Defense Digest

Notes From The Executive Committee

In the past two issues of this publication, you have learned about the changing of the guard in our firm. We are extremely confident that, in spite of this change, your interests will continue to be preserved and protected as if nothing different had occurred. How can I be so confident, you might ask? Because the one constant throughout the change is the lawyers you have come to rely upon.

Clarence Darrow once said, "The trouble with law is lawyers." While this may have been true for Mr. Darrow, at our firm the opposite is the case. The men and women who comprise the roughly 365 attorneys in our firm are the heart and soul of our firm. They are what is good about the law.

I recently attended a summit of corporate counsel. These attorneys were looking for a change. Ostensibly, they were tired of paying what in their minds was too much money to their outside counsel for legal services that were unremarkable. They were looking for real trial attorneys. In preparation for this summit, I did some homework. If I were going to succeed in setting our firm apart from what these corporate counsel were used to, I needed to be in a position to provide facts and figures that would prove that we are a bona fide alternative. It became apparent to me that our firm, through its lawyers, separates itself from the other defense firms in a number of ways. I would like to share a few examples with you.

Approximately three years ago, our firm began in earnest to capture data upon the disposition of our cases. For the years 2003 and 2004, our attorneys tried 776 cases. Of these cases tried, 65 percent resulted in either defense verdicts or dismissals of our clients at trial. I would challenge any other firm in the country to match this number of trials and this success rate.

Shortly, Law and Politics will publish the most recently designated list of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers. This list is comprised of the top five percent of attorneys in Pennsylvania as chosen by their peers and through independent research. We are proud to report that 26 of our Pennsylvania attorneys have been designated as Super Lawyers. In the only other state in which we have offices which Law and Politics designates Super Lawyers, New Jersey, our firm recently had eight attorneys designated as Super Lawyers. Accordingly, over ten percent of our Pennsylvania and New Jersey attorneys have been recognized as Super Lawyers.

As most of you know, Martindale-Hubbell has rated attorneys throughout the country for over 100 years. As Martindale-Hubbel notes, their "Peer Review Ratings attest to a lawyer's legal ability and professional ethics and reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and Judiciary." Their highest rating for an attorney is the "AV" rating. Our firm is proud to boast 98 AV-rated attorneys amongst its ranks.

We have made a commitment to you that we will provide the finest litigators that exist to represent your interests. Peer review is just one way to assess how deeply we are committed. However, there are other manifestations of this commitment.

Our firm has the distinction of having many of its attorneys participate in leadership roles in numerous industry associations. For example, one member of our Board of Directors is presently serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the Defense Research Institute. Several members of this firm are past presidents of both the Pennsylvania Defense Institute as well as the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel. We have a number of attorneys who are presently serving or who have served as officers of the American Board of Trial Advocates as well as the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel.

In the specialties in which we practice, our firm has made a commitment to staff itself with attorneys who are not only exceptional litigators but who also have experience in the fields in which they practice. We have physicians and nurses who have made a career change in order to defend medical practitioners who are being sued. We have stockbrokers who have done the same to provide hands-on experience in defending broker-dealer litigation. We have architects who are now lawyers defending architects, engineers, and builders in construction litigation. We have insurance adjusters and past members of various attorney general offices committed to route out fraud in the industry. The list goes on; i.e., bartenders who handle dram shop litigation; nurses who do workers' compensation litigation; retail salespeople who represent retailers in litigation; and the obvious one: lawyers who represent lawyers.

Clearly, this message may be construed as nothing but puffing on our part. However, we want you to know that, while there have been some changes in the management of our firm, the one thing that has remained constant is the talent of our lawyers. Our attorneys are men and women who are real trial lawyers. They are recognized as the best of the best by their peers. Our management will do everything in its power to broaden and strengthen this asset. We invite you to take full advantage of this unparalleled resource.

Please feel free to contact me at any time to discuss any issue of importance to you. I can be reached directly at (215) 575-2610; fax (215) 575-0858; e-mail pmiller@mdwcg.com; mail: Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, 1845 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.