Globe-Trotting Attorney Finds Line up in the air

Considering our abbreviated summer, I'm finding it particularly distressing (however inevitable) to discover October and November events (however delicious) already surfacing on my calendar. So, I think I shall simply block out autumn (however temporarily). And, as promised, focus on one of the legal luminaries on our Inverness horizon.

Though he didn't mention is when we spoke, Bob Clifford frequently turns up on television as well as in the national press. This is hardly surprising, since Bob is pre-eminent in his field of personal-injury law, and represents some of the most highly visible clients in the most highly publicized cases. These include violinist Rachel Barton of the infamous train incident; the young woman from New Jersey viciously beaten in the downtown hotel; and 18 families affected by the American Eagle crash in Indiana. Actually, Bob is involved in every pending commercial aviation case in America.

Bob himself has already flown a quarter-million miles this year. Not exactly at a leisurely - nor even normal business - pace, either. He dashed to Australia for 36 hours, Brazil for one day, and made equally efficient trips to England, Scotland, Sweden and Hawaii. Jet lag? Not a problem. Bob takes no alcoholic beverages in flight, drinks only water and eats fruit. And then "there's Tylenol PM." "Incidentally, Bob's favorite spots for a little well deserved rest are Pebble Beach and Hawaii's Maui (the gorgeous 4 Seasons Hotel) - in case you could use a vacation idea.

Bob strongly believes in the right to a trial by jury and, while he agrees the system may not be perfect, he urges improvement rather than replacement. He prides himself and his firm on honest, ethical representation "for the right reasons and in the right way." (Clifford Law Offices, P.C. has new digs on LaSalle Street with interiors by Lucian LaGrange who's now doing the Moscow Stock Exchange!) Bob has endowed (for $1 million) the first chair in tort law and social policy at DePaul University to provide a forum for honest debate over the civil justice system and related issues.

Besides his case work, Bob is an active fund-raiser for clinics for the disabled. He lectures internationally. And, in addition to writing prolifically on safety issues, he authors a monthly column for Chicago Lawyer Magazine.

For fun, and to keep in condition for his 12- to 14-hour days, he golfs, jogs, and swims. In his college days at DePaul (where he's now on the Board of Trustees), Bob met his wife, Joan, whom he married 23 years ago this week. (Happy Anniversary!) Their children are Erin, 17, a senior at St. Viator and Tracy, 14, a St. Viator freshman.

Joan's newest "baby" is Total Travel Inc., a firm specializing in travel arrangements for business people. Only two years young, it's already expanded from its Rosemont headquarters to a London branch. Nice going, Joan and Bob. We're happy to have you here.