December 1, 2011
Schiff Hardin partner
Patricia Brown Holmes, leader of the firm’s
White Collar Crime and Corporate Compliance Group and co-chair of the Diversity Committee, was honored for her commitment to diversity in the Illinois legal community with the 2011
Advocate for Diversity Award at the Diversity Scholarship Foundation’s Ninth Annual Unity Award Dinner Nov. 30.
The Advocate for Diversity Award adds to Ms. Holmes ever-increasing list of awards and honors for her distinguished work in the legal profession, her unwavering commitment to diversity, and her vast public service and civic involvement. She also has received the Black Women Lawyers’ Association Visionary Award and the Illinois Judicial Council Distinguished Service Award, among others. Ms. Holmes is consistently recognized as a top lawyer in her field by
Illinois Super Lawyers,
Illinois Leading Lawyers Network and
Benchmark Litigation. The National Diversity Council in 2011 named her “One of the Most Powerful and Influential Women in Illinois.”
The 2011 Unity Award Dinner, “Embracing Diversity and Leading by Example,” brought together officers and member attorneys of participating bar associations, members of the judiciary, and deans and faculty members of Chicago-area law schools. The dinner, held at the Chicago Hilton, was presented by the Diversity Scholarship Foundation, NFP, and co-hosted by the Filipino American Bar Association and The John Marshall Law School. Proceeds from the event benefit the Diversity Scholarship Foundation.
About Patricia Brown Holmes Ms. Holmes is a seasoned trial attorney whose diverse practice includes both corporate and criminal internal investigations, and representation of high-profile individuals and corporations in high stakes litigation. She is a trusted adviser and skilled strategist to her varied corporate clients. Ms. Holmes joined Schiff Hardin after serving as an associate judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Prior to that she was a federal, state and local prosecutor.
Ms. Holmes was appointed by Gov. Quinn in 2009 to chair his Cemetery Oversight Task Force that resulted from the Burr Oak cemetery scandal and was later named sole Trustee of the cemetery. Additionally, she chairs the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, the Illinois Judicial Council Foundation and the Just the Beginning Foundation. She is a University of Illinois Trustee, secretary of the Chicago Bar Association, member of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism Mentoring Advisory Committee, and has served on Sen. Richard Durbin’s Bipartisan Judicial Screening Committee for the Northern District of Illinois. Ms. Holmes is a former president and founding member of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago.
About The Diversity Scholarship Foundation The Diversity Scholarship Foundation was established by a group of attorneys and judges committed to the ideal that diverse law school student bodies are a means of ensuring further diversification in the legal community. The mission of the Foundation is to promote diversity and inclusion by bringing awareness and providing support to the underrepresented sectors of the legal community.