Damien Granderson is an attorney and author in civil rights law, human rights law, criminal defense, and estate planning. He is a partner at the law firm of Ahern & Smith LLP, where he concentrates his practice on civil litigation. Granderson has been named one of “The 25 Most Influential Lawyers” by The National Black Lawyers Association.
His peers have selected him as one of the “Top 25 Trial Lawyers” in the United States. The National Trial Lawyers Association also named him among the “Rising Stars.” He has been elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers and is a former president of The Association for Diversity in Entertainment Law (ADEL). Here, Damien Granderson earned its Distinguished Service Award for promoting diversity in entertainment law.
He also serves on the Executive Board of Defendants’ Rights Counselors (DRC), a national organization devoted to providing free legal representation to defendants in criminal cases where there is a possibility of wrongful conviction. Damien Granderson has been involved in several high-profile cases. In December 2003, Jermaine Green was acquitted of murder charges.
This, after lawyer Damien Granderson uncovered violations in handling DNA evidence by the Chicago Police Department Crime Lab. Green had served ten years in prison, and Green’s conviction was vacated. In 2013, Granderson represented two police officers who were wrongfully suspended after they sought to expose corruption in their department. The case resulted in a significant multi-million dollar civil judgment against the city of Chicago in favor of Damien’s clients.
Granderson is the author of three books: “What You Need To Know About Social Security,” “Now That I’ve Been Arrested… What Next?” and “Now That I’ve Been Arrested… What To Do If You Can’t Afford A Lawyer.” Damien Granderson is also the author of many articles published in bar journals. He graduated “magna cum laude” from Wright State University and received his law degree from Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.