Thomas A. Demetrio, Class of 1973

Nationally recognized plaintiff’s lawyer

One of the top plaintiff’s lawyers in the country, Thomas Demetrio has negotiated over $1 billion in settlements and has acquired over $130 million in jury verdicts, which includes the largest personal injury verdict ever upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court. He has taught and lectured throughout the United States and has published numerous articles on a variety of litigation-related issues. He served as President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association in 1988 and as President of the Chicago Bar Association in 1992. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Bar Foundation and the Illinois Law Foundation and is a Life Fellow of the Chicago Bar Foundation and Illinois Bar Foundation.

Demetrio has won numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including being named the Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year by The Best Lawyers in America in 2011. He was also named to the National Law Journal’s “50 Under 50” list in 1989 and was recognized as one of the Top 10 Illinois Litigators by the National Law Journal in 1999 and one of the Top 10 National Litigators in 1990. Demetrio has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Institute of Technology, has served as President of the Chicago-Kent Alumni Association, and is currently Chair of the Chicago-Kent Board of Overseers. He received the law school’s Alumni Merit Award in 1989, its Professional Achievement Award in 1990 and its Distinguished Service Award in 2000.