JOSEPH R. CURCIO

Joseph R. Curcio devoted more than 70 years to the practice of law in Illinois, building a career defined by tireless advocacy, groundbreaking trial work, and an unwavering commitment to his clients and community. At the conclusion of 2025, Mr. Curcio formally retired from the practice of law, leaving a legacy that continues to shape the firm and the Illinois legal landscape.

Raised in Chicago’s old Italian neighborhood along Grand and Damen Avenues on the city’s West Side, Mr. Curcio was the son of a shoemaker and learned early the value of hard work and perseverance. He paid his own way through DePaul University and The John Marshall Law School by working a series of night jobs, including repossessing cars, before graduating from law school in 1956. After a brief stint as a claims adjuster for an insurance company, he opened his own solo practice, marking the beginning of a remarkable legal career.

From the outset, Mr. Curcio demonstrated a natural talent and passion for trial work. By the early 1960s, his practice focused almost exclusively on representing plaintiffs in personal injury litigation. Over the decades that followed, he earned a reputation as one of Illinois’s most formidable and respected trial lawyers, known for his fierce courtroom presence, meticulous preparation, and unwavering determination on behalf of those he represented. Many of the verdicts he obtained at trial, and later successfully defended on appeal, remain influential precedents in Illinois today. Among them is the landmark case Simpson v. General Motors, which helped establish that a plaintiff’s comparative fault serves as a damage-reducing factor rather than a complete bar to recovery.

Throughout his career, Mr. Curcio was deeply engaged in advancing the legal profession. He was a proud and active member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, serving on its Board of Managers beginning in 1983, and participating on both the Rules Committee and the Executive Committee. He lectured extensively and authored numerous articles for ITLA and IICLE. In 1998, he was appointed by the Supreme Court of Illinois to the Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction Committee, a distinguished body of lawyers and judges responsible for drafting the jury instructions used in every civil trial across the state. He was also a vocal and respected leader in the effort to protect consumers and oppose tort reform measures that threatened access to justice.

Mr. Curcio’s contributions have been widely recognized by his peers. He received ITLA’s Leonard M. Ring Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009, earned the highest AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and was consistently named an Illinois Super Lawyer beginning in 2008. He was also selected as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers organization and recognized as a Leading Lawyer by the Leading Lawyers Network in the area of plaintiffs’ personal injury law.

Although retired from the practice of law, Joseph R. Curcio’s influence endures through the firm he built, the lawyers he mentored, the precedents he established, and the countless clients whose lives were changed by his work. His career stands as a testament to integrity, perseverance, and the power of dedicated advocacy.

Practice Areas

• Personal Injury

Education

• John Marshall Law School, Chicago, Illinois
• J.D. – 1955
• DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
  Major: History
  Major: Political Science

Bar Admissions

• Illinois, 1956
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois, 1957
• U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois
• U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit

Honors

• Leonard M. Ring, Lifetime Achievement Award
• Presidential Who’s Who Among Business & Professional Achievers
• Martindale-Hubbell (AV)
• Illinois Super Lawyers – since 2008
• The National Trial Lawyers- Top 100 Trial Lawyers

Classes & Seminars

• Evidence Seminar: “Recurring Evidence In Wrongful Death Cases”, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, 05/07/1994
• Pretrial Motions Workshop – Speaker, The Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 2000

Published Works

• Paid Bills, Trial Lawyers Guide
• Illinois Motions in Limine – Contributor, Litigation One, 2006

Fraternities or Sororities

• Lambda Tau

Representative Cases

• Santiago v. E.W. Bliss, 2012 IL 111792, 2012, Illinois Supreme Court
• Lang v. Lake Shore Exhibits, 305 Ill App.3d 283, 711 N.E.2d 1124, 1999, Illinois Appellate Court
• Leone v. City of Chicago, 156 Ill.2d 33, 619 N.E.2d 119, 1993, Illinois Supreme Court
• Ryan v. E.A.I. Construction Corp. , 158 Ill.App.3d 449, 511 N.E. 1244, 1987, Illinois Appellate Court
• Kalalinick v. Knoll, 97 Ill.App.3d 660, 422 N.E.2d 1011, 1981, Illinois Appellate Court
• Pekelder v. Edgewater Automotive, 68 Ill.2d 136, 368 N.E.2d 900, 1977, Illinois Supreme Court
• Simpson v. General Motors, 108 Ill.2d 146, 1985, Illinois supreme Court

Professional Associations

• American Bar Association, Member, Present
• American Board of Trial Advocates, Member, 1992 to Present
• American Association for Justice (formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association), Sustaining Member, 1973 to Present
• Illinois State Bar Association, Member, Present
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Member and Chairman of Rules Committee, 1992 to 1995
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Board of Managers, 1985 to 2008
• Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Illinois Pattern Jury Instruction, Member Appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court, 1998 to 2006
• Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, Member, Present
• Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Life Member, Present
• National Trial Lawyers, Top 100 Trial Lawyers, 2012 to Present
• Leading Lawyers Network, Selected by Peers as a Leading Lawyer in Plaintiff’s Personal Injury, 2012 to Present
• Chicago Bar Association, Present
• Lawdragon, 3000 Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in America, 2006 to Present
• American Board of Trial Advocates