Platinum Member

Wiley S. Adams was Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of PGIM, Inc., the global investment management businesses of Prudential Financial, Inc. PGIM has offices around the world and is one of 10 largest investment managers in the world with approximately $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2020. Wiley led a team of approximately 80 lawyers in support of PGIM’s operations around the world.

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Prior to his role above, Wiley was Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Prudential Capital Group (now known as PGIM Private Capital (“PPC”)). PPC is the largest manager of privately placed debt investments in the United States with over $97 billion of private debt and equity securities under management as of December 31, 2020.

Prior to joining PGIM, Wiley was an associate at Sidley Austin representing banks and other financial institutions in a variety of investments. Wiley also spent a summer clerking for Judge Luther M. Swygert on the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. Wiley received (i) a BA from Augustana College where he majored in Accounting, Business Administration, Economics and Political Science and (ii) a JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School. He was authorized to practice in the States of Illinois, New Jersey and Wisconsin and is a member of several professional associations and not-for-profit boards.

Platinum Member

Cannon D. Lambert, Sr. has successfully obtained numerous multi-million-dollar outcomes for his clients. Cannon’s clients have ranged from high-profile celebrities like the late Bernie Mac to everyday citizens.

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Cannon’s cases often receive national and international attention. One example is Farad Polk (a father, while visiting his son and was then locked in a visitor’s room for almost 2 days at the Cook County Jail).

Cannon represented the families in a mistake identity case where a misidentified man was prematurely removed from life support due to police and hospital neglect.

Sandra Bland (a Chicago woman wrongfully arrested and then found dead in a Texas jail cell) is another example. Not only did Cannon’s Bland case receive extensive media attention for over two years, HBO produced a movie about the case, prominently featuring Cannon.

Cannon was been tapped by a group of 18 predominantly African American people who were told by Buffalo Wild Wings managers that they had to change seats because a “regular customer” did not want to sit next to black people.

Cannon regularly teaches free “Knowing Your Rights” seminars which feature a “H.O.W. 2” protocol developed to educate drivers on how to safely and respectfully interact with police during a traffic stop.

Cannon also volunteers as a high-school mentor through his fraternity’s, Kappa Alpha Psi, Guide Right program.

Cannon is known for his competence, skill and tenacity. His areas of practice include Injury Law, Wrongful Death, Nursing Home Abuse and Civil Rights litigation.

Cannon is blessed with the fortune of having his wife, Amy, by his side along with his two extraordinary children, Cannon II and Ivory.

Platinum Member

Larry Rogers is a founding partner in the law firm of Power Rogers, LLP. A leader in the personal injury field, Mr. Rogers was elected president of both the Cook County Bar Association and the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, serving as the latter's first African American president. He serves as a life member on the Board of Trustees of DePaul University. He has lectured extensively in various aspects of trial advocacy.

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Mr. Rogers has obtained several multimillion dollar verdicts and settlements in a multitude of cases including medical malpractice, product liability and motor vehicle negligence. Mr. Rogers was honored with the John Paul Stevens Award which is the Chicago Bar Association's highest and most prestigious award and is presented to members of the bar whose career best exemplify the distinguished career of Justice John Paul Stevens. He was honored by the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association in receiving its prestigious Leonard M. Ring Lifetime Achievement Award. He has received the Earl B. Dickerson Award from the Chicago Bar Association which honors outstanding minority lawyers whose careers at the bar emulate courage and dedication in making the law the key to justice for all in our society. He has also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from St. Xavier University and the DePaul University College of Law Alumni Award for Outstanding Service to the Legal Profession. He has been listed as one of the Top Ten National Litigators by the National Law Journal and is listed in Harvard Law Graduates Naifeh and Smith book, The Best Lawyers in America continuously since 1999. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, American College of Trial Lawyers and International Society of Barristers.

Mr. Rogers received his Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University College of Law. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from St. Xavier University and was awarded Honorary Doctorate degrees from DePaul University College of Law, St. Xavier University and UIC John Marshall School of Law.

Platinum Member

Larry R. Rogers, Jr. is a trial lawyer with over 25 years of experience advocating for victims. As a trial attorney and partner at Power Rogers, LLP, Mr. Rogers, Jr. has successfully settled and tried to verdict many multi-million dollar results for his clients in medical negligence, trucking, product liability, and civil rights litigation.

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He is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates an invitation-only group of trial lawyers from across the country invited and admitted based upon their results and commitment to representing victims. Mr. Rogers Jr. was recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of the top personal injury lawyers of a new generation of trial attorneys.

Mr. Rogers, Jr. has been involved in several significant high-profile matters, including the investigation of what happened to Sandra Bland a Chicagoland resident who was found dead in a Texas jail cell after an unlawful traffic stop. He represents families in several civil rights and police brutality cases including the tragic shooting of Bettie Ruth Jones on the west side of Chicago which he recently resolved for a record 16 million dollars. He has been a frequent guest on local and national radio and television shows to discuss events affecting the citizens of Chicago and the country.

Mr. Rogers, Jr. and the attorneys at Power Rogers have represented victims against some of the most powerful interests in the country and have been ranked at the top of their field, with 11 consecutive 1st place rankings from 2010 to 2020 in the Chicago Lawyer Annual Settlement Survey which ranks firms based on their results.

Gold Member

Hon. Fredrick H. Bates is an Associate Judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County assigned to the Sixth Municipal District in Markham. Prior to being elected as an Associate Judge in 2020, he was appointed as a Cook County Circuit Court Judge by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2015 and re-appointed in 2016 and 2018.

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Since becoming a Judge in 2015 Judge Bates has served as a Mentor in the Illinois Supreme Court’s New Judge Mentoring Program for the Circuit Court of Cook County, as an Instructor for the Illinois Judicial College’s Educational Conference, and as a Cohort Leader for the Illinois Supreme Court’s New Judge Orientation Cohort Program for new judges statewide.

Prior to becoming a Circuit Court Judge, he prepared himself for judicial service by serving in the Administrative Law Judiciary. He also studied extensively through the National Judicial College. Judge Bates served as an ALJ and Hearing Officer for over 15 years presiding over many high-profile cases for the Chicago Department of Administrative Hearings, CHA, Chicago Board of Elections, CPS, Chicago Police Board, and Elgin School District U-46. He also volunteered as a Hearing Panelist for two Illinois Supreme Court entities by serving on Hearing Panels for the ARDC and the Committee on Character & Fitness. Judge Bates also served on the ARDC’s Oversight Committee for five years prior to becoming a Circuit Court Judge. Finally, he served as Chairman of the Illinois Civil Service Commission for two years prior to his appointment to the bench.

His employment background prior to joining the judiciary included: clerking for the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit; being an associate at a major Chicago law firm -- Seyfarth Shaw; serving as an equity partner at two large law firms – Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, and Wildman Harold where he served as co-chair of the Labor & Employment Law Practice Group; and being President of the first minority-owned corporate law firm in the country where all of the partners had been partners at major corporate law firms – Albert, Bates, Whitehead & McGaugh.

Judge Bates has an extensive record of service to the legal profession. He has served as President of two major Chicago legal organizations: The Cook County Bar Association in 1996-97; and the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms which he co-founded as the brain-trust of the organization in 1987, well before diversity awareness and inclusion initiatives were generally accepted in the workplace. He also served on the Illinois Supreme Court’s Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Committee of the Commission on Professionalism, and the very first Circuit Court of Cook County Committee on Racial & Ethnic Bias in the Courts in 1996. He is widely considered a leading national expert on diversity initiatives in the legal profession, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and ABA Journal among many other publications.

Judge Bates also has an extensive record of service to the community, having served on over 20 not-for-profit Boards. He is a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. He has participated in countless youth sports programs as a coach or in administration including serving as a Nike certified Coach for NBA Player and College sponsored camps. He has worked in multiple mentorship programs including, 100 Black Men of Chicago, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated, Chicago Alumni Chapter’s Guide Right Program. He was a Scoutmaster and Unit Commissioner for the Boy Scouts of America, and also served for 28 years as outside General Counsel for Henry Booth House, a non-profit social service agency. Finally, he currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Roseland Youth Center which operates the Pullman Community Center and Roseland Little League, and he serves as Vice-Chair of the Alumni Advisory Board at Creighton University School of Law.

He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his community service, and service to the profession. He is most notably a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow.

Judge Bates attended Mendel Catholic High School where he has the distinction of being the youngest graduate in school history (15 years old) and a member of their Hall of Fame. He matriculated Marquette University when he was 18 years old and became the youngest large systems marketing representative in the country for IBM. He attended Creighton University School of Law (magna cum laude) where he was an Editor on the Law Review, and a member of the Moot Court Board.