CBA Record September-October 2025

When accepting the award at the CBA Annual Meeting, Bobb said, “I love being a trial lawyer. I love practicing in Chicago.” She added, “We all have a responsibility to mentor young lawyers, especially as we know our profession and the rule of law are under attack. I think we all have an obligation to stand up and do what we can to represent people who need representation and to support the judiciary, who are also under attack.” Bobb followed in her father’s footsteps as a lawyer. “I was greatly influenced by my father and loved as a child to go into court with him. I knew early on it was something I wanted to do,” she said. She received her law degree from Notre Dame Law School, graduating in 1972 and entering a profession still dominated by men. Connecting with Juries After cutting her teeth in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office trying felony cases, Bobb soon transitioned to private prac tice, where she found her calling in civil litigation—particularly plaintiffs’ medi cal malpractice and wrongful death cases. She founded Patricia C. Bobb & Associates in 1985, determined to build a law firm centered on trial excellence, client trust, and doing the right thing. She has tried more than 100 jury and bench trials in federal and state courts. She also serves as Of Counsel to Meyers & Flowers, and she serves as a mediator, having arbitrated more than 50 major medical malpractice cases. Her courtroom style is commanding but never theatrical. Colleagues say she wins cases not through bluster, but with precision, preparation, and an uncanny ability to connect with juries, bringing clarity, conviction, and compassion to everything she does. A Chicago Sun-Times story referred to her as the Iron Butterfly, which she considers a compliment. Bobb’s cases are often emotionally wrenching: a baby permanently injured during birth; a misdiagnosis that cost someone their life; a family torn apart by a preventable accident. Yet she never becomes numb to the suffering. Even as she has taken on powerful hospitals,

Patti Bobb and Immediate Past CBA President John C. Sciaccotta

Patti Bobb: A Tireless Mentor and Champion for Lawyers By Pamela Sakowicz Menaker L ong before diversity became a buzzword, Patricia C. Bobb was actively mentoring young women attorneys and fighting for gender equity in the profession. She is unafraid to speak her mind about injustice when she sees it and is just as blunt about the work that still needs to be done. Bobb has been a trailblazer for women in the area of plaintiff’s personal injury litiga tion. She is the 2025 recipient of the Robert A. Clifford Champion of Justice Award—the annual award bestowed on a CBA member of at least 15 years who has demonstrated Clif ford’s devotion to the highest principles of integrity and traditions of the legal profession. For more than four decades, Bobb has been a formidable presence in Illinois court rooms, representing plaintiffs in complex and emotionally charged cases. Known as a no nonsense litigator with razor-sharp instincts, Bobb is not just one of the most respected trial lawyers in Chicago, she’s one of the most admired. “With a remarkable record of advocacy, this year’s honoree has made a lasting impact on the legal community in Chicago, across Illinois, and beyond,” said John C. Sciaccotta, Immediate Past CBA President. “She has been a shining example to all of us as to how professionals should conduct themselves by giving back to the profession, by paying it forward, by making the world a better place.”

12 September/October 2025