Richard H. Donohue
Honesty, integrity and one of the sharpest legal minds in the field By Dan Rafter Special to Law Bulletin Media
Richard Donohue never grew up with a burning desire to build a career in law. That didn’t stop him, though, from becoming one of Chicago’s most sought-after and successful defense lawyers, one who specialized throughout his decades-long career in representing hospitals, physicians, attorneys and other professionals in some of the biggest and most complex catastrophic injury cases. And while many successful attorneys started out chasing other career aspirations, few followed the unusual path of taking regu- lar trips to Antarctica before settling into the field of law. Donohue, though, can claim this, thanks to his time in the U.S. Navy. After earning his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1972, Donohue served on active duty as a naval aviator at Point Mugu, California. During this time, he served three six-month deploy- ments to Antarctica as part of Operation Deep Freeze, a long-term scientific study of the continent. As part of these deployments, Donohue flew people, supplies and building materials to Antarctica, something that was not always an easy task. “The wind was so powerful,” he said. “We were flying construction vans in the back of our transports. We had skis and wheels on our planes so that we could land in all kinds of terrain. It was quite an experience.”
Dick Donohue and his wife, Helen
“ We had skis and
wheels on our planes so that we could land in all kinds of terrain. It was quite an experience.
46 JURY VERDICT REPORTER • 2022 ANNUAL TRIAL LAWYER EXCELLENCE AWARDS
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