PRESS RELEASE

GEOFFREY L. GIFFORD AWARDED LEONARD M. RING LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Geoffrey L. Gifford of Chicago will be awarded the prestigious Leonard M. Ring Lifetime Achievement Award at the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association Convention on Friday, June 8, 2007. The convention will be held at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort in Oak Brook, Illinois.

The criteria of the award is as follows:

“This award is given annually at the convention banquet to someone selected by a committee appointed by the president. The recipient is someone who has devoted, as Leonard did, a substantial part of their life and their practice to ITLA, someone who has done more than is called for. Someone who had the standards of Leonard, the work ethics of Leonard and the commitment to ITLA that Leonard had. At the same time, it keeps alive the memory of Leonard Ring.”

Geoff Gifford entered the practice of law in Missouri in 1971 after graduating from the University of Michigan. He began his distinguished career at Gifford & Gifford in Missouri, where his father immediately encouraged him to become active in the Missouri Bar.  He tried state and federal criminal cases both as a prosecutor and defense counsel, as well as civil cases in all courts. His work included criminal matters and anti-trust litigation. In 1977, he became an adjunct professor of law at the Illinois Institute of Technology - Chicago-Kent College of Law.
 
When he joined Eugene Pavalon in Chicago in 1978, Mr. Gifford became especially involved in ITLA. He served as editor of the Association’s magazine, was a member and then chairman of nearly all ITLA committees, and was then elected to the Board of Managers in 1983 before becoming President in 1996. In 1995, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Civil Justice Reform Amendments to restrict the rights of injured people. Mr. Gifford chaired the Constitutional Challenge Committee, made up of many prominent trial lawyers, to fight that assault on the civil justice system. He was instrumental in guiding this committee to persevere to success before the Illinois Supreme Court in Best v. Taylor Machine Works.

Mr. Gifford has lectured numerous times for the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, the American Association for Justice, and the Illinois State Bar Association, as well as various law and medical schools and other legal associations. He has authored over one hundred articles for legal publications on trial tactics, damages in personal injury cases, product liability and medical negligence. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers. He is an officer of the American Board of Trial Advocates and is certified by examination by the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a Civil Trial Advocate and as a Diplomat of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. In 1998, he was a finalist for the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award. He has been and currently is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

Mr. Gifford has remained active in ITLA since his term as President, recently serving on various Presidents’ Executive Committees.

Geoff Gifford and his wife, Terri McAuley, live in the City and enjoy traveling to locales such as Africa, Turkey & Egypt.  Terri is a Real Estate Broker in Chicago.  Mr. Gifford has two adult children: Andrew, age 36, who is a partner at Lord, Bissell & Brook; and Katie, age 30, who lives in New York City, and works in Public Health.  Geoff and Terri have one grandchild, Max, age 5.

Geoff is an avid golfer and has played more rounds with Jim Collins, the Executive Director of ITLA than any other Past President.

Past award recipients include Jon G. Carlson, Rex Carr, Robert J. Cooney, Philip H. Corboy, George J. Cullen, David A. Decker, James Thomas Demos, William J. Harte, Thomas F. Londrigan, Philip F. Maher, Nat P. Ozmon, Eugene I. Pavalon, and John G. Phillips.