Roger Bickel is a Partner and the Head of the Government and Regulatory Law Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP. Mr. Bickel was a Partner at Freeborn & Peters, which combined with SGR in 2023.
Mr. Bickel’s practice concentrates in the specific areas of: Government Relations and Regulatory Law, Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Lobbying & Corporate Representation and Procurement Advocacy.
He has over two decades of experience in representing a wide array of global Fortune 100 clients and businesses in high profile and financially significant legislative initiatives as well as complex commercial litigation. Often retained for some of the most challenging regulatory issues facing major corporate clients, his professional experience includes: General Counsel to two separate constitutional offices of State Government, Co-Author of the landmark Illinois Lobbyist Registration Act, Executive Director of the Governor’s Small Business Advisory Council, Director of the Caucus of National Lieutenant Governors, and Special Regulatory Counsel to numerous human service agencies and multinational businesses. He serves as special counsel to numerous multinational companies for regulatory compliance guidance on select campaign finance and corporate board ethics issues.
Mr. Bickel enjoys the highest possible Martindale-Hubbell legal ability/ethical standards rating (“A-V Preeminent attorney”). He was previously selected by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer publications as one of the “40 Under Forty Illinois Attorneys to Watch,” a designation accorded to less than 1% of the state’s practicing attorneys.
He was selected and named by his peer attorneys in a recent edition of The Best Lawyers in America® as the “2021 Chicago Lawyer of the Year” for Government Relations Practice. He has been selected by Best Lawyers in America for designation from 2007 to 2025. The Best Lawyers in America®, representing 80 specialties in all 50 states and Washington, DC, is compiled through an exhaustive peer-review survey in which thousands of the top lawyers in the U.S. confidentially evaluate their professional peers.
From 2004 through 2024, Mr. Bickel was selected by his own peers in a statewide evaluation as one of “Illinois’ Leading Lawyers” in Regulatory Law representation, a distinction accorded to less than 5% of the state’s most respected and experienced practicing attorneys. He has been featured as one of the top designated lawyers in Illinois in numerous editions of Chicago Lawyer magazine and Illinois Super Lawyers magazine.
For four years, Mr. Bickel has also served by appointment with the Department of Justice as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in securities law cases. He has represented numerous professional and trade associations, governmental bodies and individuals before the General Assembly, and the many regulatory agencies of the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago and the Federal Government.
In business litigation, he has successfully represented Fortune 500 companies, partnerships, small businesses, universities, and directors and officers in breach of contract claims, regulatory matters, significant enforcement of judgment suits (i.e. overseas assets), negligence claims, civil rights and constitutional claims, environmental and securities enforcement matters, and a variety of other claims and trials.
While at Freeborn (now SGR), Mr. Bickel served on the firm’s Executive Committee for nine years and separately served as the Government and Regulatory Law Practice Group Leader, a position he continues to chair. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Civic Federation of Chicago for more than twenty years.
Mr. Bickel received his B.A. from Indiana University (Bloomington), with honors, and was a Lieber Scholar. He received his J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.
Illinois State Bar Association
Indiana University Alumni Association
