Peter Riley

I had the good fortune of having Pete Riley bring me to Thompson & Knight from my firm in Okla. City 18 years ago. I had the pleasure of working by his side as a paralegal for about 9 years before he became Managing Partner. Since then, he was never too busy to come visit me to update me on the latest accomplishments of the pride & joy of his life: Peyton and Rachel. There will never be anyone like him and I will miss him so much. He was such an inspiration to me on a personal and...

Peyton, Rachel and Laura – thank you for sharing Pete with those of us at Thompson Knight. He made a big and positive difference in the lives of many, many people. I enjoyed having him as my friend and as the leader of our firm. I appreciated his openness in talking about his Christian beliefs and his desire to seek the best for us at TK. I appreciated the way he acted on those beliefs and desire. And I appreciated his example as a father – you girls really did come first for him. May...

Pete was a quick wit with a great smile, and a fine gentleman. He will be missed in Ohio too. Our condolences to his family, and his friends at T&K. Sincerely, Jane [Ward] and Pat Fischer

Pete had just assumed the role of managing partner when I joined Thompson & Knight. I was immediately impressed. During the past eight years, my respect, admiration and gratitude for Pete just continued to grow. Pete honored and cultivated the best of our firm’s history and culture and had a vision for the best for our firm in the future. He encouraged, inspired and synthesized the best from others. Pete always seemed genuinely focused outside himself. It was obvious that he cared deeply...

To the Riley family:
I am so terribly sorry to hear of your loss. I was fortunate to know Pete at TK and he was a wonderful person and an outstanding lawyer. He did so much for the firm and was an outstanding leader. I was lucky to have even played golf with him at the firm retreat once or twice - which was a pleasure. He was so proud of his daughters. He will be missed.

Over the past decade, Pete took a respected law firm and turned it into a likewise respected international powerhouse. He was that rarest of creatures: a great lawyer who was an even better businessman. Against the grain with regard to the image projected by many large firms, Pete never allowed partners, in fact anyone in the TK family, to be viewed as "units of production" rather than people. He was the face of the firm's compassion, publicly but also privately helping countless numbers of...

Hello,

I am one of Pete's partners at T&K. He hired me and inspired me. Pete was truly a great man and etremely committed to diversity at T&K. I am black, but Pete didn't see color. He only saw an opportunity to better the firm and treated me fairly. I will always be thankful for his insight. During his illness, I often thought about his passion for the firm and would read his emails and get the sense that he was upbeat and fighting with all he had so he could return as our...

I met Pete as a young lawyer at TK. His professionalism and mentoring were admirable and I strive to imitate those incredible qualities everyday. Words aren't enough to express how much I know he will be missed by so many lives he touched. My deepest sympathies and prayers are with you.

My own words of respect, admiration and trust in Pete Riley would be unequal to those already expressed. I must admit to my own sharp pain and grief for the loss of a man on whom I counted for so much.
Pete had a habit of responding to my long, complicated e-mails with a Zen-like "reply without history" consisting of a single monosyllabic response, such as "Agreed." So, Pete, this is my final reply to you:
"Yes."
"Everything."