Terry O’Toole is an experienced trial lawyer who has tried over forty cases to verdict in state and federal courts. The insights he has developed from his extensive work before judges and juries allow him to give clients invaluable advice on all aspects of litigation, from risk management, fact investigation, witness preparation, theme development, and trial.
Terry’s practice includes representing healthcare providers in all phases of litigation and internal investigations, defending corporations facing governmental investigations, and representing railroads in catastrophic FELA claims.
Before becoming a civil litigator, Terry practiced criminal law. For six years he was a prosecutor in Kansas City and St. Louis, where he focused on violent crime and served as a supervisor. And before becoming a lawyer, Terry proudly served as a police officer and detective with the University City Police Department—a job he performed even while attending law school. Terry’s unique experience in both investigating and trying criminal matters helps him advise and represent clients who are the subject of government investigations.
Serving his community is part of Terry’s DNA and he maintains an active pro bono practice. When the Governor appointed St. Louis’s current Circuit Attorney in 2023, that office inherited a backlog of 6,700 pending cases in the Warrant Office and had a backlog of 250 homicide cases for trial. Terry volunteered to serve as a Special Assistant Circuit Attorney in the City of St. Louis to prosecute murder cases. He has won convictions in the cases he has prosecuted in this role.
Terry’s skill as a trial lawyer is widely recognized. He has been selected by his peers for inclusion in both The Best Lawyers in America and the Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers continuously since 2019.
