Rahmiel Hayyim Drizin
Rahmiel Hayyim Drizin is a retired Assistant Cook County Public Defender, serving for nearly thirty years in a position primarily doing appellate and post-conviction work. He did his undergraduate work at the Pennsylvania State University (B.A. 1982), followed by obtaining his law degree at the Northwestern University School of Law in 1985.
Head of Legal Advisory Committee
Rahmiel Hayyim currently serves as the Head of Hinda Institute’s Legal Advisory Committee, which supports the Hinda Institute on legal issues. He volunteers to visit clients detained in Cook County Jail offering hope and comfort and helps them to make legal connections. He also helps families and clients dealing with reentry. Rahimel Hayyim is endlessly compassionate and committed to the ideals of Hinda of "100% Acceptance 0% Recidivism" and is an immeasurable asset and a gift to Hinda.
Rahmiel Hayyim says, “I spent my career dutifully serving the public of Cook County and now desire to give back to our people, the Jewish population of Illinois who require legal guidance. It is my privilege to be able to help the Hinda Institute clients and their families return to a normal life.”
Fresh Start Story“I graduated Northwestern School of Law in 1985 and clerked for the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Afterwards, the uncle of a law school classmate became a judge for the Illinois Appellate Court and I clerked for him for a while. I then joined a small civil rights and labor union law firm, which held much promise, but in reality was nothing what I had envisioned.
I found out that the Office of the Cook County Public Defender was hiring, so I applied and got the job working in the Appeals Division.This was the greatest “new start” of my life, as I had never envisioned being a PD, but it provided me with an amazing opportunity to seek justice for those accused of crimes. I guess I loved the job because I worked there for nearly thirty (30) years!”