Bhavani Raveendran was named Partner of the firm in 2021 and brings both a keen intelligence and a passion for civil rights to her work. Bhavani has a long and growing list of success for clients, including being a key contributor to the historic $27 million settlement for the family of George Floyd. She is also proud of justice secured for others who have endured civil rights violations or experienced sexual abuse. Bhavani leads the Romanucci & Blandin civil rights team and works closely with Founding Partner Antonio Romanucci as well as Ben Crump of Ben Crump Law and other co-counsel.

She was part of the legal team that received AAJ’s Leonard Wingless in Defense of Civil Liberties Award this year for their tireless work representing the Floyd family.

This fall, Bhavani shared her expertise on police misconduct cases by authoring a substantive article on the complexities of qualified immunity for the American Association for Justice’s Trial Magazine.  She was also profiled recently by the alumni association of American University - Washington College of Law for her contributions in securing a settlement for the family of George Floyd.

Her list of contributions to bar associations and other outside organizations show her dedication to improving diversity and inclusion in the legal profession. She is a founding member and co-chair of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Vice Chair of the  ISBA Human Rights Section Council, the current Chair of the AAJ Police Misconduct Litigation Group and serves on the AAJ Minority Caucus and Civil Rights’ Executive Committees.

Bhavani answered a few questions about her work and her life away from the office:

• How or why did you chose a career in personal injury law or, more specifically, in civil rights law?

“I have always wanted to work in the area of civil and human rights and in litigation upholding the Constitution. After a variety of positions, with different civil rights organizations including ACLU Chicago, CAIR-Chicago, and International Rights Advocates in DC, I realized the most fulfilling way for me to practice law was to work on behalf of individual clients who had experienced violations of their essential rights or had lost loved ones to an abuse of power.”

• Is there a case or type of case that is more challenging than others?

“Every case has its own unique challenges and difficulties but the hardest cases are those in which we face state legislation or federal law that does not allow our clients fair access to the courts, such as in cases of forced arbitration or blanket immunities to governmental entities. In those cases, we have to fight to even be heard before a jury before we can get to the true merits of the case.”

• Outside of work, how do you decompress? What do you find is a balance to the rigors of your caseload?

“Family, my dog (a two-year-old Lab mix rescue named Knox), and good food. One of my favorite restaurants is the Art of Chicken on Western Avenue in Chicago. Surrounding myself with supportive friends and family who understand why I am so passionate about what I do is what sustains me. I am also very lucky to work with colleagues that care deeply about our cases and each other and courageous clients that continuously reenergize us to advocate on their behalf.”

To read Bhavani’s full bio please visit here.