Defense Digest

CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE

In prior issues I have talked about our firm's culture and the fact that, despite our growth, we have been able to maintain our reputation with clients and employees as a friendly, but professional work place. Indeed, the entire judiciary and even our adversaries compliment us for being direct, candid and easy to deal with. We have been complimented on countless occasions, not only because we are successful as a law firm, but more importantly because our organization consists of people who truly care about that human collateral that we call character.

Our firm culture incubated many years ago in the person of our founder, Francis E. Marshall, who passed away on May 24, 2003, after a long illness. It was he who was the heart of our firm in its formative years. Frank Marshall exemplified what it is to not only be an outstanding trial lawyer, but a decent, caring and yes, loving person. He came from a humble background and there were no airs or sense of self-importance about him. He had a genuine humanity that enabled him to treat everyone as his equal, from the file clerks to the most senior attorneys. He had such a zest for living and a passion for doing the right thing that he energized the people in our firm. He was generous to a fault and as loyal and dedicated to the ethics of his profession as anyone could be. I was proud to have him as my "boss" and learned many lessons, the primary one of which is that you can be a good and decent person and still be successful in the practice of law and in your dealings with your partners. He was living proof that nice people finish first - not last.

Frank Marshall was a great litigator and handled more high profile and complex cases than any defense attorney in the Philadelphia area. He tried cases in every court and personally argued before the United States Supreme Court prompting, at that time, new law favorable to the Maritime industry. Many prominent plaintiff attorneys revered him as both a friend and an adversary. In his obituary, the high profile plaintiff's attorney James Beasley, Esquire (The Beasley School of Law of Temple University is named after him) couldn't say enough about Frank Marshall's character, maintaining that, "If he gave you his word, you could take it to the bank."

What a full and rewarding life he had. He served in the 14th Armored Division during World War II and was wounded twice. He was a genuine war hero who received the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Silver Star for valor in combat, personally awarded by General George Patton. He was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and worked for a large Philadelphia firm and decided that he would much prefer working in a small firm, not realizing that the little firm he founded would one day have over 320 lawyers.

He was married to his lovely wife, "Love," since 1943 and is survived by 11 children, 26 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Many of his children and their spouses chose law as their profession and he was rightfully proud of all of their accomplishments.

Frank Marshall's name and all that he signified will live on in our firm. I feel sorry for the many young people in the firm who never had an opportunity to meet him because they would have been profoundly impressed. He was steeped in the milk of human kindness and was a true mentor and inspiration to the senior attorneys in our firm. His legacy is and will be defined by much more than simply assembling a group of outstanding trial lawyers. He wanted all of his partners to not only have a passion for the law, but to follow the Golden Rule in our dealings with everyone. In this regard he succeeded. We heard his call and we responded, hoping to make him proud of us. We were blessed to have him for the time that we did! 

Thank you.