Defense Digest

On the Pulse ... Profile of Our Wilmington, Delaware Office

In the summer of 1995, Marshall, Dennehey opened its Delaware office to serve existing and new clients who sought the firm's litigation expertise in the First State. Delaware, long known as the corporate state by virtue of the many Fortune 500 companies incorporated there, and hailed as having the best courts in the country, was viewed by the firm as a natural forum for expansion of our defense practice. The Delaware office is now one of the largest law offices in Delaware devoted exclusively to defense litigation. From its opening by Kevin J. Connors, a native Delawarean, the Delaware office has grown to 20 attorneys, four paralegals, and 22 administrative and support personnel. Our roster of attorneys includes two nurses and a respiratory therapist.

The firm's Delaware office is located on two floors at 1220 North Market Street in Wilmington, just seven blocks from the brand new New Castle County Courthouse and just five blocks from the Federal Courthouse for the District of Delaware. The firm's attorneys in Delaware practice in the state's three counties: New Castle, being the northernmost, where Wilmington is located; Kent in mid-state, where Dover, the state capital, is situated; and Sussex, where Georgetown, the county seat, is located. The firm's attorneys practice at the state court level before the Delaware Supreme Court, Chancery Court, Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, Justices of the Peace, the Industrial Accident Board in Wilmington and Milford, and other boards and commissions of specific jurisdiction, as well as in Federal Court for the District of Delaware.

Kevin Connors, a former law clerk for the Supreme Court of Delaware, with 22 years of defense litigation experience, has been the managing shareholder of the Delaware office since its inception. In addition to his management responsibilities, Mr. Connors heads the general casualty practice group in Delaware, ably supported by shareholders Thomas Gerard and Elizabeth Saurman and associates Sean Dolan, Tracy Burleigh, Ana McCann, Ronald Hartnett, and Marcy Jack.

Timothy Casey, a shareholder with over 25 years of experience in the area of workers' compensation defense and well-known as a dean of the workers' compensation defense bar in Delaware, manages the office's growing workers' compensation practice. He is assisted by shareholder Scott Silar and by associates Christine O'Connor, Jessica Julian, Linda Wilson, Kim Harrison, and Tabatha Castro.

Shareholder Daniel Griffith and associate J. Scott Shannon handle non-medical malpractice professional liability cases, as well as complex litigation matters, in a variety of fields.

The Delaware office is rapidly growing its medical malpractice defense group, which is overseen by Bradley Goewert, who has 17 years of litigation experience. Mr. Goewert is assisted by associate Lorenza Wolhar, who possesses a nursing degree.

Our Delaware lawyers are often asked to assist as local counsel in Delaware Federal Bankruptcy Court, one of the nation's busiest. We defend clients there in adversary and preference actions, both as lead and local counsel.

Marshall, Dennehey's Delaware lawyers are members of national and local defense groups, including the Defense Research Institute, Trial Attorneys of America, Defense Counsel of Delaware, and the Delaware Claims Association. They are regular presenters of seminars in their respective fields of expertise, both for clients and for other attorneys.

The attorneys in the Delaware office of Marshall, Dennehey possess a wealth of legal knowledge and experience and the requisite understanding of Delaware's unique local practice to afford the firm's clients the highest level of professional representation. They are poised to assist the firm's clients in all phases of litigation, and they welcome the opportunity to serve them in the future. Please contact Kevin Connors at (302) 552-4302 or via email at kconnors@mdwcg.com for further information.

*Kevin is a shareholder and the managing attorney of our Wilmington, DE office. He can be reached at (302) 552-4302 or kconnors@mdwcg.com.