Thomas A. Demetrio Ranked Top Lawyer in Illinois in 2020 by IL Super Lawyers
Thomas A. Demetrio, co-founder of the nationally renowned law firm of Corboy & Demetrio, has been ranked first by Illinois Super Lawyers for 2020.
It is the fourth year in a row Tom has earned the #1 overall ranking by IL Super Lawyers.
Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer-influenced rating service of lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
“I am humbled by this incredible honor, especially since our state has a treasure trove of amazing legal talent. I believe that singling me out is a mere reflection of the commitment and excellence of all our attorneys at Corboy & Demetrio,” Demetrio said.
In 2015, the prestigious Lawdragon, which has anointed Tom “Dean of the Chicago Trial Bar,” selected him for “Legends of the Bar,” as one of only 50 lawyers nationwide who had been selected every year, since its inception, for its 500 Leading Lawyers in America, joining a select group that includes U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Tom was also named to the 2020 Edition of Best Lawyers in America, which has included him in every edition since 1987. He has been nationally recognized since 1990 when the National Law Journal named him one of the Top 10 Litigators in America. In 2014, the National Law Journal named Tom to its inaugural “Top 50 Litigation Trailblazers and Pioneers,” the only Illinois plaintiff’s trial lawyer receiving that prestigious distinction. In 2019, the National Law Journal and The Trial Lawyer magazine named Tom to The Roundtable: America’s 50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers, for the fourth consecutive year. The ranking places him among the top 50 plaintiff and criminal defense attorneys in the United States, according to The Trial Lawyer, which is published by the National Trial Lawyers, an invitation-only group of national lawyers.
Tom also received the #1 ranking as the top aviation plaintiffs’ lawyer by Illinois Leading Lawyers in 2019. Tom currently represents the families of passengers killed in the crashes of Ethiopian Airlines #302, Lion Air #610 and Aeroméxico #2431. In 2018, the National Law Journal and American Lawyer Media selected Corboy & Demetrio as a national winner of Elite Trial Lawyers for Tom’s representation of airline passenger Dr. David Dao. Tom obtained a confidential settlement with United Airlines just 18 days after the incident – before a lawsuit was even filed.
Tom has acquired well over $1 billion in verdicts and settlements in his career, including the first ever 8-figure compensatory verdict in Illinois and the largest personal injury verdict ever upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court. All of his verdicts have been paid, and he has never lost an appeal.
As a leader of the bar, Tom served as President of both the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the 22,000-member Chicago Bar Association. He has been an invited Fellow of: The American College of Trial Lawyers, The International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and The Inner Circle of Advocates for over 25 years.
Tom is also a nationally recognized lecturer on trial techniques and advocacy skills and has authored more than 60 articles in the field of civil litigation.
Tom serves as Co-Chair of the Board of Advisors of IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. He has been honored by the law school having been named one of its 125 Alumni of Distinction, and is a recipient of its Alumni Merit Award, Professional Achievement Award, and Distinguished Service Award.
Tom also serves on the boards of the Center for Disability & Elder Law and Big Shoulders-Archdiocese of Chicago. He has previously served on the boards of Illinois Institute of Technology; St. Ignatius College Prep; Mundelein Seminary; Notre Dame Law School; Dispute Resolution Research Center of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University; and the Constitutional Rights Foundation Center.
In 2016, the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association awarded Tom its highest honor, the Leonard M. Ring Lifetime Achievement Award. That same year, Tom received the Chicago Bar Association’s prestigious Justice John Paul Stevens Award – from Justice Stevens himself.
In addition to Tom’s top ranking, Partner Philip Corboy, Jr. was named to IL Super Lawyers’ Top 100 list. Philip has been named to the Top 100 list for nine years.
All partners at the firm were selected to IL Super Lawyers in 2020 and, in addition to Tom and Philip, include David R. Barry, Jr., Michael K. Demetrio, William T. Gibbs, Daniel S. Kirschner, Michell M. Kohut, Kenneth T. Lumb, Francis Patrick Murphy, Susan Schwartz and Edward G. Willer.
Associate attorneys Andrew P. Stevens and Michael D. Ditore were named to IL Super Lawyers’ 2020 Rising Stars.