Terry O’Toole is widely recognized as one of the top trial lawyers in St. Louis. He has tried over forty cases to verdict in state and federal courts. Moreover, Terry was the recipient of the prestigious Lon Hocker Award. The Award is given annually by the Missouri Bar Foundation to lawyers who have demonstrated unusual proficiency in the art of trial advocacy. Finally, Terry’s peers have also recognized his skills as a trial lawyer by selecting him for inclusion in both The Best Lawyers in America and the Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers over many years.
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 Trial Team Leader. 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 to prosecute murder cases in the City of St. Louis. He has worked tirelessly on behalf of the victims and their families to secure convictions in the cases he has prosecuted in this role.
