Founder and Managing Partner, Sanchez, Daniels & Hoffman

  Manuel "Manny" Sanchez is the founder and managing partner of Sanchez Daniels & Hoffman LLP, the second largest minority-owned law firm in the United States. He has specialized in civil trial defense work for more than 35 years. In 1987, he and John Daniels founded the firm of Sanchez & Daniels.

Among other affiliations, Mr. Sanchez previously served on the corporate board of the publicly traded Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc. (1992-1998); United Community Bank (Chairman of Board 2000-2007) and The Alford Group (1995-2006). He currently serves on the corporate board of Directors of Metropolitan Bank & Trust (1994-present); Creative Printing and the Advisory Boards of the closely held Navistar Diversity & Inclusion Executive Advisory Board and AAA Chicago Auto Club Group Advisory Council (2009 - present); Northstar Lottery Group Advisory Board.

He presently serves or has served on the following non-for-profit Boards of Directors: Benedictine University Board of Trustees (1993-1999), St. Ignatius College Prep (1995-2001), New America Alliance, Chicago Mayor's Fellows Board, 1992-2000), Scholarship Chicago (f/k/a Chicagoland Scholarship Fund/Chicago Scholars Foundation), Junior Achievement of Chicago, Chicago United, Economic Club of Chicago (2006-2010), Executives Club of Chicago, Boys & Girls Club (1992-2004), Accion Chicago (1992-2004), Hispanocare (1992-2002), Children's Memorial Hospital (Committee on Directors), Steppenwolf Theater, Village Foundation (1999-2006), Marwen (1999-2007), Northwestern Memorial Foundation (Professional Standards Committee), ABA Commission on the Jury (co-chair, 2004-2005); Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce (Chair of Education and Work Force Committee (2000-2010), UIC Corp. Advisory Board (1994-2004), Illinois Chamber of Commerce (2008) and Loyola Council of Regents.

He is currently or has previously served as a member of the following Committees: Chicago Club (Chairman of the Membership Commission) (2005-2007); International Association of Defense Counsel; Product Liability Advisory Council (2000-2009); Consejo Consultivo Empresarial de Chicago; 7th Circuit American Jury Project Commission, member of Leading Lawyers Network (2003-present); White House Fellowships Chicago Regional Selection Panel (2006 - 2008); Chicago 2016 Olympic Committee (co-chair Outreach Advisory Council); Steering Committee for the Real Men Read Initiative for Chicago Public Schools (2006 - 2009); Charter Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (2007); Citizens Committee for the Center for Chicago Architecture; Council on Litigation Management (CLM).

He has previously served on the following legal professional Boards of Directors of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, the Hispanic National Bar Association and National Hispanic Scholarship Fund. He was a founder of the Mexican American Lawyers Association and the Latin American Bar Association.

He is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, Defense Research Institute, American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Society of Trial Lawyers, Chicago Inn of Court, ABOTA (American Board of Trial Advocates), a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a member of the ABA Presidential Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities.

In 1995, Governor James Edgar, appointed Sanchez to the Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees. In 2001, he was re-appointed by Governor George Ryan and shortly thereafter, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University. In 2009, he was re-appointed by Governor Pat Quinn.

Mr. Sanchez has been honored by numerous organizations including: named as one of the 50 inaugural recipients of the NIU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Golden Alumni Award (from among 70,000 alumni) Sept. 2009; Latino Leaders Magazine “Maestro Award for Professional Achievement (2009); Chicago United’s Business Leaders of Color for 2007, March of Dimes Faces of Our Success Award 2006. Chicago United's "2002 Changing How Chicago Works" Award; Infant Welfare Society of Chicago's "Hall of Fame" Award (2002); Operation Push Excel Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy & Partnership Award (2002); Minority Business Advocate Award (2001); Northern Illinois University VALE Award (2000); St. Augustine College El Puente Award (2000 and 2009); Thomas L. Sager Award (1999); the Raoul Wallenberg International Humanitarian Award (1998); Salute to Chicago Guiding Light Award (1997); El Valor Founders Award (1996); Basil Moreau Lifetime Achievement Award (1995); Chicago NBC/Hispanic Magazine Vida Award for Entrepreneurship (1995). In 1990, his family was named the Illinois Hispanic Family of the Year.

He has been named on multiple occasions by Hispanic Magazine as "One of the Nation's Most Influential Hispanics." He has been listed by Crain's Chicago Business Magazine as a member of "Who's Who in Chicago Business" for the past two decades. Named by Poder Magazine as one of “The 100 Most Powerful Latinos” in the U.S.A. (Dec. 2003); named as an Illinois Super Lawyer (2006 - present); named 100 Leading Lawyers by Chicago/Crain’s Chicago Business Magazine (2003 - present); named in Latino Leaders Magazine as one of the “101 Top Movers and Shakers in America” (2005 - 2009) and 101 Most Influential Leaders in the U.S.A. (2009, 2010); named by Fortune Magazine as one of America’s Premier Lawyers (2007) and for decades has enjoyed Martindale-Hubbell Highest Attorney Peer Review Rating.

In 2008, the publication, “Your Witness, Lessons on Cross Examination and Life from Great Chicago Trial Lawyers,” features a chapter written by Manuel Sanchez called Unconventional Cross-Examination.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Illinois University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania. He has completed courses in Corporate Governance at University of Southern California, University of Chicago School of Business and Harvard Business School. He has also served on the faculty of the 2008 DRI Diversity for Success Seminar and International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy at Stanford Law School (July 2008). Recently, he attended the Price Waterhouse Coopers 2009 Audit Committee Financial Expert Seminar.

Mr. Sanchez lives with his wife, Pat Pulido Sanchez in Chicago, Illinois. He has three children, four grandchildren and one stepdaughter.