Our transactional attorneys are called on by clients to structure and negotiate sophisticated transactions. Whether it is a syndicated construction financing, an airport concessions joint venture, a private equity acquisition, or an asset disposition, our deal attorneys have closed significant transactions across the nation.

Our trial lawyers have tried hundreds of civil and criminal cases to verdicts in state and federal courts across more than two dozen states. Our class actions team has defended against complex claims in more than 30 states. Our appellate lawyers have appeared in most federal Courts of Appeal and the United States Supreme Court.

We have deep and broad experience dealing with government at many levels. Our lawyers have served as Assistant United States Attorneys and others have experience as state court prosecutors. One was an Illinois state judge. Another was First Deputy Chief of Staff and Public Safety for the City of Chicago. Another served as General Counsel to the Governor of Illinois, and Deputy Corporation Counsel in charge of all City of Chicago litigation. We have judiciously exercised the power of the government, and we have defended our clients against it.

All our attorneys see themselves as counselors to their clients. Several served in top roles in the legal departments of household name companies, handling the panoply of matters that confront 21st century business: governance, regulatory, risk, expansion, competition, employment, compliance, intellectual property, transaction, and securities issues. We are skilled at dealing with the press. We have balanced the competing constituencies that our clients serve: customers, employees, investors, and regulators. We know how to help our clients get to the other side of a crisis. We also know that the best lawsuit is the one that is never filed.

Our Principles

· We excel at what we do
· We deliver value to our clients, as they measure value
· We provide exceptional service
· We are diverse and inclusive
· We perform exemplary pro bono service
· We care about our clients and each other

By putting clients at the center of our mission, by aligning our interests with theirs, and by building processes that allow us to fulfill our promises, we hope to earn and maintain the trust of our clients, every day, on every matter.

Our Approach

We listen and we learn. We dedicate our time, energy, and resources to devise creative and effective solutions that will meet the immediate and long-term goals of our clients, wherever and whenever those needs arise.

We pride ourselves on our innovative fee arrangements, which are designed to align our interests with those of our clients and to put the emphasis on efficiency and results.

We believe that lawyers from different backgrounds provide a better perspective on the problems our clients face. Simply put, we believe that the more diverse our teams, the more value we produce for our clients.

We work in a climate that emphasizes collaboration and teamwork. Everyone at our firm makes a contribution to our clients. We genuinely enjoy working together and partnering with our clients.

Our Lawyers

Our attorneys serve as trusted advisors to clients whom we have served for decades, counseling them on a broad range of strategic decisions. We have experience handling complex and demanding litigation, from major class actions and trial consolidations to individual matters, where the outcome can determine the direction and long-term prospects of their businesses. We counsel clients on developing and coordinating nationwide litigation strategy. We have conducted complex and multi-pronged internal investigations and responded to dozens of regulators’ inquiries. We structure and negotiate complex business transactions. We manage clients’ transactional needs across a range of services, including real estate and leasing, and providing strategic business counsel.

Our attorneys serve as trusted advisors to our clients, some of whom we have served for decades, counseling them on a broad range of strategic decisions.

Our Services

RSHC lawyers have established national recognition and exceptional records in a diverse array of practice areas such as:

· Class Actions
· White Collar Defense, Investigations & Compliance
· Product Liability & Mass Torts
· Commercial Disputes & Litigation
· Energy & Utilities
· Environmental Litigation
· Appellate Practice
· Aerospace & Aviation
· Antitrust & Competition
· Intellectual Property
· Insurance Litigation
· Education
· Animal Law
· Blockchain & Cryptocurrency
· Labor & Employment
· Financial Services Litigation
· Connected and Autonomous Vehicles & Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
· Risk, Reputation & Crisis Management
· Pro Bono Engagements
· Business Transactions
· Compliance Program Counseling, Design & Assessment

Clients
About Our Clients
We represent companies, organizations, and individuals who need sophisticated legal help. Our client list ranges from some of the largest multinational corporations and publicly traded companies in the world—including a number of the Fortune 100—to small privately held companies and private individuals. What they have in common is a need for lawyers who personally focus intensely on their problems and craft timely, cost-effective solutions that achieve the results they desire.
Contacts
Contacts
Therese Squillo
Director of Marketing, Events & Social Media
312.471.8783

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  • Animal Law
  • Antitrust Law
  • Appellate Practice
  • Aviation Law
  • Bet-the-Company Litigation
  • Cannabis Law
  • Commercial Finance Law
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Corporate Compliance Law
  • Criminal Defense: White-Collar
  • Education Law
  • Electronic Discovery and Information Management Law
  • Insurance Law
  • Litigation - Antitrust
  • Litigation - Banking and Finance
  • Litigation - Construction
  • Litigation - Environmental
  • Litigation - Health Care
  • Litigation - Insurance
  • Litigation - Intellectual Property
  • Litigation - Labor and Employment
  • Litigation - Patent
  • Litigation - Real Estate
  • Litigation - Securities
  • Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions - Defendants
  • Privacy and Data Security Law
  • Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
  • Sports Law

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A Lawyer's Guide to Negotiation


by Edward Casmere

Eight negotiation insights inspired by Shakespeare.

Oil painting of William Shakespeare

Top of the Mountain


by LaVon M. Johns and Patricia Brown Holmes

Making partner, ginning up huge business, earning peer respect and industry influence are laudable goals—but it’s important to pursue them methodically and mindfully. One dynamic duo who have reached the mountaintop show how it’s done.

Red flag sitting on the top of a mountain summit

New Sheriff in Town on ESG


by Patricia Brown Holmes

Various regulatory agencies within the Biden Administration are stepping up enforcement of corporate malfeasance in the ever-trendy ESG space.

esg-enforcement-corporate-environment

Follow the Money


by Rachel F. Sifuentes

Women are the future of fintech—but in the here and now, they’re still being underserved in an industry otherwise marked by explosive growth. Here’s why that must change.

women-future-fintech

An Allied Front Against Ransomware


by Patricia Brown Holmes, Abigail L. Peluso, Georgia N. Alexakis and John K. Theis

With the world ever more digitally entwined—particularly as the pandemic has increasingly driven commerce and ordinary business activity more fully online—the threat of ransomware is here to stay. Here’s a primer on the federal government’s response and how the private sector can help.

federal-government-response-ransomware-intern

Tested and Triumphant


by Patricia Brown Holmes

Native Chicagoan Patricia Brown Holmes has built an astonishingly varied career through sheer determination and an undimmed survival instinct. Throughout, she’s been determined to help others like her do the same.

Chicago skyline

All Aboard


by Patricia Brown Holmes

What effect is California’s new law mandating more women in corporate boardrooms likely to have?

California's Mandatory Gender Diversity

Benefits and Mechanics of Diverse Partner Integration


by Patricia Brown Holmes and Leslie Davis

Cover Story: Diverse Partner Integration

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