Sammi L. Renken
JOHNSON & BELL, LTD.
VICE PRESIDENT AND EQUITY SHAREHOLDER

Sammi L. Renken is an experienced trial lawyer practicing in the areas of medical malpractice and business litigation. Based on a broad jury trial background, Sammi provides solutions and results for her client’s most challenging cases. Her practice has included representation and trials involving malpractice and medical actions, commercial and business disputes, nursing home litigation, drug and medical device lawsuits, Medicare and Medicaid audits, fraud claims and attorney malpractice litigation. She has also represented various professionals in licensure matters before the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. She has also served as outside “inside” counsel for healthcare facilities in the Chicagoland area offering advice on risk management, compliance, and pre-suit claim investigation. She has successfully litigated cases in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Circuit Court of Will County, Circuit Court of Kane County, and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, as well as numerous venues in Southern Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Sammi completed her law degree at The University of Texas School of Law graduating in 1999. During law school, she served as an intern for the Texas Supreme Court. She initially practiced in Winston-Salem, North Carolina working in the area of plaintiff’s personal injury litigation before moving to Chicago in 2001. She joined Johnson & Bell, Ltd., in 2001, and continues to happily practice law with some of the most loyal, creative, and bright partners in the business. She has had the good fortune to work with some of the most talented attorneys in the city in this firm which was created by her mentors, William Johnson and John Bell. Sammi currently serves as a Vice President and Equity Shareholder at Johnson & Bell, Ltd. She is also on the Board of Directors and management committee at the firm.

Since 1999, when she served as President of the Women’s Law Caucus while earning her JD at the University of Texas School of Law, Sammi has been at the forefront of women in law issues. She leads the firm’s Women’s Initiative and is a former board member of the Chicago Coalition of Women’s Initiatives in Law. In 2021, Sammi will become the President of the Illinois Healthcare Risk Management Society and previously served as President of the Chicagoland Healthcare Risk Management Society. In 2010, she was honored by Law Bulletin Media as one of its “Forty Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch.” Always a trailblazer, Sammi was one of the women lead trial attorneys profiled by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin in its article, “Firm celebrates wins by women in first chair job.” Her successful trial record has resulted in being invited to join the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) in 2016 and The Society of Trial Lawyers in 2018. In 2017, she also was welcomed into the fellowship of the Trial Lawyer Honorary Society of the Litigation Counsel of America. Previously, Sammi also served on the Board of Trustees for Marillac St. Vincent Family Services, a non-profit organization that strengthens and empowers children and families. Most recently, Sammi was recognized as a 2020 Women in Law Inaugural Honoree by the Chicago Lawyer and Chicago Daily Law Bulletin publications.

Sammi resides in Chicago with her husband of 21 years, Judd Renken, and their daughter Jacqueline.