Attorney Highlight - Tom Kelliher

"Early on in life, my parents instilled in me the belief that justice is a right which our country protects. I have never abandoned that idea in adulthood, which is why I routinely and consistently battle for justice on behalf of my clients."

Thomas A. Kelliher is a seasoned litigator who has first-chaired 30 trials during the course of his career. When engaged in defense work for the city of Chicago, Tom won 90 percent of the 29 cases he tried to jury verdict. In the one plaintiff case he has tried to verdict – a premises liability lawsuit involving a back injury – he won a jury verdict exceeding $1 million for his client.

Included in his professional experiences are matters that involve such areas of legal practice as:

• personal injury and negligence
• automobile and trucking accidents
• product liability
• nursing home neglect and abuse
• medical malpractice
• pharmaceuticals litigation
• premises liability
• insurance coverage disputes
• antitrust matters
• multidistrict and class action litigation
• appeals

Tom also serves as the chief writer of appellate court briefs at Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Ltd. Like his colleagues at the law firm, Tom is known for being an extremely talented, passionate, aggressive and sharp trial attorney.

Born in Santa Monica, Calif., Tom graduated from high school in Arlington, Va., before attending the University of Virginia and The John Marshall Law School. He currently resides in Westchester and enjoys golf, barbecuing and spending time with family and friends.

Honors and Awards

• William J. Harte Amicus Volunteer Award, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
• Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago Volunteer Award
• Phi Delta Phi
• Order of John Marshall

Prior Employment

Before joining Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Tom was an assistant corporation counsel in the torts division of the law department of the city of Chicago. Earlier in his career he litigated personal injury and product liability matters for a plaintiffs’ boutique firm in Chicago. Tom was a law clerk for Judge Robert D. Sundby of the Wisconsin Fourth District Court of Appeals in Madison between 1994 and 1996. Before he entered law school, Tom worked for the Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation in Syracuse, N.Y. 

Civic and Charitable Associations

Tom has tutored and mentored many children. He volunteers with the Lawyers in the Classroom program of the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago. CRFC, a nonprofit and nonpartisan community-based organization, works with elementary and secondary schools to develop critical thinking skills, civic participation, and a commitment to the rule of law among young people. It also seeks to instill a deeper understanding of citizenship through values expressed in the U.S.Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

From 1999 to 2006, Tom also volunteered with the Law Explorers Project of the Chicago Bar Association, which introduces teenagers to careers in law and government.

Pro Bono

As required by the Federal Trial Bar, Tom handles a limited number of assigned federal pro bono cases.

Professional Associations

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Chicago Bar Association, Will County Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association

Publications and Presentations

In addition to making presentations at Chicago Bar Association events, Tom has spoken to senior citizens at community centers about nursing home neglect and abuse, tort reform and medical malpractice.

A former staff editor of The John Marshall Law Review, Tom’s most recent publication is “Products Liability in Design Defect Cases: Application of the Consumer Expectation and Risk-Benefit Tests,” Trial Journal, the quarterly magazine of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Summer 2005.

Education 

• The John Marshall Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1994)
• University of Virginia (B.A., 1989)

Admissions

• Illinois, 1995
• Wisconsin, 1994
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana
• 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

Contact Tom today by calling 800-594-7433 or ask a question on our website.