Jill Cranston Rice (formerly Bentz)
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Dinsmore’s Jill Rice Earns Prestigious West Virginia Executive Lawyers & Leaders Honor

August 23, 2019News Releases

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP is proud to announce that Jill Cranston Rice, a partner in Morgantown, West Virginia, has been named to the esteemed West Virginia Executive magazine Lawyers & Leaders Class of 2019. An event honoring the class was held Thursday evening.

The magazine launched the award in 2017 to recognize “elite legal professionals who either practice in the Mountain State or graduated from the WVU College of Law and are making a positive impact on the state and the nation, have dedicated their careers to serving others and their communities and are leaving a lasting mark on the legal profession,” per the publication’s awards announcement.

Rice, who has been with Dinsmore since 2007, is the chair of the government relations practice group, and she litigates on behalf of many businesses and sectors, including insurance, healthcare and banking. She is also a well-known lobbyist in the state, using her skills and stature as a celebrated businessperson to fight for equality.

In 2015, she assisted in the launch of Opportunity West Virginia, a bipartisan coalition that unites businesses that value diversity. She has also worked alongside the ACLU of West Virginia to lobby against discriminatory legislation.

“I am really passionate about diversity, fairness and inclusion,” Rice told the West Virginia Executive. “All of these affect how competitive our state is economically. I want to do my part to raise awareness of not only these issues but the message that West Virginia is hospitable for everyone.”

Her resume outside of Dinsmore and lobbying is just as spectacular. Rice is the chairperson for the Issues and Advocacy Committee for DRI—The Voice of the Defense Bar and for the Highland-Clarksburg Hospital board of directors, the president of the West Virginia Insurance Federation, she serves on the WVU College of Law advisory committee, and she was previously the president of the Defense Trial Council of West Virginia.

Given her outstanding track record, it is no surprise to see her winning this award alongside legal professionals from such distinguished corporations and institutions as Google, the U.S. District Court, West Virginia University, the U.S. Air Force, Nationwide Insurance and Legal Aid of West Virginia.