Robert Clifford was named the Best Lawyers Top 2010 Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year by the oldest peer-reviewed organization in the country, which featured him on the cover of their guide. Best Lawyers in America also named Mr. Clifford the Top 2009 Chicago Personal Injury Litigator of the Year based upon his particularly high ratings for his ability, professionalism and integrity. He was profiled in 2009 as the cover story of the Illinois Leading Lawyers' publication as well as the 2010 Best Lawyers' cover story in a supplement that accompanied the Chicago Tribune.
He was named as one of the Top 10 Attorneys who Raised the Bar Over the Last Decade in Chicago by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company. He was selected as one of the "five most respected and feared plaintiffs' attorneys in the country by Corporate Legal Times in 2004, calling him "the best of the bad." He was featured on the cover of the inaugural 2005 issue of Illinois Super Lawyers where they called him "Chicago's Most Likeable Tough Guy." The feature story headlined him as "Chicago's Most Feared Attorney – Bob Clifford is a lamb who turns into a lion when he's confronted by injustice." And he was on the cover story of the 2009 Leading Lawyers' Consumer Edition. The National Law Journal named Mr. Clifford's firm on the "Plaintiffs' Hot List: 20 Go-To Teams" in 2004 as well as in 2003. He was named one of the Top Ten Litigators in Illinois in 1999 as well as one of the nation's Top Ten Litigators of 1993 by the prestigious National Law Journal. American Lawyer Media recognized Mr. Clifford as one of the Top Ten Most Influential Lawyers in Illinois in 2000. Chicago Lawyer Magazine named Clifford Law Offices the top plaintiffs' firm in the state in its topping the charts with $100.70 million in settlements in 2009, $136.85 million in 24 settlements in 2002, and again was the leading firm in 2005 with settlements topping $86 million. Robert Clifford was singled out as the leading individual attorney with the highest total dollar figure in settlements at $77.32 million in 2002. Robert Clifford consistently garners multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts in aviation litigation, representing those injured or killed in every major commercial airline crash in the United States in the last two decades and currently representing 11 families in the Turkish Airlines crash in Amsterdam in 2009 and five families who lost loved ones in the Buffalo plane crash.
Recognized as a leader among his peers, Bob Clifford has been inducted into the nation's most prestigious legal organizations. In 2005, he was inducted into the International Society of Barristers, an honor society of outstanding trial lawyers chosen by their peers on the basis of excellence and integrity in advocacy. The Inner Circle of Advocates also invited Mr. Clifford to join its prestigious group which is comprised of outstanding trial attorneys from across the country who share their expertise and ideas. He also was elected to the American Law Institute, a group of 3,000 prominent judges, lawyers and academics from around the world who are selected on the basis of professional achievement in the law. Justice Benjamin Cardozo and Justice Learned Hand were among its early leaders. Mr. Clifford was elected to a second term in 2008 as the Illinois State Delegate to the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association (ABA). He was elected Vice President of the Chicago Bar Association and will ascend to the presidency in 2011. He is Past President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and a Past President of the Chicago Inn of Court which upholds the highest of principles of the profession. He has been inducted into the prestigious American College of Trial Lawyers and the exclusive International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He has been selected to be a member of the National Judicial College, a select assembly of legal and corporate leaders from across the country dedicated to furthering the education and training of judges. Robert Clifford was selected to participate in a select group of aviation experts who advised the Rand Institute for Civil Justice, a California-based think tank, on the investigation process of the National Transportation Safety Board. Mr. Clifford also has been asked to sit on the Rand Institute's Board of Overseers. He was appointed a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Civility which was established to discover and promote appropriate ways to promote civility among Illinois lawyers. He also was elected to be a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society, a non-profit organization supporting historical research and publications of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Mr. Clifford endowed the first Chair on Tort Law and Social Policy to his alma mater, DePaul University College of Law. This generous gift provides for an annual symposium where academicians, lawyers and judges from across the country gather to speak on a timely topic of interest dealing with the relationship between tort law, popular culture and societal needs. He also sits on the Board of Directors of WTTW, Chicago's public television station, where he sponsors closed captioning. Robert A. Clifford is principal partner of Clifford Law Offices, a nationally recognized personal injury law firm in Chicago concentrating in aviation, transportation, personal injury, medical negligence and product liability law.
