Patricia (Tricia) Gifford earned her J.D. from John Marshall Law School in 2006, graduating summa cum laude and second in her class. While at John Marshall, Tricia was a member of the John Marshall Law Review, was a Dean’s Scholar and a Herzog Scholar, and participated in the National Mock Trial Team Competition. She received the highest scholastic honors in Torts, Evidence, Products Liability, Civil Procedure, Family Law, Constitutional Law, Estates and Trusts, and Corporations. While attending law school, she also interned with both the DuPage and Cook County State’s Attorney’s offices. Tricia served as a law clerk for Levin & Perconti during 2005, passed the Illinois State Bar Exam in February 2006, and was invited to join the firm as a trial associate thereafter.

In her role as associate at Levin & Perconti, Tricia has displayed the dedication and perseverance necessary for a successful trial lawyer. In her first trial, Tricia helped to achieve a $1 million Cook County jury verdict for the family of a 54-year-old blind nursing home resident who exited a window at the nursing home and died from fall-related injuries.

Tricia also played a key role in the investigation and development of evidence in a premises liability case involving a tragic fire that claimed the lives of six children and severely injured two others. The lawsuit settled for $6 million without even completing written discovery.

Tricia has written numerous successful pretrial and mediation submissions, one of which resulted in a $5.35 million settlement for the estate of an 18-year-old girl who was misdiagnosed with pneumonia and boarded in the hospital’s emergency room for over 15 hours before she died. Additionally, Tricia played a crucial part in a number of other settlements including a $1.35 million settlement for an infant who suffered a severe brachial plexus injury at birth, a $1.25 million settlement for a pedestrian struck by a vehicle, and a $1.25 million recovery against a hospital in a brachytherapy case.

Tricia earned her B.A. from the University of Illinois at Champaign and began her career in the private business sector. After 12 years of corporate success, she decided to leave her position as director of U.S. Field Operations for a $550 million client services organization to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an attorney.

Tricia’s leadership, organizational and technological skills, along with her unsurpassed dedication and commitment to her clients, makes her a true asset to Levin & Perconti.