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James T. Demos

James T. Demos
Status: Deceased

(1935 - 2002)

Jim Demos was born on March 14, 1935. He died on August 28, 2002 at 67 years old. He was one of the country's leading personal injury attorneys who was a talented trial lawyer and a man of high principals and integrity. It's been said that Jim was a vital, vibrant, likable, and personable human being and "a mighty fine person who was liked and respected by all."

Jim was the son of Greek immigrants. He grew up in Evanston, IL, and worked as a waiter in his father's diner as a boy. He attended Northwestern University on a football scholarship, where he played guard for coach Ara Parseghian. He practiced with one of Chicagos finest plaintiff lawyers, member Phil Corboy, for three years before opening his own firm. Phil described Jim as a prodigy who had an immediate grasp of how to be an effective lawyer. He said about Jim: "He just zeroed in and knew everything about his case before the trial. There was nothing off the cuff with him."

In 1974 Jim won a $1 million judgment for the family of a boy who suffered brain damage after receiving improper treatment at Children's Memorial Hospital. The verdict was recorded in the Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter as the county's largest malpractice judgment and the first to break the $1 million mark in Illinois. In 1989, a jury awarded $16 million to a client who was paralyzed from the neck down after he tumbled on his bicycle into an obscured drainage ditch.

The Illinois Bar Association in presenting an award said about Jim: He approached the practice of law with a meticulous work habit that neared perfection. He served as a guiding light for younger lawyers, always ready to share his expertise and his vision of the high ethical standards that were a hallmark of his career.

Jim Demos as a calm, friendly, and self confident man whose policy was to never have more than six to eight cases so he could spend the adequate time preparing for the best result.
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