About Terry J.
Terry J. Smith began his legal education at Lawrence University, where he completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1981. He went on to earn a J.D. from Cornell University in 1984. Those formative years set the stage for a career spent largely on employment and federal civil matters.
He entered private practice immediately after law school as an associate at Foley & Lardner LLP in 1984. Three years later he moved to Schiff Hardin & Waite, first as an associate in 1987 and then returning as a partner in 1990. In 1996 he became a partner at Smith O Callaghan & White. The trajectory shows steady progression from firm associate to firm leadership over a dozen years.
Courtroom and appellate work have been part of Smith’s professional landscape. He holds admissions in Illinois and Wisconsin, and he is admitted to practice before the Sixth, Seventh, and Fourth Circuits and the D.C. Circuit. That mix of trial- and appellate-level credentials reflects a practice that spans multiple procedural settings.
Throughout his career he has been active in professional groups tied to labor and employment law and federal civil practice. He is a current member of the Chicago Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Committee and its Federal Civil Practice Committee. He also belongs to the Seventh Circuit Bar Association and the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section. Those memberships suggest steady engagement with litigation trends, rules developments, and the professional networks that support federal and employment litigation.
Smith’s work history lends itself to employment-related disputes and federal civil matters. His positions at several major firms exposed him to both company-side and litigation-focused work. He has handled cases across district and appellate courts in the circuits where he is admitted. Colleagues describe him as methodical and attentive to procedural detail, traits useful in complex litigation and appellate briefing.
He maintains a practice that addresses labor and employment law and federal civil litigation. His current work continues to involve courtroom appearances, appellate filings, and counseling clients on employment disputes and related federal civil claims.
