Tim Cronin: Trial Lawyer, Advocate, and Champion for the underdog
"It's not just numbers on a verdict form or settlement agreement. It is people's lives."
From small-town beginnings in Clinton County to achieving historic legal victories in courtrooms across the country, Tim Cronin has built a career rooted in advocacy, accountability, and resilience. As a lead trial attorney at The Simon Law Firm, Tim represents clients in some of the most complex and catastrophic civil cases. His story is one of hard-earned success, family inspiration, and a relentless drive to do the right thing.
What’s your story?
My name is Tim Cronin. I grew up in Clinton County, IL, specifically Trenton, and went to Mater Dei HS class of 2001. Following that, I attended undergrad at University of Illinois. Due to the exciting but unexpected welcoming of my oldest child during senior year of college, it was necessary for me to get a grown-up job and establish stable income before starting law school at SLU, where I finished at the top of my class while also working full time throughout as a financial analyst and then at several different firms. Since then I have been practicing at The Simon Law Firm as a Plaintiff’s civil trial lawyer working on catastrophic injury and death cases, ranging from product liability to medical malpractice to any number of other categories.
What motivates you?
Large corporations in America have plenty of people that fight for them, and plenty of money to do it. But the little guy generally doesn’t have the money to put up an equal fight. Given my family background, and my own, I was naturally drawn to representing individuals that needed somebody to fight for them. I don’t come from a lineage of attorneys or professionals. My parents grew up poor. My dad was the son of a WW2 veteran, a navy seal who struggled with addiction following the war, and a mother who passed away when my dad was young. He grew up in a rough, depressed neighborhood in East St. Louis. My mom grew up in a small farmhouse in New Baden, along with her 5 siblings, and a father with the same substance issues. Neither had the opportunity to go to college. They had to hustle for everything. It was a struggle when I was young. But they persevered, started a business, and grew it with their own sweat and tears. And because of that, they were able to provide me with opportunities they didn’t have—to go to good schools, and pursue my own dreams.
They tried to pass their tireless work ethic on to me, along with the desire and will to fight in the face of adversity. My dad always wanted me to be a lawyer, I think because it’s what he wished he had been able to do. And so my heart became set on that. It seemed like a good fit given my highly competitive and often argumentative nature. But I started to take my opportunities, and all the advantages I had been given, for granted. I assumed everything would work out for me, because it always had.
Then I made some decisions in my youth that could have, and almost did, derail my path. I needed lawyers, good and caring ones, to help me get back on track. And they did. And around that same time, my father died far too young. Obviously that was hard, but I was reinvigorated to pursue the dream he had for me, and inspired to try to help others who are in perhaps their darkest and most difficult period of life, just as had been done for me.
As a result, the idea of failing my clients when they need me gives me nightmares at times, and drives me to try to outwork and outthink whoever is on the other side. I always strive to be the most prepared person in the room, whether it’s at a hearing or a deposition or a trial, or the smallest of things.
In what we do, we are trying to get compensation for our client for what happened to them, but we are also trying to send a message to the industry—to make your products or practices safer so that people don’t get hurt. It’s not just numbers on a verdict form or settlement agreement. It is people’s lives. If you aren’t making safety your number one priority, people can get hurt, people can die. And unfortunately, often the only way to get companies to pay attention and make a difference is if they know there is a threat to get hit with a big number in a verdict.
I have had a fortunate and successful career, so I have built up a reputation where the other side knows, based on my track record and results, that I and my firm will take every case all the way to get the best result possible. We will not back down. And we are well positioned to help our clients get justice and make changes because we have the resources and experience, and reputation, to work up cases in a way most can’t or won’t.
There is no better feeling than when you begin a case, and you see there is an obstacle in front of you and a lot of potential pitfalls, you spend two to three years tirelessly working it up, and at the end of it you have traversed through them, and succeeded in knowing you’ve done everything you can for your client. And the best moment, is after you’ve accomplished what your client wanted, or needed, or maybe exceeded their expectations of what could be accomplished, when before they leave, they insist on giving you a hug. That’s a great feeling. And the fact that I can do that for someone, help and fight for them during a difficult and scary time of their lives, is the reason I get up in the morning, put my shoes on, and go to work.
What’s one challenge you’ve overcome?
I’ve had many, as my business is essentially taking on my clients’ challenges for them. Some of the biggest successes I have had include three 8-figure verdicts in a three-year span, which was fairly unheard of at my age when it happened, and recently obtaining the largest verdict in Illinois history in a tragic case where my minor client was sexually assaulted in a psychiatric facility.
Each of those were very challenging cases, with a real chance of losing, and the results I got for my clients have significantly shaped my business because good results breed case referrals and calls from new clients.
But I would say I have learned much more from my losses than my wins. I tried a case about 8 years ago down in Louisiana, and I thought there was simply no way we could lose. I was wrong. I was devastated by it, but it made me spend considerable time thinking about mistakes I made, and it ultimately made me a much better lawyer. It also humbled me, which is probably a lesson I need to be reminded of every once in a while.
The biggest lesson I learned though, was from my client. Even though we lost, and that was his one shot, as we walked out he joked that “any day leaving the courthouse not in handcuffs is a good day.” He then thanked me, said we gave it our best shot, and moved on with his life as best he could. It was shocking to me that he was absorbing the loss of his case better than I was.
It taught me that all I have control over is whether I have done everything in my power to win and get the best result possible. Sometimes you win in life, and sometimes you lose, and you have to learn to accept it and move on.
What do you hope to accomplish through your work?
Selfishly, I’d like to continue building a legacy as one of the top trial attorneys in the country. But much more important is to make a positive and life-changing difference to as many clients as I can while helping to guide them through often horrific circumstances.
Who has been the biggest influence on your journey?
My mentor is the founder of the firm where I have spent my entire career. John Simon happened to be my trial advocacy teacher in law school. I hounded him for a job and eventually he relented. He has taught me everything I know about how to be a great lawyer while never forgetting that it is more important to be a good person. We have worked on and tried many cases together, and I continue to learn from him to this day.
What makes your business unique?
First of all, there are far too many lawyers. But there are actually very few who are willing to invest the level of time and resources into a case that we do, and then actually take it to trial rather than just settling for whatever they can get and moving on.
What we offer are the resources to fight against the biggest companies in the world, the personalized service of a small firm, and the will to fight to the end. We want to make sure our clients feel heard, cared for, and that we will stand by their side and go to war for them.
What’s one piece of advice you would share with others?
Always be more prepared than everyone else in the room.
What’s a fun fact about you that most people wouldn’t know?
That I am easily persuaded into doing things I don’t want to do by friends—such as Anna convincing me to have my picture taken when it is one of my least favorite things to do in life.
How do you hope people feel after interacting with your business?
Listened to and supported.
What does being part of the community mean to you?
It is incredibly important to me. At the heart of what I do is argue to make the community we live in a safer place. That is the essence of tort law—to encourage safer practices so people don’t get hurt or killed unnecessarily, and I am proud that some of my cases have driven significant nationwide change across multiple industries.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
Coffee.
What’s the most surprising thing on your bucket list?
Ooooh, that’s a good one. I am terrified of heights, but one day I want to muster up the gumption to go skydiving.
What’s one thing you’ve done recently that brought you unexpected joy?
I always get more joy, as we all do, out of watching the successes of my children than I do from my own.
Are there any upcoming events you’d like to share with others?
Not at the moment. We just moved to a new office across from Forest Park. My next big trial isn’t coming up for a while, so it’s smooth sailing for a bit.
Connect With Tim
Head to our firm website: www.simonlawpc.com