CBA Record July-August 2026

Jonathan Amarilio and Trisha Rich during a recording of the CBA’s podcast, @theBar.

Trisha Rich with fellow former Young Lawyers Section members at a 2025 reunion. Bottom row from left: Mary Curry, Jonathan Mraunac, Malcom “Skip” Harsch, Paul Ochmanek, Jill McCall, and Matt Passen. Top: William Oberts.

finishing her master’s degree in philosophy and teaching courses in the University of Michigan’s philosophy program. Balanc ing law school, teaching, and a master’s program was difficult, but she made it work. The philosophy degree also helped Rich discover her passion for legal ethics. She loved how ethics and the law inter sected with the questions that philosophy raised—questions about how we fit into society and what the law can do to help make society a better place. Finding Her Legal Home While working on incorporating both her law and philosophy degrees in her future law practice, Rich taught herself how to find a place in that practice. When her first summer associate position wasn’t a good fit, she researched law firms to find one that would fit better. She realized that she wanted to work in a firm that was going to make the world a better place. Coincidentally, during this time, Rich was working with Sam Gross, a profes sor and leading death penalty opponent. As part of that work, she read an amicus brief written by attorneys from Holland & Knight. The fact that such a high-pow

ered firm would be involved in this kind of pro bono work led her to believe that this was a place she could make her legal home. As with her undergraduate career, Rich decided there was only one place for her. When she interviewed with Holland & Knight, she told them it was the only firm where she wanted to work. The firm hired her as a summer associ ate in 2005. She recalls that her experi ence there was as different from her first summer as possible. For the first time, Rich felt like she “could be a real lawyer.” She loved everything about the firm and its culture, feeling the firm were “her people.” The firm, it turned out, loved her right back. In March 2026, Rich celebrated 20 years at Holland & Knight. Josh Porte, a Partner in the firm’s Nashville office who works closely with Rich, refers to her as a force of nature, noting that Rich rep resents the best of the profession. Said Porte, “She has an energy and dynamism coupled with a relentless focus on legal ethics and the regulation of the profession of law.” Robert Grammig similarly speaks highly of her, saying he can’t imagine a more enthusiastic advocate for the legal

profession and society than Rich. “She’s such an effective lawyer and loves practic ing,” he says. “She’s always thinking and trying to improve the legal profession.” Building a Community at the CBA Rich’s desire to improve the legal profes sion led her to seek a community within it. She did research, speaking with attorneys about how to build her practice and her community. As a mid-level associate, she met with the CBA’s then-Executive Direc tor, who told her that the CBA would help her find a legal community in Chi cago. He was right. She became involved in the CBA’s Young Lawyers Section and in the Judicial Evaluation Committee. In the YLS, Rich found a group of colleagues and friends that would help shape both her personal life and her career. The close friends she met during her time in the YLS include both Amarilio and Kathryn Liss, who will follow Rich as CBA Presi dent in 2027 and 2028, respectively. Rich loves the fact that their success shows new attorneys that they were able to collec tively move up the CBA’s leadership chain together, through working together and supporting each other. Rich also serves as a model to young

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