Russell Ainsworth
Partner
- 312-243-5900
- russell@loevy.com
Biography
Russell Ainsworth is a partner at Loevy & Loevy. He joined the firm in 2003.
Mr. Ainsworth has tried over twenty civil rights cases in Federal and State Court as first chair. He has won millions of dollars in jury verdicts for his clients, including over $13 million in Ayers v. Cleveland, a wrongful incarceration case brought on behalf of David Ayers, who spent 11 years incarcerated for a murder he did not commit. In addition, Mr. Ainsworth has secured over $100 million in settlements. He practices nationally, and specializes in wrongful conviction, police brutality, wrongful arrest, First Amendment violations, and Constitutional issues. Mr. Ainsworth also maintains a robust appellate practice, having argued appeals in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Illinois Appellate Court, and the Illinois Supreme Court.
Mr. Ainsworth has been recognized as a Super Lawyer and a Rising Star by Illinois Super Lawyers Magazine.
In addition to his civil work, Mr. Ainsworth is an accomplished post-conviction attorney. He is co-founder of The Exoneration Project at the University of Chicago, a legal clinic dedicated to overturning wrongful convictions. He has exonerated 9 innocent men since 2011, including Rodell Sanders, for whom he won an acquittal at his re-trial on false murder charges.
Mr. Ainsworth graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2002, magna cum laude. During law school, Mr. Ainsworth received numerous awards, and was elected to be a speaker at his graduation. Following law school, he clerked for the brilliant Judge Paul Lundsten of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
Bar Admissions
• Illinois Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Indiana
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio
• U.S. District Court Western District of Missouri
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of California
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Indiana
• U.S. District Court Western District of Texas
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court Northern District of Ohio
Education + Honors
University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, Wisconsin
• J.D. (magna cum laude) – 2002
• Dean’s list
Clerkships & Past Employment
• Law Clerk, Hon. Paul Lundsten, Wisconsin Court of Appeals
Representative Cases
• Martin v. Milwauke County (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin) Lead counsel for Ms. Martin in a trial that yielded a $6.7M verdict for a woman who was sexually assaulted in a county jail.
• McGee v. City of Chicago (Cook County, IL Circuit Court) Lead counsel for Mr. McGee in a trial that yielded a $1.3M verdict for a man falsely accused of murder.
• People v. Rodell Sanders (Cook County, IL Circuit Court) Lead counsel for Mr. Sanders in a trial that resulted in not guilty verdict for an innocent man facing a murder charge.
• Richardson v. City of Chicago et al. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois) Litigation counsel for Mr. Richardson in case that resulted in eight figure settlement for innocent man wrongfully
convicted for 17 years.
• Juan Rivera v. Lake County et al. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois) Litigation counsel for Mr. Rivera in case that resulted in $20 million settlement for wrongfully convicted innocent man.
• Elkins v. Barberton et al. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio) Lead counsel for Mr. Elkins that resulted in a settlement of $5.25M for an innocent man who was wrongfully convicted for nine
years.
• Caine v. Burge et al. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois) Litigation counsel for Mr. Caine in case that resulted in $10M settlement for innocent man wrongfully convicted for 23 years.
• Logan v. Burge et al. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois) Litigation counsel for Mr. Logan in case that resulted in $10.25M settlement for innocent man wrongfully convicted for 26 years.
Our Impact
Loevy + Loevy has won more multi-million dollar verdicts than perhaps any other law firm in the country over the past decade. Our willingness to take hard cases to trial, and win them, has yielded a nationally recognized reputation for success in the courtroom.
Read the latest public reporting and press releases about Loevy + Loevy’s clients, our public interest litigation, and our civil rights impact.
We take on the nation’s most difficult public interest cases, advocating in and outside the courtroom to secure justice for our clients and to hold officials, governments, and corporations accountable.
