Matt Devine '85

Partner, Jenner & Block LLP, Chairman of the Loyola Academy Bar Association
September 2015

Matt Devine ’85 will celebrate his 30th Reunion in October, and as a third generation Loyola Academy graduate you could say that Loyola is in his DNA. “I am proud to be a part of a family with a rich Rambler tradition,” he says.

That tradition is shared by three uncles (Bill Devine ‘67 RIP, Roger Wagner, and Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Jake Sullivan), two brothers (Tim ’88 and Pete ’90, a veteran football coach of twenty-one years and current varsity football defensive-back coach) and his father, Dick Devine ’61 (also in the Athletic Hall of Fame), from whom Matt received his diploma at his graduation 1985. The family tradition continued this fall when Matt’s nephew, Sam Schierloh ’19, began his freshman year as a Rambler.

And while his nephew embarks on a brand new Loyola experience, Matt anticipates commemorating his own at the Class of 1985’s 30th Reunion celebration next month. “I am looking forward to my 30th Reunion at Loyola Academy on October 24, 2015. We’re expecting a great turnout. It’s always great to reconnect with my friends and classmates from the Class of ’85.” And he jokes, “So far, the consensus is that no one will show up in acid wash jeans and a mullet, thus laying to rest forever, hopefully, any suggestion that the Class of ’85 is stuck in the past.”

In the thirty years that have passed since he last walked the halls as a student, Matt has made it a priority to remain connected to Loyola’s Jesuit values and strong community. He currently practices law as a partner at Jenner & Block LLP, a firm that is based in Chicago and concentrated in civil litigation and commercial business disputes. “I joined my law firm, Jenner & Block,” Matt explains, “because Jenner’s values mirrored the ‘men and women for others’ values that I learned at Loyola Academy. Jenner & Block is known for taking on complex cases for major clients, but also has a long commitment to providing free legal services to people who cannot afford them. From criminal to civil matters, from courtroom fights for human rights and civil liberties to death penalty challenges, Jenner provides legal assistance to those whose voices may not have otherwise been heard in the justice system.”

Matt goes on to reference his involvement in Jenner & Block’s acclaimed pro bono program, having represented indigent criminal defendants in the Cook County criminal courts and a detainee at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

His work has earned him the Constitutional Rights Foundation’s “Bill of Rights in Action” Award as well as Jenner & Block’s Mentorship Award. He has been named an Illinois Super Lawyers “Rising Star” multiple times and recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in Illinois. As a student at Loyola University Chicago School of Law Matt was the recipient of the “Leadership and Service” Award.

Matt’s passion for Ignatian values, social justice, and the Loyola community harmonized when he became Chairman of the Loyola Academy Bar Association Steering Committee. In just three years the LA Bar Association has grown into a robust network under Matt’s leadership. Presently, there are nearly 700 Rambler lawyers in the association and they are alumni from the 1940s to the present. While the majority reside in the Chicagoland area, members span all regions of the country and some are as far as Hong Kong. “The bar association connects Rambler lawyers to each other – and to the Jesuit values that we all learned at Loyola Academy,” says Matt.

Notably, the LA Bar Association organizes a number of events each year to connect and engage its members. For example, there are panel discussions that cover important issues such as the “Challenges of Being a Catholic Lawyer Today.” The Howlett Cup, organized by Conor Heaton ’97, is a mock trial competition among Loyola Academy students and the other three Jesuit high schools in Chicago.

The capstone event each year is the popular annual luncheon at the University Club in downtown Chicago. Held every February, more than 200 guests attended in 2015. “The lunch is more than just networking,” Matt points out. “It raises funds for the Loyola Academy Tuition Assistance Program.”

The LA Bar Association also organizes an annual football tailgate -- happening this year before September 26’s Homecoming game. “It’s always a great time,” says Matt, “...rain or shine.”

“We are proud of the work we’ve accomplished thus far with the Bar Association,” he reflects. “Anyone with ties to Loyola Academy and the legal profession is welcome to join the Bar Association and attend Bar Association events.”

For more information please contact Matt Devine ’85 at mdevine@jenner.com or Dennis Stonequist ’90 at dstonequist@loy.org.

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