Patricia Brown Holmes

There’s not much in the law that RSHC Managing Partner Patricia Brown Holmes hasn’t done. A former state court judge, experienced prosecutor, and defense lawyer, Judge Holmes was recruited from the bench after nine years’ service in Cook County, Illinois, and is renowned for impeccable judgment, brilliant strategy, and sage counsel. She is a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 clients and others facing high-stakes commercial disputes and litigation; class actions; investigations and white collar criminal matters; environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issues; and reputational crises. Judge Holmes is one of a handful of Illinois lawyers who have handled cases in state, city, and federal court as well as state appellate, federal appellate, and the Illinois Supreme Court. She is the first Black woman to be global managing partner and have her name on the door of a national law firm that is not women- or minority-owned, a feat made possible by the trailblazing activities of AAMPGC.

She serves as co-chair of the National Football League’s Diversity Advisory Council, inaugural member of the Chicago Bears Women’s Advisory Board, member of the executive committee of the University of Illinois System Board of Trustees, and member of The Chicago Network and Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She chaired the board of Just the Beginning — A Pipeline Organization from 2007-2023. She is a former President of the Chicago Bar Association, Black Women Lawyers’ Association, and Harriet’s Daughters, and she is a former board member of LaRabida Children’s Hospital and current board member of the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Foundation. Judge Holmes has served in a variety of high-profile appointed positions such as the Special Prosecutor in the matter of Laquan McDonald, Sole Trustee of Burr Oak Cemetery, and co-chair of the Judicial Selection Commission for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, among others.

Throughout her career, Judge Holmes has received countless accolades for her impressive professional achievements as well as her dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession. Most recently, she has received the Chambers USA Diversity & Inclusion Outstanding Contribution Award; the ABA Diversity Leadership Award; the American Constitution Society Abner J. Mikva Award; the Chicago Bar Association and Chicago Bar Foundation Justice John Paul Stevens Award; the Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Philanthropic Award; the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois Top Woman Lawyer in Leadership Award; the Women’s White Collar Defense Association Laurie A. Miller Leadership Award; and was named to the CCBA Hall of Fame.