By: Tracey L. Schroeder
The Women’s Bar Association of Illinois proudly congratulates Sarah M. Raisch on her promotion to Partner at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, effective December 1, 2025.
Sarah is a practice group lead in the firm’s Sexual Abuse Practice Group, where she represents survivors of sexual abuse, particularly in institutional settings such as schools, healthcare facilities, hospitals, and correctional facilities. In 2025, she served as a key member of the trial team that secured a $15 million verdict against a Chicago-area high school district for failing to protect a student from sexual abuse—the highest verdict in a school sexual abuse case in Illinois history to date.
In addition to her sexual abuse practice, Sarah handles matters within the firm’s Medical Malpractice and Civil Rights & Police Misconduct teams. Over a 16-month period, she participated in trial teams that achieved three significant jury verdicts across Illinois, including a $40 million medical malpractice verdict for a young client paralyzed due to surgical negligence, a $2 million verdict for a pediatric patient harmed by medical malpractice, and the aforementioned $15 million sexual abuse verdict against a public school district.
Sarah is also involved in high-profile cases of national importance, including ongoing civil rights litigation on behalf of the family of Tyre Nichols, who was killed by Memphis Police Department officers in 2023, and litigation representing victims and survivors of the Club Q mass shooting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Committed to protecting civil and human rights, Sarah has assisted clients harmed or detained by federal agents during Chicago enforcement actions and was a key contributor to a pro bono Hague Convention case that allowed a mother to remain safely in the United States with her child. In April 2025, Governor J.B. Pritzker appointed Sarah to the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission (TIRC), where she serves as one of 16 commissioners tasked with investigating claims of torture used to obtain criminal convictions and, where appropriate, providing avenues for relief.
Before joining Romanucci & Blandin, Sarah spent a decade with the Office of the Lake County Public Defender, building extensive trial experience and advocating for individuals impacted by poverty, discrimination, and the criminal justice system. Earlier in her career, she represented adult and juvenile clients in criminal trial and appellate matters at a criminal defense firm in Racine, Wisconsin.
Sarah’s work has earned widespread recognition within the legal community. She was named to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin’s 40 Under Forty list in 2025, selected for Best Lawyers in America® (2026), and was part of a trial team recognized among the Top 50 Verdicts in Illinois in 2024. She is an active member of the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, the Lake County Bar Association, and the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, among others.
A proud “Double-Badger,” Sarah earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
WBAI congratulates Sarah Raisch on this well-deserved achievement and celebrates her continued leadership, advocacy, and service to clients and communities across Illinois and beyond.
This article was originally published in the WBAI Winter 2026 Newsletter on page 25.