On The Pulse...A Profile Of The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Office, DD 12/07

Defense Digest

The City of Brotherly Love! Home of the cheese steak, the soft pretzel, and the professional sports franchises that break the hearts of its citizenry year in and year out. Philadelphia is also the home of the Marshall Dennehey law firm. What began some 46 years ago as a defense litigation firm of three attorneys by our beloved founding father Frank Marshall has grown into an office of 125 attorneys.

Our office is located at 1845 Walnut Street, just across from the Rittenhouse Square. Rittenhouse Square is one of the original five squares plotted by William Penn. Named after David Rittenhouse, a famous astronomer and clock maker, it is said that to have lived on Rittenhouse Square was a mark of prestige. We are proud to call this our home.

When our firm moved into its present Philadelphia location in 1991, we occupied three floors in our building. We now reside in almost six floors worth of space. Our office is the home to 65 shareholders, 60 associates, 18 paralegals, 93 support personnel, and 87 members of our administrative staff in areas such as billing and accounting, information services, legal resources, and human resources. As the headquarters of our firm, our Philadelphia office houses our Executive Committee, as well as all of our administrative directors.

In addition to serving as administrative headquarters to our firm, our Philadelphia office also serves as the home to a number of our more esoteric practice groups. For example, our Securities & Investments Professional Liability Practice Group, headed by Andy Davitt, is located in Philadelphia. Our Post-Trial & Appellate Advocacy Practice Group, headed by John Hare, is also located in Philadelphia. So too is our Insurance Coverage & Bad Faith Litigation Practice Group, headed by Eric Fitzgerald. Our Technology, Media & Intellectual Property Practice Group, headed by Ted Kobus, is located in Philadelphia. And, our newest practice group, Aviation Liability, headed by Bruce McKissock, is also located in Philadelphia.

While each of our offices handles almost all types of litigation, through the support of a number of our practice groups, whose attorneys are primarily located in Philadelphia, our regional offices are eminently capable of combining the expertise of our Philadelphia attorneys with the local presence of our regional attorneys. And, as you would expect, our Philadelphia office has its fair share of attorneys recognized as Best Lawyers in America and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers. We are proud of the collection of talent we have been able to attract in our Philadelphia office. But there is more! Rarely does a day go by that a highly competitive pinochle game is not played over the lunch hour. Our beloved departed colleague Frank Januzelli introduced this comic relief to the Philadelphia office when it opened its doors, and this tradition remains intact. So, if you are ever in Philadelphia, you are invited to join our game. Or, if you would just like to visit one of our attorneys or take a tour of our offices, please feel free to stop by any time.

*Pete is the firm's Chairman of the Board and COO. He can be reached at (215) 575-2610 or psmiller@mdwcg.com.