Daisy Ayllón

Daisy is a member of the Sexual Abuse & Hazing, Birth Injury, Medical Malpractice, Nursing Home Abuse and Institutional Negligence teams. She has played a role in a number of high-profile cases, including a $40 million verdict for a child who was left paralyzed after a botched surgery, a $35 million settlement following a three-week trial for a small girl who was injured during her delivery and a $15 million verdict against a high school district for failing to protect a male student from sexual abuse by a female teacher. Romanucci & Blandin is especially proud to have Daisy as a Partner, as recent data reflects that only 1% of law firm partners in the United States are Black or Hispanic women. Daisy moved to the United States when she was 13 after spending her early childhood near Toluca, Mexico.

Growing up in poverty, Daisy developed a strong work ethic by helping her parents farm the land in their rural community and later working at a convenience store between the ages of 6 and 13. After her family moved to the United States, Daisy learned English and became an outstanding student. She eventually graduated from Villanova University's Honors Program in 2011 with a degree in Communications with an emphasis in Journalism. Daisy attended Chicago-Kent College of Law, where she received a full-tuition merit scholarship, was an editor of the Seventh Circuit Review, a Vice-President of the Moot Court Honor Society and was included on the Dean's List.

When deciding on a legal path, Daisy chose personal injury litigation because she believes individuals, particularly working-class people, deserve high-quality legal services. Outside of the courtroom, Daisy prioritizes giving back to her community. She volunteers with several civic organizations, including Casa Central, which provides culturally responsive social services to young children, families experiencing homelessness, and elderly individuals. She has volunteered with "Lawyers in the Classroom," a program that seeks to help students better understand the U.S. Constitution, our legal system and law-related careers.

She also serves as an investigator with the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening, which evaluates judicial candidates to improve the quality of the judiciary. Daisy is passionate about educating others about their rights and responsibilities and has partnered with the American Bar Association Commission and Univision to better equip the Hispanic community with knowledge to advocate for their own rights. At Romanucci & Blandin, Daisy was a member of the legal team representing hundreds of women, many of whom are Spanish speakers, who were sexually abused by former OB/GYN Fabio Ortega, a convicted sex offender. The legal team pursued institutional negligence claims against Endeavor Health (f/k/a NorthShore), which knew about Ortega's sexually perverted conduct yet allowed him to continue to "practice medicine" and to abuse hundreds of women for decades.

This is believed to be the largest sex abuse case - spanning hundreds of victims over decades - against a medical institution in Illinois and among the biggest in the United States. The legal community has regularly recognized Daisy's achievements and advocacy on behalf of her clients, earning her several awards from prestigious legal organizations and publications. Since 2017, Daisy has received the Super Lawyers' Rising Stars award.

Since 2019, Leading Lawyers has named her an Emerging Lawyer for five consecutive years. In 2021, Daisy received the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin's 40 Under Forty Award. In 2023, she received the Outstanding Young Alumna Award from Chicago-Kent College of Law.