Issue 9 2023

20 | Acquisition International, Issue 9 2023 Leading Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year - Illinois Based in Chicago, Smith LaCien LLP is a personal injury law firm that has been working to achieve justice for victims of catastrophic injury and wrongful death since it was established. In our Leading Adviser Awards 2023, one of the firm’s accomplished founding partners, Todd A. Smith, has been awarded the Leading Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year. Here, we take a look at his impressive career and achievements. Contact: Kathy Beardsley Law Firm: Smith LaCien LLP Web Address: https://www.smithlacien.com/ The experienced and skilled injury attorneys at Smith LaCien LLP have built an extensive track record of producing exceptional results for their clients. Led by founding partners Todd A. Smith and Brian LaCien, the firm has recovered more than $2.5 billion in verdicts and settlements, and has over 100 cases with results of over $1 million each. Smith LaCien LLP focuses primarily on cases involving catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, trucking litigation, birth injuries, and mass torts. The firm has experience with catastrophic personal injury claims, ranging from aviation and helicopter accidents to birth injuries. Smith LaCien LLP lawyers work to obtain justice for clients by holding negligent parties accountable and obtaining the maximum amount of compensation for victims. They take on powerful insurance companies, big businesses, medical institutions, and other parties that have acted carelessly and caused severe injuries or death as a result. In some tragic occurrences, the injured party has died, leaving family members to seek justice through a wrongful death claim. The dedicated team of attorneys at Smith LaCien LLP is committed to fighting for the outcomes that their clients deserve, whether they are the victims themselves or the family of a person who died. Born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Todd received a law degree from Loyola University School of Law. He began his career as a Cook County Public Defender before joining a personal injury law firm as a trial lawyer. Subsequently, he was invited to help start another law firm where he excelled for nearly 30 years before forming Smith LaCien LLP. Todd has repeatedly been listed at or near the top of the Chicago Lawyer magazine survey of multimillion-dollar personal injury settlements, including one with a $70 million in recovery for his client. The firm was ranked in the October-November 2022 issue of Chicago Lawyer as the numberone firm in mass tort/litigation for a $42 million settlement and was also listed in the magazine as among the top 10 personal injury firms for the total amount of recoveries. For the results he has achieved for his clients, Todd has been featured in numerous publications. These include Chicago Lawyer Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, USA Today, Chicago Magazine, and the New York Times, among others. Throughout his career, Todd has made access to justice a personal crusade. He works with regular working people who may find the court system difficult to access, and he stands with them in their fight against powerful entities like government agencies and hospitals. He has led battles nationwide against the barriers, including cutbacks in legal services for the poor. For his commitment and immense success, he has won many awards, including Chicago Lawyer’s Person of the Year. In addition, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Leonard M. Ring Champion of Justice Award from the American Association for Justice. Todd’s extensive bar leadership includes serving as president of the American Association for Justice, Illinois State Bar Association, and the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. Currently, he is a member or board member of such prestigious organizations as the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Society of Barristers, Inner Circle of Advocates, and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. In 2021, he was named by the Supreme Court of Illinois as Chair of its Evidence Committee. In light of these accomplishments, it should come as no surprise that Todd A. Smith has been awarded the Leading Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year, Illinois, in the Leading Adviser Awards 2023. We congratulate him on this meritorious achievement and wish him and the law firm the best of luck in the years ahead! Jul23519

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