Philip Harnett Corboy, Jr.

Partner

33 N. Dearborn Street

21st Floor

Chicago, IL 60602

Profile

Philip Harnett Corboy, Jr. was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1978 and worked in a small white-collar criminal defense firm before joining the criminal division of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office that same year. At the time of his resignation from that public office in 1985, he was a "first-chair" prosecutor - responsible for trying such felonies as murder, rape, armed robbery and kidnapping - in one of the major courtrooms at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building at 26th and California in Chicago. He joined Corboy & Demetrio as an associate that same year and became a partner in 1991.

Mr. Corboy’s practice centers on representing plaintiffs in aviation and construction litigation, medical and professional negligence, product and premises liability, claims brought under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, and vehicular accident law. He has settled or tried to verdict 70 cases in which plaintiffs have recovered $1 million or more. These include:

$22.5 million settlement in October 2011 for the family of a woman who was killed as a result of the derailment of a train in Rockford, IL, which was carrying dozens of Canadian National Railway cars filled with ethanol.
$18 million settlement for a Mexican national who was killed by a piece of falling glass from Chicago's CNA Tower.
$16.7 million verdict for a brain-damaged pedestrian involved in a collision with an automobile.
$11 million settlement for a Chicago dental student burned in an automobile fire.
$8.5 million settlement for the family of an assistant fire chief killed when a fire erupted at a Neiman Marcus store.
$8 million jury verdict for the estate of a Homewood wife and mother who was fatally struck by a truck after she stood on the shoulder of I-294 to investigate her flat tire.
$7.67 million jury verdict for an injured construction worker.
$7.5 million settlement for the family of a construction worker killed in a balcony fall.
Record-setting settlement of $7 million for a 78 year-old woman who was injured when she was struck by a malfunctioning automatic door as she entered a Target store.
$5.35 million verdict for a limousine driver who lost his leg in an automobile incident at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
$5.1 million settlement for a college student who was injured by a car that slid on ice from a broken water main that the City of Chicago failed to maintain.
$4.5 million verdict for a 66-year-old man who was injured in an auto collision in central Illinois.

Mr. Corboy has tried cases in a number of states throughout the country and served as lead counsel in litigation on behalf of Cook County, Illinois, against the country's major tobacco companies to recoup public monies paid out for treatment of tobacco-related illnesses.

He is a Past President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and a member of the American Association for Justice, where he served as an Illinois State delegate and on its National Board of Governors. A long-standing member of the Illinois State Bar Association and the American Bar Association, he is also a member of the Chicago Bar Association, where he served on its Board of Managers. In 2002, he was inducted into the invitation-only American College of Trial Lawyers, the country's pre-eminent organization of trial lawyers that limits its membership to those trial lawyers who are outstanding and considered the best in their state.

Mr. Corboy is widely recognized by his peers as one of the top attorneys in the state of Illinois. He has attained the designation of Super Lawyer for more than two decades, which is awarded to fewer than 5% of lawyers in the state. Illinois Super Lawyers also named him as one of the Top 100 Illinois lawyers in 2025 for a 13th year.

Mr. Corboy has been recognized in Best Lawyers in America for his work in representing victims of personal injury every year since 2006, and Corboy & Demetrio has been named in Best Law Firms in America every year since the directory's inception.

In addition, since 2003, the Leading Lawyers Network has named Mr. Corboy in the top 5% of all attorneys in Illinois, also naming him to Top Ten Product Liability Attorneys-Plaintiff's in 2019. Since 2015, Mr. Corboy has been named to Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, which is an elite group of the best legal minds in our country, including all sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justices. He has been selected to Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers since the award's inception. In 2025, Philip was inducted into the Lawdragon Hall of Fame for his significant contributions to the legal profession.

Also, since 2015, he has been named to the prestigious Irish Legal 100, whose highly-selected members are 100 leading lawyers nationwide of Irish descent.

Mr. Corboy is the 2011-2012 recipient of the DePaul University College of Law Distinguished Alumnus Award, the highest distinction the College of Law can bestow.

He was appointed by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin to a screening committee to assist the Senator in selecting Federal District Court Judges, U.S. Attorneys, and U.S. Marshals for the Northern District of Illinois, serving from 2009-2017.

Mr. Corboy was also appointed to the Equal Justice Illinois Campaign Blue-Ribbon Committee where he has worked to increase state funding of civil legal aid so that all Illinois residents, regardless of income, have access to the justice system.

Mr. Corboy is a frequent panelist and lecturer to local, state and national bar associations and is quoted extensively in news stories on matters relating to law and government. He has been interviewed and quoted in every print and broadcast media outlet in Chicago and the greater Chicago land area, as well as making appearances and offering commentary on legal issues nationally on the Today Show, The Early Show with Bryant Gumbel, Good Morning America, Court-TV, MSNBC and Fox News' The Edge with Paula Zahn. He has also been quoted on legal topics in Time Magazine, Lawyer's Weekly U.S.A., Of Counsel, Chicago Magazine, Inside Litigation, Crain's Chicago Business, The ABA Journal, General Surgery News, and others.

Mr. Corboy devotes much of his time to charitable and not-for-profit endeavors.

In 2018, Mr. Corboy was elected to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation (USOPF) Board of Directors. Previously, he served as a Trustee of USOPF and helped raise critical financial resources that enabled the U.S. Olympic Committee to make investments in areas promoting excellence and innovation for Team USA. In 2020, he was appointed to Villanova University's President's Advisory Council.

Mr. Corboy is a past President of the Board of Directors of the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, Illinois’ largest legal aid program for low income people. He served on the Board of Illinois Variety Club's International Children's Charity for a number of years and was Vice-President of The Chicago Lighthouse, one of the country's oldest organizations for people who are blind or visually impaired. He is a member of the Honorary Dean's Council of DePaul University College of Law.

Profiles

"Lawyer Limelight: Philip Harnett Corboy, Jr.," Lawdragon Magazine, January, 2021
"Defining His Own Version of Reputable," Leading Lawyers Magazine, 2013
"Alumni Spotlight," Dialogue, Winter 2009
“Civil Excellence: DePaul Personal Injury Litigators,” Dialogue, The Magazine of DePaul College of Law, Winter, 2000

Honors

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, President, 2008-2009; President's Executive Committee, 2015-2016, 2014-2015

Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, Board of Directors, President, 2008-2010

American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow, by invitation

Appointed by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin to Northern District Screening Committee for Federal District Court Judges, U.S. Attorneys and U.S. Marshals, Member, 2009-2017

"AV Preeminent" Peer Review Rating by Martindale-Hubbell (Martindale's highest rating.)

Cook County Circuit Court Committee to Recommend Local Rules for Mandatory Arbitration, Appointment

Crain's Chicago Business' 2023 Notable Litigators and Trial Attorneys

DePaul University College of Law, Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2012

DePaul University College of Law, Honorary Dean's Council

Equal Justice Illinois Campaign Blue-Ribbon Committee, 2009-Present

Illinois Super Lawyers - Top 5% of all Illinois attorneys, 2005-Present

Irish Legal 100, 2015-Present

Lawdragon Hall of Fame, Inducted in 2025

Lawdragon 500 Global Plaintiff Lawyers, 2024

Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, 2015-Present

Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2019-Present

Leading Lawyers Network Member - Top 5% of all Illinois attorneys, 2003-Present; Top Ten Product Liability Attorneys-Plaintiff's, 2019

Leading Lawyers Network, Advisory Board

Oxford’s “Who’s Who”

“The Best Lawyers in America” - Personal Injury Litigation, Plaintiff, 2006-present

The Society of Trial Lawyers, Chicago, IL, Fellow

Professional Affiliations

American Association for Justice (AAJ) formerly known as Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), Illinois Delegate, 2001-2003; Board of Governors, 2003-2005

American Bar Association (ABA)

American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL)

Chicago Bar Association (CBA), Board of Managers, 1994-1996; Judicial Evaluation Committee, 1980-present, Vice-Chairman, 1984-1987, Chairman, 1987-1990, General Chairman, 1989-1990; House Committee, Chairman, 1990-1991; Long Range Planning Committee, Chairman, 1999-2000; Settlement Program, Mediator, 1988-1989

Cook County Circuit Court Committee to Recommend Local Rules for Court-Annexed Mandatory Arbitration, 1988

Equal Justice Illinois Campaign Blue-Ribbon Committee Member

Illinois Bar Foundation, Honorary Gala Co-Chair, 2017

Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA)

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA), President, 2008; President-Elect, 2007; First Vice-President, 2006; Second Vice-President, 2005; Leonard Ring Memorial Award, Nominating Committee, 2004; Executive Committee, 2002-2003, 2005-2010, 2014; Nominating Committee, 2000; Legislative Committee, 1997-present; Board of Managers, 1997-present

The Society of Trial Lawyers, Chicago, IL

"Best Lawyers in America," Member

Illinois Super Lawyer - Named one of the top 100 Lawyers in Illinois

Leading Lawyers Network Member - Top 5% of Illinois Attorneys

Leading Lawyers Network Advisory Board, 2007-Present

Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, AV Rated - Highest Rating Possible

Oxford's "Who's Who," 1992-Present

Chicago Magazine's annual "Top 100 Attorneys in Illinois"