Rini-O’Neil in Mourning

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rebecca-riniWashington communications attorney Rebecca Rini passed away suddenly 2/8/15, leaving the law firm she helped found scrambling to pick up the pieces.


Among her clients were Morgan Murphy Stations, and related license companies which owned KYVV-TV in San Antonio and KMCC-TV in Las Vegas. She had many other broadcast clients.

Partner David O’Neil said, “Rebecca Rini was a respected attorney and zealous advocate who enjoyed the respect of her peers.  Her dedication to her craft was exceptional.  We will miss her enthusiasm, teamwork and compassion for the practice of law.”

There has been an amazing outpouring of support from the legal community, noted O’Neil, and especially from Rini’s clients, who have said they’ve lost more than a lawyer, they’ve lost a friend and confidant.

O’Neil said her passing was completely unexpected – there were no health problems of which anyone was aware — and noted that the entire law firm has been entirely focused on filling the hole her absence is leaving.

Here is her obituary.

Rebecca Rini, a prominent communications attorney in Washington, DC, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, February 8, 2015.

Rebecca was the founding partner of the law firm of Rini, Coran & Lancellotta, PC and its successor, Rini O’Neil, PC.  She was an innovator in the communications industry and was widely regarded for her negotiation skills, her fierce advocacy and her creative approach to problem solving.  Rebecca served on the Board of Directors of The Source for Learning, Inc. and on the Board of Directors of Pegasus Tower Company.  She served as President of the alumni association for the Institute for Communications Law Studies at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus Law School (2004).  She graduated cum laude from the State University of New York at Albany and received her Juris Doctorate from The Catholic University of America.

Aside from her love of communications law, Rebecca was an avid photographer and contributed photographs to the Takoma Park publication “The Voice.” She embraced life to the fullest, was a force to be reckoned with and was a dear friend to many. She is survived by Lori Rini, her daughter Lyndsay, son Jacob and long-time companion Michael Selleh.

Services will be held Sunday, February 15, at 10:00 AM at Francis J. Collins Funeral Home, 500 University Boulevard West, Silver Spring, MD 20901.

As Rebecca would say: “onward and upward.”