Antonio Romanucci (’85), a Chicago plaintiff’s attorney and John Marshall alumnus, spoke to law students, faculty and guests at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago on April 17. Romanucci discussed his law-school experience, his noteworthy cases and his plans for the future.
In a wide-ranging conversation with John Marshall Dean Darby Dickerson, Romanucci shared insights with John Marshall students about his high-profile cases and ways that he hopes to impact the communities he works in.
Romanucci said he prefers to take cases “that are game changers. If I think a case has the ability to make an impact on legislation or change a community, I am going to take it.”
He hopes some of his current, high-profile cases are going to effect change in areas including violence and police misconduct. He currently is representing victims of the Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando, Florida against the gunman’s former employer and also is representing a man who was shot by an off-duty Chicago Police Officer.
While police misconduct cases are a growing part of Romanucci’s caseload — he recently won an $18 million award for a victim of police misconduct – he continues to push for policy change as well. He currently serves as chair of the American Association for Justice’s Police Misconduct litigation group and is also heavily involved with the Chicago Bar Association in organizing an anti-violence summit this May to help address the city of Chicago’s violence epidemic and “make the bridge to justice a reality.”
“This is the first step in a long process. Our hope is to continue the process until we make enough noise that things change,” he said.
Last year, Romanucci donated $100,000 to the law school’s Pro Bono Program & Clinic in an effort to both fund the work of the Clinic and encourage John Marshall students to learn how to use the law to effect change through policy.
Romanucci is a name partner of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, a Chicago law firm where he focuses his practice on catastrophic personal injuries arising from police misconduct, including civil rights actions, medical malpractice, construction and other workplace accidents, nursing home negligence, aviation disasters, motor vehicle accidents and educational and sexual abuse. His life’s work has been devoted to fighting for the underserved and voiceless in society, whether it is traumatic brain injury victims, the mentally ill or children. His passion for fighting on behalf of injured victims and their families was sparked when his best friend from high school suffered a fatal brain injury playing football. His experience working as an Assistant Cook County Public Defender for two years further solidified his commitment to fighting for the rights of the underserved.
“We were thrilled to welcome Tony Romanucci back to campus. His hard work and commitment to fighting for the rights of others makes him a stellar example of what our students can achieve,” said Dickerson.
