Tamara Nora Holder

Tamara N. Holder is an Illinois defense attorney, TV/radio legal analyst and political blogger.

Tamara Holder is the principal of The Law Firm of Tamara N. Holder, LLCand founder of . Her work includes: expungement andclemency, criminal defense (felony and misdemeanor), racediscrimination, police brutality, personal injury and pro bonopractices.

Soon after Tamara's graduation from law school, she realized many ofher clients found themselves facing lifetime bans on employment,education, adoption, even access to credit – all because of a priorarrest record that was long forgotten. Seeing the need for outreach inthis area, Tamara created , to help offer a secondchance to people who have expungeable or sealable offenses underIllinois law. She also helps people seek a Governor’s pardon fornon-expungeable offenses.

Tamara also works closely with Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. in craftingand executing public policy initiatives, together with programs toincrease opportunities for minorities and the economicallydisadvantaged. As a result of her work, she quickly caught theattention of not only Chicago’s civic leaders, but also of thosenationwide.

Tamara was the first in the country to expose the railroad industry’simproper employment practices toward those with criminal records. Shespearheaded a Congressional inquiry with the help of Chairman JohnConyers, the result of which was a hearing before the CongressionalCommittee of Homeland Security in February of 2007. Then, in July of2007, Tamara testified as an expert witness before the CongressionalCommittee of Transportation, Sub-Committee of Maritime andInfrastructure. Her testimony was crucial to preventing passage of aninvasive, anti-worker, anti-business piece of legislation calling formandatory identification cards for transportation workers, a statutoryscheme criticized by organized labor and management alike.

Tamara created a pro bono expungement clinic at Rev. Jesse L. Jackson'sRainbow Push headquarters where she provides free legal advice andeducates the public about the importance of clearing their criminalbackground.

In 2008, Tamara uncovered a pattern of wrongful arrests and evictionsof Chicago's public housing residents, filing a class action lawsuit ontheir behalf.

Tamara has met privately with Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn andformer Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on the issue of pardons andIllinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan on criminal sentencing andexpungement laws. She has worked with many of the nation’s toppolitical leaders, such as Congressman Bennie Thompson andCongresswoman Maxine Waters and former TSA Administrator Kip Hawley, toname a few.

Tamara is a frequent guest on Fox News Channel, CNN, HLN, truTV (formerly CourtTV), and on local TV and radio.

Tamara sits on the advisory board of Women of Power (an organizationwithin the Cook County Sheriff’s Office - ),alongside some of the state’s most powerful leaders, includingCongressmen Danny Davis and Jesse Jackson, Jr., as well as many judgesand elected officials. The organization is devoted to helping womenrehabilitate who are caught within the criminal justice system. Shealso sits on the board of Horizon Prison Ministries(), a non-profit organization founded toestablish faith and character-based residential programs in believes in rehabilitation over incarceration.

Tamara is an early graduate from college (The University of Arizona,2000) and from law school (The John Marshall Law School, 2005). Whilein law school, she learned criminal trial practice as an intern for theCook County State’s Attorney’s Office and contract negotiation andmediation at Miramax Films in Los Angeles.