As a young boy, Strong planned to become a preacher. In high school, he discovered an interest in speech and debate, which he expected would help him speak well in the pulpit. Strong soon found he loved the give-and-take of debate, and out-arguing an opponent.

When he enrolled in classes at Missouri State, his advisor asked him what he wanted to be. To his own surprise, the answer was: a lawyer. Strong majored in speech and received his bachelor’s degree in 1952.

He went on to graduate from the University of Missouri School of Law and serve in the Army’s Counter Intelligence Corps. He rejected offers to practice law in New York and San Francisco to return to his hometown of Springfield.

Strong entered the law field with the desire to help victims harmed by defective products or by the negligence of others. He became known for his creative tactics and dramatic narratives. Contact with all types of people in the community, from the struggling farmer to the successful politician, helped him relate in the courtroom.

“I was not trying to be anyone in the courtroom other than myself,” Strong said. “I was not trying to act out a performance. (For the sick and injured) I was simply their spokesman, their voice.”

Strong recently looked back on life while writing his memoir, “Strong Advocate: The Life of a Trial Lawyer.” It was published in October 2012 by the University of Missouri Press and is available in print and as an audio book.

The memoir has been well-received: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch listed “Strong Advocate” among its “50 favorite books of 2012,” and it was nominated for the Missouri Conference on History Annual Book Award. In addition, the book’s publisher has nominated it for the 2013 Scribes Book Award, a recognition for authors writing about the law and legal matters.

The memoir contains chapters about fascinating cases, and includes a look at Strong’s most well-known role: the lead attorney for the state of Missouri in 1998 when a number of states sued tobacco companies to recover some tobacco-related health-care costs. The $6.7 billion settlement was a Missouri record at that time.

Although he is officially retired and has not practiced in years, Strong still goes into his office at Strong-Garner-Bauer daily, usually between 6 and 7 a.m., to conduct personal business and read.

His time is also occupied by civic engagement. Strong remains involved in many capacities at Missouri State, where three generations of his family have received an education. He credits the University with making it possible for him to live at home and earn money for school while completing his degree in only three years, as well as for his many career accomplishments.

Among those accomplishments: An award named for him. The Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys gives the Thomas G. Strong Trial Attorney Award annually to a Missouri trial attorney who exemplifies the qualities of professionalism, character, courtroom success and ethics.

Of all his achievements, Strong says he is most proud of “practicing law the right way. For me, it was not a job; it was a calling.”

Strong’s ties to Missouri State

Thomas Strong, ’52, has been involved at Missouri State in many capacities, including:

• Past president, past member of Board of Governors

• Co-chair of “Our Promise: The Campaign for Missouri State University,” which recently concluded by raising more than $150 million

• Strong Hall on campus named for his family in recognition of a gift commitment

• Originator of several scholarships and endowed faculty positions

• Recipient of Outstanding Alumni Award, 1987