Gloria V. Rodriguez

Gloria V. Rodriguez (formerly known as Gloria V. Schmidt) is the managing attorney of The Gloria Law Group (GLG) in Illinois.  Gloria is a top-rated, award-winning lawyer with over 14 years of legal experience.  She is a native Spanish-speaker and spent her childhood in Miami, Florida, before moving to Chicago in 2011.  After high school, where she was in the top 20 graduates of her nearly 1,000-student body class, she served in the United States Air Force and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.  She is a proud Latina and 1st generation American from Bolivia. Her energy and work ethic, her genuine compassion for helping people, her innovative style of finding solutions to problems, and her cultural and worldly experiences set Gloria apart. Gloria is a natural comedian and has spent over 10 years modeling, dancing, and performing before becoming a licensed attorney. She is a regular on-camera contributor to local stations in the area.  She has been featured on all the major news channels and radio programs.

Although Gloria is a "general practice" attorney, she is currently taking cases in the following areas: 

- Criminal Defense (State and Federal)

- Defense of sex crimes, drug possession, and serious felonies 

- Family law cases that involve criminal components 

- Domestic Violence, Orders of protection, & No Contact No Stalking Orders

- Expungement and Sealing Matters

- IEP & 504 educational planning

- DCFS & Child Protective Services investigations, Juvenile Defense Cases 

- Education law (disciplinary proceedings)

- UCMJ Matters (i.e., Court martial, Admin Boards, NJP)

Gloria will ensure that you understand your rights and your case every step of the way.  She values and treasures her role to provide you with excellent advice, particularly with decisions that can substantially affect your livelihood and/or that of your family and children.  Her advice stems from her legal research on the applicable laws, acquiring an in-depth and personal knowledge of the facts in your case, and collaboration with other attorneys or experts when appropriate.

You might have noticed some of Gloria's notable cases in the news recently: 

- Attorney for the Osundairo Brothers; they were the Jussie Smollett attackers (who were never charged);

- Attorney for Diana Copeland; she was R. Kelly's executive assistant for over 15 years (and who also was never charged);

- Attorney for Ariel Roman, an unarmed Latin man on the CTA red line who was shot in the back twice by the Chicago Police Department;

- Attorney for GM1 Darris Bradley, a 17-year veteran who was being administratively separated by the US Navy for refusing to commit an unlawful order; the 3-member board returned a unanimous decision to retain him after 5 days of trial with less than 8 days to prepare.

Gloria also represents several private high and mid-level executives, media personalities, and police & military members. 

Gloria's legal career began while studying for her undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado (Boulder) where she worked as a legal assistant and file clerk to famed Attorney Elizabeth Meyer.  Gloria continued her studies at the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where she received certificates of appreciation for her contributions to the Access to Justice Clinic, the Cooley 501(c)(3) Status Project and the Kent County Legal Assistance Center. She was voted amongst her peers to receive the school's "Atticus Fitch" award before graduating.  She is also a recipient of the Commandant's Wreath of Military Excellence from the U.S. Air Force and was profiled in a magazine for the Department of Defense in 2001.  She also received the Coca-Cola Award for Community Service, in addition to inclusion on several peer recognition agencies and organizations.

Gloria is a regular commentator on Fox News, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and all other local news outlets.  She and her GLG partner Xochitl Rodriguez have presented to the Annual Lake County Family Law Bar Association on topics relating to Family Law and Immigration and has taught CLE classes on high-income maintenance and related issues.  Gloria enjoys regularly visiting local schools and organizations and discussing her experience as a high-profile attorney and small business owner. Please do not hesitate to contact her if your organization is interested in having her speak at your next event.

The Gloria Law Group is a small firm comprised of two full-time attorneys (one of whom is a dedicated immigration attorney), an in-house financial expert, a communications director, paralegal, and secretary.  Gloria also sat and passed the California State Bar exam in 2022 and hopes to open a satellite office in Los Angeles soon.

Additional Office Location:

The Gloria Law Group

211 W Wacker Drive, 5^th Floor

Chicago, IL 60085