The firm played a significant role in the state of Illinois’ journey toward abolishing capital punishment. On this week in 2003, then-Governor George Ryan issued clemency to approximately 160 inmates on the state’s Death Row, commuting their sentences to life in prison without parole. Read more...

CATEGORIES: Death Penalty, Moments in History, T Sullivan

Partner Thomas P. Sullivan served four years as United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.  He rejoined the firm after his service.

CATEGORIES: A History of Pro Bono and Public Service, T Sullivan

The US Supreme Court ruled  that states must pay for trial transcripts so indigent defendants can appeal their convictions.  In response to the ruling, Thomas P. Sullivan and other Jenner & Block lawyers spearheaded the recruitment of lawyers in Illinois to handle the hundreds of appeals of past cases.

CATEGORIES: A History of Pro Bono and Public Service, T Sullivan, US Supreme Court

Thomas P. Sullivan and Albert E. Jenner, Jr. represented clients in a historic confrontation and extended civil and criminal litigation with the US House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities. The committee was later abolished in large part due to these proceedings.

CATEGORIES: A History of Pro Bono and Public Service, A Jenner, T Sullivan

Thomas P. Sullivan, Prentice H. Marshall and Jerold S. Solovy launched the firm’s commitment to the defense of indigent criminal defendants in the 1950s.  All three lawyers joined, and Mr. Sullivan later chaired, the Chicago Bar Association Defense of Prisoners Committee.  They not only represented indigent criminal defendants, but they also began recruiting dozens of other Jenner & Block lawyers to the same service.  From this, the firm’s nationally recognized pro bono program evolved.

CATEGORIES: A History of Pro Bono and Public Service, J Solovy, T Sullivan