AttorneyBhavani Raveendran
Raveendran Law, LLC
4849 N Milwaukee Avenue, Suite 700, Chicago, Illinois, 60630
Civil Rights and Police Accountability
Bhavani Raveendran is a Chicago-based civil rights attorney and founder of Raveendran Law, LLC, dedicated to holding law enforcement agencies, municipalities, and correctional institutions accountable for misconduct, excessive force, wrongful death, and constitutional violations. Her practice is grounded in a commitment to vindicating the rights of individuals who have suffered harm at the hands of those in positions of public trust.
Raveendran has played a pivotal role in some of the most consequential police misconduct cases in recent history. She served as counsel in Jean v. Guyger, the wrongful death shooting of 26-year-old Botham Jean in his own home, which resulted in a $98,650,000 verdict. She also served as co-counsel in the $27,000,000 settlement arising from the murder of George Floyd, and as co-trial counsel in a $21,300,000 verdict against the City of Chicago stemming from a 2019 police chase.
Beyond her headline cases, Raveendran has delivered multi-million-dollar results across a wide range of matters including positional asphyxia deaths, jail suicides, failures to provide medical aid, and shootings involving individuals experiencing mental health crises. Her work spans Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, Indiana, and Oklahoma. In one jail suicide case, she negotiated a $2,000,000 settlement alongside agreed changes to jail and medical processes. Her firm has also successfully defeated qualified immunity at both the district court and Seventh Circuit levels, demonstrating a sophisticated command of federal civil rights law and appellate strategy.
Notable Results
- $98.67 million verdict — Jean v. Guyger: wrongful death shooting of 26-year-old Botham Jean by a police officer in his own home
- $27 million settlement — Co-Counsel in Schaffer, as Trustee for the Next of Kin of George P. Floyd, Jr. v. City of Minneapolis, Derek Chauvin, et al: wrongful death resulting from the murder of George Floyd
- $21 million verdict — Co-Trial Counsel in an April 2019 police chase trial resulting in a verdict against the City of Chicago
- $5 million settlement — Co-Counsel in Ambler v. Williamson County: Texas police positional asphyxia case causing the death of Javier Ambler II
- $4.9 million verdict — April 2023 police emergent driving incident resulting in the death of an 83-year-old woman and injuries to other passengers
- $4.2 million settlement — Police shooting and wrongful death case of a 24-year-old Chicago resident against the City of Chicago
- $4 million ettlement — Co-Counsel in a North Carolina police shooting of a young volunteer attempting to aid churchgoers, resulting in his death
- $2 million settlement — Jail suicide case with agreed changes to jail and medical processes that led to the death
- $1.3 million verdict — Co-Trial Counsel in police shooting trial where decedent was experiencing a mental health episode and threatening to harm himself with a kitchen knife
- $1.3 settlement — Indiana multi-plaintiff police pursuit resulting in injuries to three individuals
- $1 million Settlement — Police shooting wrongful death against Oklahoma City Police Department where decedent was suffering a mental health episode
- $950,000 Settlement — Jail's failure to provide medical aid after a detainee's cellmate repeatedly informed a corrections officer that the detainee was having trouble breathing
Key Characteristics
- Litigates civil rights claims in federal court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against law enforcement officers and municipalities.
- Represents individuals who have suffered constitutional violations including excessive force and unlawful detention at the hands of police.
- Based in Chicago, Illinois, with a focus on holding government entities accountable for misconduct against community members.
- Has collaborated with other leading civil rights attorneys in the Chicago area on significant police misconduct matters.
- Secured a $98,650,000 verdict in the Botham Jean wrongful death case, one of the largest police misconduct verdicts in U.S. history
- Served as co-counsel in the $27,000,000 George Floyd wrongful death settlement against the City of Minneapolis
- Maintains a national litigation practice spanning Illinois, Texas, North Carolina, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Minnesota
- Successfully defeated qualified immunity at both the federal District Court level and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
- Has secured multiple seven- and eight-figure verdicts and settlements against city police departments, county sheriff's offices, and correctional facilities
- Negotiates systemic reform as part of settlements, including changes to jail and medical processes in addition to monetary recovery
- Experienced in cases involving mental health crises, police pursuits, positional asphyxia, jail suicides, and failures to provide medical aid