Terrence McAvoy has more than 25 years of civil litigation practice experience in state and federal court, concentrating in the defense of professional liability claims. He has represented hundreds of attorneys and law firms in the defense of wide-ranging claims, including legal malpractice/professional negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, common law fraud, violations of the Consumer Fraud Act, defamation and disciplinary matters. Mr. McAvoy also represents physicians, dentists and other professionals in malpractice litigation. He is also coverage and claims counsel for a national professional liability insurer.

Mr. McAvoy has tried many cases and has been involved in numerous appeals. He has also represented insureds and insurers in declaratory judgment actions involving the interpretation of various types of professional liability and commercial liability insurance policies. Mr. McAvoy joined Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in June 1987. He holds the AV® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating for ethics and legal ability. In addition, Mr. McAvoy is a member of the Leading Lawyers Network, where he was selected by his peers as a Leading Lawyer in Commercial Litigation and Professional Malpractice Defense Law.

He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association (CBA), the Defense Research Institute, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel and the Professional Liability Underwriters Society (PLUS).

He is the past Chairman of the CBA’s Committee on Attorney Malpractice. Mr. McAvoy is a co-author of “Attorney Liability to Adversaries and Other Third Parties,” a chapter in Attorneys’ Legal Liability, published by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE), 2012 edition (also authored November 2007 edition). He is also editor of Hinshaw’s quarterly newsletter, "The Lawyers’ Professional Liability Update" and a past editor of "The Lawyers’ Lawyer Newsletter," which address recent developments and cases in professional liability law, risk management and malpractice prevention issues.

Mr. McAvoy’s presentations include:

• “Three's Company: Navigating the Winding Road of the Insurer, Insured and Defense Counsel,” WestLegalEdcenter live webcast, March 2013.
• “The Significant New Decisions Affecting Litigation Attorneys,” Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference, Chicago, Illinois, March 2013.
•  “What’s Your Little Secret? They Want to Know,” at Hinshaw’s annual Legal Malpractice & Risk Management Conference, in Chicago, Illinois, March 2010.