Christopher R. Smith - Chicago, IL

Christopher R. Smith has been practicing for more than 20 years as an attorney, with an extraordinary record in both civil and criminal litigation. Mr. Smith graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep. in 1982, Boston College in 1986, and George Washington University, National Law Center in 1989. In 1989, Mr. Smith joined the firm Burke, Smith & Williams. Since that time, he has successfully litigated hundreds of cases, both as a criminal defense and civil attorney, including civil rights, most major felonies, medical malpractice, personal injury, and contract disputes. In February 2003, Mr. Smith established his own law firm, practicing in both criminal defense and civil rights. He focuses on aggressively pursuing police misconduct cases, including malicious prosecution, false arrest, excessive force, and wrongful conviction. Mr. Smith has successfully litigated over 50 civil rights cases in the Northern District of Illinois within the last five years, including a jury verdict of $7.9 million in a false arrest case; a jury verdict of $4.6 million in a prisoner's rights case; and a settlement of $3.5 million in a wrongful death case.

Mr. Smith has successfully litigated dozens of civil rights cases in the Northern District of Illinois within the last few years, resulting in millions of dollars in jury verdicts and settlements.

Mr. Smith also takes great pride in his work in the public sector, representing thousands of indigent clients while with the Cook County Public Defender's Office. He is certified as a qualified lead counsel for the Illinois Capital Trial Litigation Bar. Mr. Smith has represented victims of detectives who worked with the now notorious Area Two supervisor, John Burge, on a pro bono basis in criminal court. Mr. Smith now partners with two of the attorneys he admires most, Robert Johnson and Amanda Antholt, to form the law firm of Smith, Johnson & Antholt, LLC. Mr. Smith is the senior partner at SJ&A, in which he takes pride as a model of efficiency and excellence in litigation.