Philip H. Corboy’s 100th Birthday

Today, on August 12,2024, we commemorate what would have been the 100th birthday of  our firm’s Co-founder, Philip H. Corboy. 

Thomas A. Demetrio, Corboy & Demetrio Co-founder, and all the attorneys and staff of Corboy & Demetrio, P.C. remember fondly and with the highest regard our dear mentor, partner and friend, Philip H. Corboy.

Born on August 12, 1924, Philip H. Corboy was a renowned trial lawyer who left an unmatched legacy on personal injury law.  He founded Philip H. Corboy and Associates in 1952, and in 1982, co-founded Corboy & Demetrio with Thomas A. Demetrio because of the young lawyer’s astounding success at the firm.   

Philip H. Corboy began his legal career in 1949 after graduating first in his class from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He worked briefly as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago and then worked for the “dean” of plaintiffs’ trial lawyers at the time, James A. Dooley. Two years later, he founded Philip Corboy & Associates. As a personal injury trial lawyer, Philip Corboy provided clients with an exceptional level of legal service for over 50 years and was recognized as one of the top trial lawyers in the country. 

In addition to Mr. Corboy’s legacy of record-setting verdicts and settlements, his impact on the legal profession was broad, as he served as President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association in 1963 and 1964 and President of the Chicago Bar Association from 1972 to 1973.  In addition, he served as Chairman of the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association.

He was widely known for training lawyers who then went on to become renowned trial lawyers and judges in their own right.

In 2009, Philip H. Corboy and his wife, Mary Dempsey, made the largest single gift ever to the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. In recognition of the gift, Loyola renamed its law school building, the Philip H. Corboy Law Center. The gift is still being used to support ongoing renovations of the law school building, new faculty hiring, and student scholarships.

Philip H. Corboy passed away on June 12, 2012, at the age of 87.