Tom A. Killoren Jr.
Bio
Tom A. Killoren, Jr. has a reputation for aggressive advocacy in court and compassionate counsel for his clients. Tom has received a consecutive AV® Preeminent™ Rating from Martindale Hubbell® since 2013 and was selected to the South Carolina Super Lawyers List for 4 years.
Tom applies a simple guiding principle to his daily practice at KD Trial Lawyers: “Hard work gets good results.”
Tom Killoren got his J.D. at The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law in 1994 and then spent three years honing his trial skills as an assistant state’s attorney. Tom worked at Corboy & Demetrio in Chicago handling a variety of personal injury cases before moving to South Carolina.
Since settling here in South Carolina, Tom has developed a reputation for his aggressive advocacy in court and his compassionate counsel for his clients. The results from his hard work in Spartanburg have included millions in settlements, including settlements of $3.2 million, $2.3 million, and $1.075 million, as well as numerous multi-million dollar outcomes.*
“What I like best about my practice are the people I work with,” he says. “I especially like working with clients, helping them build a case, getting a great result, and enjoying with them the fruits of our labor.”
Tom places a high priority on maintaining contact with clients after cases are concluded. He is fond of his adopted state and enjoys being active in community activities. A big basketball fan, Killoren has organized an annual “March Madness” fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Spartanburg for the last five years. He also sponsors fund-raising tennis tournaments for the Habitat for Humanity, the Ellen Hines Smith Girls Home, and the St. Luke’s Free Medical Clinic. In addition, he coaches kids’ basketball in a church league.
He is active in several bar organizations and is the President-Elect of the South Carolina Association for Justice.
Bar Admissions
- Illinois, 1994
- South Carolina, 2001
- U.S. District Court District of South Carolina, 2001
- North Carolina, 2003
- Georgia, 2005
- U.S. District Court Western District of North Carolina, 2009
Education
- Hamilton College, 1990 – B.A.
- The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, Chicago, Illinois, 1994 – J.D.
Professional Organizations
- American Association for Justice – Trucking Litigation
- American Bar Association
- Illinois State Bar Association
- Illinois Trial Lawyers Association
- North Carolina Advocates for Justice
- North Carolina Bar Association
- South Carolina Association for Justice – President Elect
- South Carolina Association for Justice Board of Governors (Secretary/Treasurer 2020-2022)
- South Carolina Bar
- Spartanburg County Bar Association
- Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium Board (Former Chairman of the Board)
- State Bar of Georgia
Honors and Recognitions
- South Carolina Legal Elite Award, 2022
- AV® Preeminent™ Rating, Martindale Hubbell®, 2013-2022
- Million Dollar Advocate – Member?South Carolina Super Lawyers List, 2019-2022
Areas of Practice
- Tractor Trailer Litigation
- Personal Injury
- Vehicle Accidents
- Wrongful Death
- Nursing Home Abuse/Negligence
- Medical Malpractice
- Alcohol Sale Liability
- Premises Liability
- Products Liability
Speaking Engagements
- Speaker at the South Carolina Association for Justice 2021 Annual Convention. Topic: The Current Status of 2021 Corporate Succession Liability Law August, 2021
- Speaker at the South Carolina Association for Justice 2019 Annual Convention. Topic: The Current State of Statutory Employees and Third Party Cases, Friday, August 2, 2019
In the News
- Tom was quoted in The State newspaper on Sunday, January 27, 2019, regarding a South Carolina law that limits government payouts in lawsuits.
Awards & Associations
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Why should someone come to KD Trial Lawyers?
Simple: we know what we’re doing and we do it the right way.
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What are your favorite things about your job?
Over twenty years of practice I have had cases involving airplanes, amusement park rides, brain surgeons, rodeo horses, roofing projects, boundary disputes, ambulances, cranes, race car drivers, trains, trucks and prison…the list goes on. I have loved learning about all of those things. Every case I have is an opportunity to learn something else, especially something about my client.
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What do you like most about the law?
Law, in its purest form, is consistent and applies equally to all. But it’s not that simple in application. It is the lawyer, on behalf of his client, that makes sure the law is applied justly. It is the lawyer that evens the playing field. It is why the American judicial system is the greatest in the world. A person of little or no financial means has access to the same judicial system that decides controversies involving multimillion-dollar corporations.