Smith to be installed as President of Illinois Trial Lawyers Association

Todd A. Smith, a founding partner of Power Rogers & Smith in Chicago, will be installed as the 57th President of the lllinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) on Friday, June 11, at its annual convention. He received his Bachelors degree from Kansas University, his Masters in Business Administration at Northwestern University and his J.D. at Loyola University of Chicago. Smith is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, limited to 100 top trial lawyers nationwide. He is also a Fellow in the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers. He is a past president of the lllinois State Bar Association (ISBA) and a past president of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA), now the American Association for Justice (AAJ). Smith is also past Chairman of the ISBA Mutual Insurance Company Board of Directors. He was appointed to the Lawyers Trust Fund of lllinois by the lllinois Supreme Court and served a six-year term. He was honored in 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 with his inclusion in the respected Naifeh & Smith publication, "The Best Lawyers in America." He has been recognized in the top 10 lllinois lawyers in recent Super Lawyer publications, as well as in the Leading Lawyers Network. He was also selected by Chicago Lawyer Magazine as its 1998 Person of the Year. Smith also served on the Board of Directors of Trial Lawyers Care, which is believed to have been the largest pro bono effort by lawyers ever undertaken, providing free legal services to the victims of September 11, 2001. In 2009, Smith received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual meeting of the American Association for Justice. He was the recipient of Loyola University of Chicago Law School's 2005 Medal of Excellence, its highest award. He has previously received the Loyola University of Chicago Damen Award for Excellence in the law and contributions to his alma mater. He has served on the Board of Governors of Loyola Law School's Alumni Board, and is a past Chairman of that group. He has obtained numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements in various types of cases, including Aviation, Trucking, Medical Negligence, and in the Commercial litigation arena, including Accounting Malpractice. Smith began his career as an assistant Cook County Public Defender representing indigent defendants in a full range of felony matters. He joined Philip H. Corboy in civil trial practice in 1980, and became a partner of the Corboy & Demetrio firm in 1990. He left in 1993 to join Joseph A. Power, Jr., and Larry R. Rogers, both past presidents of ITLA, to form the firm Power, Rogers & Smith. "I am extraordinarily honored to lead the lllinois Trial Lawyers Association. The work that we do is critical to the preservation of civil justice rights for Illinois citizens." "We will continue to provide vigorous, truthful responses to the frequent attacks made by those who would diminish and eliminate the rights of regular Americans in our courts." Smith is married to Marcia Friedl-Smith, also a Loyola Law School graduate, and former Assistant Attorney General. They have 2 children. Ben just finished his freshman year at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and Grace will start her freshman year at Wesleyan this fall. Over the years, he has enjoyed attending the various activities of his children, including Ben's baseball, and Grace's tennis. He looks forward to watching her play in college. He is an avid sports fan, and includes himself in the category of a long-suffering Cubs' fan.