Debra L. Thomas

Debra Liss Thomas is Managing Attorney of Romanucci & Blandin. In this role, she collaborates extensively with Managing & Senior Partner Gina A. DeBoni on administration of the firm, while also being responsible for continuing education programs and professional development of the firm’s attorneys and staff.

Debra has been an attorney for 22 years and has been with Romanucci & Blandin since 2015.

She has been a member of R&B legal teams on cases including the historic $27 million settlement for the murder of George Floyd, a $21.3 million verdict at trial for a mother’s death in a car accident arising from a wrongful police chase, and a $12.35 million settlement for failure to diagnose a young mother’s fatal breast cancer.

In her hybrid management role at the plaintiff’s firm, Debra leads the firm’s Continuing Legal Education (CLE) activities to ensure professional development of attorneys. She also hires, mentors and leads the firm’s Law Clerk program to nurture the next generation of lawyers, while she also fosters the firm’s relationships with law schools in Chicago and beyond. Debra has blogged for the firm on leadership and the importance of education and she has established a network of mental health professionals and other subject matter experts who address the entire law firm with valuable perspectives and information, making each attorney and staff member even better so they can then deliver high quality legal service to our clients.

A third-generation attorney, Debra also earned her master’s degree in elementary education from DePaul University. Debra serves on the American Association for Justice’s Exchange Advisory Committee and is the current Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) Standing Committee on Member Services, as well as a member of the Standing Committee on Artificial Intelligence, and a member of the ISBA Standing Committee on Women and the Law. She received the Chicago-Kent College of Law Bar & Gavel Society Award in 2002.

Experience

• M.Ed., Elementary Education, DePaul University
• J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law
• B.A., University of Michigan

• Chicago-Kent College of Law, Bar & Gavel Society Award, 2002

• American Association for Justice (AAJ)
  • Exchange Advisory Committee 
• Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA)
  
  • Standing Committee on Member Services, Chair, 2024 - 2025
  • Standing Committee on Artificial Intelligence & the Practice, Member, 2024 - 2025
  • Standing Committee on Women & the Law, Member/Newsletter Co-Editor, 2024 - 2025
  • Solo & Small Firm Conference Planning Committee, Ex-Officio
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), Member

• Family of George Floyd v. City of Minneapolis and officers involved in Mr. Floyd’s death, March 2021, civil rights, $27M settlement
• Confidential, February 2020, medical malpractice, $12.35M settlement
• Carreon v. City of Chicago, April 2019, police chase, $21.3M verdict
• LaPorta v. City of Chicago, October 2017, civil rights, $44.7M verdict

• Illinois
• Northern District of Illinois

Blog Posts

• Panelist, Careers in Law, University of Illinois Chicago College of Law, Chicago, IL, March 2023
• Panelist, Women in Law, UIC Women's Law Caucus and the Justinian Society of Lawyers, Chicago, IL, February 2023

• Dr. Hillary Langley to Speak to ISBA on Managing Trauma Experienced in the Legal Profession, The Catalyst, Illinois Bar Association, February 2025