Father & Son Trailblazers

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Larry Rogers, Sr.( far right) and Larry Rogers, Jr. (far left) are both trailblazers in the legal field. Rogers, Sr. also has a daughter, Ann Marie Rogers (center), who is a court reporter. (Photo Courtesy of Larry Rogers, Sr.)
Larry Rogers, Sr.( far right) and Larry Rogers, Jr. (far left) are both trailblazers in the legal field. Rogers, Sr. also has a daughter, Ann Marie Rogers (center), who is a court reporter. (Photo Courtesy of Larry Rogers, Sr.)

by Thelma Sardin

Father and son legal duo, Larry Rogers, Sr. and Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Larry Rogers, Jr. are committed to giving back to the community.

Just one example, for the last ten years, the Rogers have hosted a congratulatory dinner for valedictorians and the salutatorians in the Englewood neighborhood. The dinner is generally held at a downtown Chicago restaurant and the goal of the celebration is to honor students who have excelled academically and to thank their parents.

The two believe they are very fortunate and therefore it is their duty and responsibility to give back. Were both blessed to have done well in our professions, Rogers, Sr. recently told the Chicago Citizen.

Rogers, Sr. is a successful personal injury attorney and partner at Power, Rogers and Smith, P.C.

In 1974, he earned a bachelors degree in philosophy from St. Xavier University and in 1983 earned a law degree from DePaul University College of Law.

I had worked in hospitals as a respiratory therapist and decided to go back and get my college degree. [I was] working during the day and putting myself through law school at night. The message from that is, it is never too late. Education is the key to success in life, said Rogers, Sr.

He worked as an associate at his current firm until 1991 and then became partner. The firms name was then changed to Power, Rogers and Smith.

Rogers, Sr. also has a daughter, Ann Marie Rogers, who is a court reporter.

Rogers, Jr. is very successful in his own right. He is an associate at Power, Rogers and Smith, P.C. and as if that isnt ambitious enough, he is also a commissioner with the Cook County Board of Review.

He obtained a bachelors degree in Managerial Economics from the University of California-Davis in 1990 and a law degree from IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law in 1993.

He ran for the Cook County Board of Review in 2004.

My family has been involved in political activity for a long time. I decided it was time to stop complaining about what I thought was inadequate or bad representation and run for office, he said.

The Rogers both have won cases that have yielded multi-million dollar verdicts.

The Chicago Citizen asked the pair which case they would say put their career on the map.

Rogers, Sr.s break-out case was in 1985. It was a product liability case where a defective infant formula hampered newborn development. Infants who were fed the product were not gaining weight at the appropriate rate during their first month of life.

There were infants all over the country who were being fed this formula as a sole source of nutrition. Their heads werent growing properly which means their brains werent growing properly. We tried that case and got a $27 million dollar verdict, he said.

Rogers, Sr. worked on the case exclusively for an entire year preparing it for trial.

It was a very rewarding experience to be successful and to do it with such an important case. [It] involved showing how a bad infant formula can cause serious permanent injury in newborns, he said.

Rogers, Jr.s career milestone came in 1999. The case involved the death of six children who perished in a van fire accident. The case uncovered one of Illinois most infamous scandals.

Out of that case came the licenses for bribe scandal which led to the conviction of George Ryan. That actually increased my interest in not only the law but public service. It demonstrated how important it was to have good ethical, honest public servants and what could tragically occur when you did not have those types of people in elected office, he said.

Rogers, Sr. and Rogers, Jr. both thanked the Chicago Citizen Newspaper and William Garth, Sr., CEO for its many years of service to the Black community.

I just want to commend the [Chicago] Citizen Newspaper for the many, many years of service, said Rogers, Jr.

Id like to thank Mr. Garth. He has been a valued supporter of our dinner every year for the students. He always comes with some very enlightening words and it encourages [the students] to continue in their careers, said Rogers, Sr.

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