Little did Rob Lang know what awaited him when the future high-powered Chicago attorney arrived on campus as a freshman political science major.
His advisor: Sister Marie Golla.
“It was incredible to have a nun as an advisor at a public university,” he says. “I remember meeting with her and asking how to navigate the class sign-up chaos at the Armory.
“She gave some strategic tips but also said if all else fails, ‘just pray.’”
Lang went on to earn his law degree at Wake Forest but will forever be remembered by Illini basketball fans as a member of the legal team that successfully defended basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. — first in their challenge to his university-imposed suspension, then in an acquittal of a rape charge in Kansas.
Lang also represented Lovie Smith in his contracts with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Illini and Houston Texans.
