ALTON, Ill. – Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the nation’s largest mass torts firms, is pleased to announce that retired Illinois Circuit Court Judge Luther W. Simmons, a Shareholder in the firm’s Alton office, has been named to the Civil Plaintiff Executive Committee – Top 100 of National Trial Lawyers.
“We congratulate Luther on being named to the Civil Plaintiff Executive Committee of the prestigious National Trial Lawyers,” said John Simmons, chairman of Simmons Hanly Conroy. “Judge Simmons has been and continues to serve as a leader among trial lawyers in the nation, as well in the community as a devoted public servant.”
The National Trial Lawyers is a legal trade organization made up of civil plaintiff and/or criminal defense trial lawyers from each state or region. The organization’s mission is to provide networking opportunities, advocacy training, and educational programs for the nation’s leading trial lawyers.
A member of Simmons Hanly Conroy’s Complex Litigation Department, Simmons focuses his practice on matters involving catastrophic injury, wrongful death and class actions, as well as environmental cases. With more than 40 years of law experience, he also works with the firm’s Asbestos Department, helping to manage the motion practice for the Madison County trial docket.
Simmons joined Simmons Hanly Conroy in February of this year. Prior to his appointment as associate circuit judge of the Third Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois in Madison County in 2015, Simmons worked at Madison County’s Office of the Public Defender, where he was the first African-American public defender in the history of the county. Previously, he was a partner in a law firm with retired Judge Ralph Mendelsohn, worked as an assistant state’s attorney under Bill Haine, and served as a Special Assistant Attorney General of the State of Illinois.
Outside his law practice, Simmons is active in community service. He is a past recipient of the President’s Award from the 100 Black Men of Alton, the Alton NAACP’s Community Service Award, and the New Shining Light Venice Township Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award, and the Coalition of Concerned Citizens’ Living Pacesetter Award. In addition, for decades he has mentored and counseled the minority youth of Alton and Madison counties in Illinois.
Simmons received his J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law and his Bachelor of Science from the University of Pennsylvania.
