Jennifer Ries-Buntain
HIGHLIGHTS
Recognized with a Salute! Women in Law award by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin in 2021
Served as HPS’ managing partner from 2014-2018
BIOGRAPHY
Jennifer Ries-Buntain has tried cases in state and federal courts across the country, serving as a go-to resource for her clients, many of whom are multi-facility healthcare organizations. She is recognized nationally for her expertise in fertility law, and has defended both private parties and governmental entities in matters involving negligence, insurance coverage, product liability, premises liability, battery, defamation, and breach of confidentiality.
Ries-Buntain is equally accomplished as a leader and culture-builder. In 2014, she became the first non-named partner to lead HPS as managing partner, a position she held for four years. During her tenure as managing partner, Ries-Buntain emphasized an ethic of service and citizenship alongside bottom-line results. That focus on aligning real-world values and personal empathy with professional responsibility carries over into her practice—for example, she was first drawn to fertility law when those close to her sought care in that field.
Ries-Buntain now heads the firm’s associate review committee, and also serves as mentor to attorneys in search of broad professional advice, as well as to those seeking specific guidance in disciplines such as business development.
In 2021, Ries-Buntain was recognized with a “Salute! Women in Law” award by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin in 2021, and has been honored as a Leading Lawyer. In 2024, she was also recognized as a “Super Lawyer”.
A Detroit-area native, Ries-Buntain earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan before moving to Chicago to attend DePaul University College of Law. After graduating in 1997, she began her legal career at Locke Lord, then called Lord Bissell & Brook, before joining the group of attorneys who founded HPS in 2002. She made that move as a middle-tenured associate, then ascended quickly to become managing partner a little more than a decade later.
Ries-Buntain is part of HPS’ Catastrophic Trial Team, an elite group of HPS attorneys who appear pro hac vice in high-exposure medical-malpractice cases in jurisdictions throughout the country.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
CREDENTIALS
EDUCATION
DePaul University College of Law, J.D., Certificate in Health Law (1997)
University of Michigan, B.A., with Distinction (1994)
BAR ADMISSIONS
Illinois
Utah
COURT ADMISSIONS
Illinois Supreme Court
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Utah Supreme Court
Admitted pro hac vice in multiple jurisdictions
PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
Chicago Bar Association
American Board of Trial Advocates
Society of Trial Lawyers
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