William T. Gibbs

William T. Gibbs is a partner at the Chicago personal injury and medical malpractice law firm of Corboy & Demetrio and concentrates his practice on cases arising from railroad negligence, automobile collisions, participation in sports, unsafe pharmaceuticals or medical devices, construction negligence, medical negligence, premises liability, product liability and aviation litigation.

For more than a decade at Corboy & Demetrio, Bill has obtained numerous record-setting and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of his clients.  His list of representative clients demonstrates the diversity of his practice.

Bill was part of a team that secured a $29.6 million verdict on behalf of a woman who was brain damaged in the derailment of a speeding train in Chicago. The verdict is the largest in Illinois for an individual injured in a mass transit crash.

In a Federal District Court case, Bill obtained a $6.6 million verdict for a family injured in an automobile collision. It was the largest verdict ever in that Court. In another case, Bill and Thomas Demetrio secured a $6.75 million settlement for the family of Justyna Palka, who was a pedestrian killed by a tour bus in Chicago.

Some of his high-profile cases involve the representation of amateur and professional athletes.  Bill was appointed to the Plaintiff's Executive Committee by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson in Minnesota in litigation involving the National Hockey League and brain injuries. 

In addition to this leadership role in the multi district litigation, Bill represents the Estates of Steve Montador and Todd Ewen, deceased NHL players who died with CTE.  Additionally, Bill currently represents numerous retired NFL players, including the family of former Chicago Bear Dave Duerson, in claims against the NFL stemming from concussions.

Also, Bill and Thomas Demetrio represented Hall-of-Fame White Sox player Frank Thomas in a medical malpractice action and the matter was "resolved amicably."  

Bill has appeared on national and international television networks discussing sports and C.T.E., including CNN, FOX Business News, Al Jazeera and Canadian National TV.  He has been quoted numerous times by national and international media, including the New York Times, ESPN and Sports Illustrated.

He has served as a regular contributor to the Sporting Judgment section of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin where he wrote the column, Sports Torts.

Bill has been selected to The Best Lawyers in America since 2022 in the areas of Mass Tort/Class Actions - Plaintiffs; Personal Injury - Plaintiffs and Medical Malpractice - Plaintiffs, and he earned the elite designation "Lawyer of the Year" in Mass Torts/Class Actions in Chicago by Best Lawyers for 2024.

In 2020, Bill was appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to serve on its Committee for Jury Instructions in Civil Cases.

Bill received a 2017 Trial Excellence Award from the Law Bulletin Publishing’s Jury Verdict Reporter for having the Highest Reported Verdict or Settlement in Jackson County.

In 2023, Bill was named to the highly-selective Illinois Super Lawyers in the area of personal injury, a designation he's earned for eight consecutive years. From 2009-2014, he was designated an Illinois Super Lawyer, Rising Star.

Since 2020, Bill has been selected to the elite national legal guide, Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers.  Since 2023, he has been selected to Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, comprising the 500 top legal minds in the country.

Bill has been selected to the prestigious Illinois Leading Lawyers since 2015.

In October, 2009, Bill was named by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company, which publishes the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and Chicago Lawyer magazine, to its list of "40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch."

In 2013, The National Trial Lawyers named Bill one of the Top 40 Under 40 Lawyers in the country, and in 2020, he was named to The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers for the sixth consecutive year. Since 2017, The National Trial Lawyers named Bill to NTL's Brain Injury Trial Lawyers Association Top 25.

Since 2018, Bill has been named to the highly-selective, national Irish Legal 100.

In 2008, Bill authored an article, "A Quick Guide to the Illinois Dead Man’s Act," which was published in the Illinois Bar Journal, a publication of the Illinois State Bar Association. Bill is a frequent panelist and lecturer to local and state bar associations, CLE seminars and law schools throughout the country.

Active in many community organizations, Bill is a member of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation Advisory Board.

In 2018, Bill was appointed to the Advisory Board of The Mike Adamle Project: Rise Above, an initiative created to provide tools, resources and support to patients living with symptoms of CTE.

Bill was formerly a high school teacher and varsity football, basketball, and baseball coach. While at the University of Notre Dame, he was a defensive back on the varsity football team.

Profiles

"40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch," Law Bulletin Publishing Company, 2009 

"Lawyer Limelight: William T. Gibbs," Lawdragon Magazine, May 22, 2023

Honors

The Best Lawyers in America, 2022-present, and "Lawyer of the Year" in Mass Torts-Class Actions in 2024

Appointed by Illinois Supreme Court to its Committee for Jury Instructions in Civil Cases, 2020

The Society of Trial Lawyers, 2018-present

Trial Excellence Award from the Law Bulletin Publishing’s Jury Verdict Reporter for having the Highest Reported Verdict or Settlement in Jackson County, 2017

Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, 2023-present

Lawdragon 500 Global Plaintiff Lawyers, 2024

Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2020-present

Leading Lawyers, 2014-present

Illinois Super Lawyers, 2015-present 

The National Trial Lawyers: Brain Injury Trial Lawyers Association Top 25, 2017-present

The National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers, 2014-present

The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 under 40, 2013

Irish Legal 100, 2018-present

"40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch," Law Bulletin Publishing Company, 2009

Illinois Super Lawyer Rising Star, 2009-2014

CALI, Excellence for the Future Award, Philosophy, 2004

CALI, Excellence for the Future Award, Legal Writing, 2002

Professional Affiliations

American Association for Justice (AAJ) formerly known as American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA)

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), Co-Chair of the Product Liability & Insurance Law Committee, 2019; Board of Managers, 2017-Present

Chicago Bar Association (CBA), Civil Practice Committee, Tort Litigation Committee

National Trial Lawyers Association: Brain Injury Trial Lawyers Association 2017, 2018

Notre Dame Law Association

Fenwick Bar Association, Treasurer, 2005-2008

Community Involvement

Chicago Police Memorial Foundation Advisory Board Member

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls

The Mike Adamle Project Advisory Board

Our Lady of Mercy Legal Clinic

Oz Park Baseball Association Board Member

Ronald McDonald House

Successes

Practice Areas

Speaking Engagements and Presentations

• Criminal and Civil Evidence Issues Seminar, Illinois State Bar Association, “Illinois Evidence: The CSI Effect”, January 25, 2008 and February 8, 2008

• “Motion Practice (615, 619, 1005)”, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Update & Review Seminar, October 13, 2008

• “Confidentiality for Special Medical Records and Electronic Medical Records”, Lorman Medical Records Law Seminar, February 2, 2010.

• “Nuts & Bolts Seminar – The Trial of a Negligence Case”, MCLE, March 25, 2011

• “Confidentiality for Special Medical Records and Electronic Medical Records”, Lorman Medical Records Law Seminar, August 2, 2011.

• Guest Lecturer, John Marshall Law School, Elder Law, November 7, 2011.

• “How Attorneys Find Experts”, Forensic Witness Association - Practice Development Conference, November 12, 2011.

• “Topics on Litigation:  The Anatomy of a Civil Case” – IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, May 17, 2012

• Speaker, CBA Sports Concussion Seminar, Chicago Bar Association, June 13, 2012

• “Legal Issues after Brain Injury” – Annual Educational Conference of The Brain Injury Association of Illinois, October 26, 2012

• “Medical Records Law”, Lorman Education Services Seminar, June 20, 2013

• Guest Lecturer, University of Notre Dame Law School, Torts I, November, 2013.

• Guest Lecturer, Chicago-Kent College of Law, December, 2013.

• Guest Lecturer, University of Chicago School of Law, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, January, 2014.

• “Trial Techniques for Every Stage of a Case,” Chicago Bar Association, February 13, 2014.

• “Use of Video for Settlement, Arbitration and Trial,” Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Settlements, Liens and Technology Seminar, April 5, 2014.

• “Finding out About Jurors:  Voir dire and background checks,” Pincus Professional Education, Jury Selection:  Learn How to Improve Your Jury Selection Skills Seminar, April 25, 2014.

• “NFL/NCAA Concussion Litigation,” Hot Topics in Sports Law, Valparaiso University Law School Sports Law Symposium, November 21, 2014.

• “Jury Instructions – Dealing with Difficult Defense Counsel,” Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Trials Seminar, March 28, 2015.

• Guest Lecturer, University of Notre Dame Law School, National Football League and National Hockey League Players’ Concussion Injury Litigation, November 11, 2015.

• “Discovery Tailored to the Case – Taxi cab, Uber, trucking, boating, CTA, Metra, etc…” Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Education Fund, Nuts and Bolts of a Case Seminar, April 2, 2016.

• “Litigating Brain Injury Cases,” Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Update & Review Seminar, October 22, 2016.

• “The Law of Sports Brian Injuries,” The Brain Injury Association of Illinois 2016 Annual Educational Conference, October 28, 2016

• “Non-Economic Damages,” Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Education Fund Damages Seminar, March 31, 2017

• “NHL Litigation and Settled NFL Litigation,” The Chicago Bar Association Municipal & Law Committee Meeting, May 18, 2017

• “Sports Concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy,” The Society of Trial Lawyers, May 1, 2018

Education

IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, Illinois, J.D., 2004

University of Portland, Portland, Oregon, M.A., 1999

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, B.A., 1997

Bar & Court Admissions

• Illinois
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court of Nebraska
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
• Trial Bar for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois