Teresa Ficken Sachs Named "Defense Lawyer of the Year" by the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel

Teresa Ficken Sachs, shareholder and vice chair of Marshall Dennehey's Appellate Advocacy Practice Group, was awarded the William J. O'Brien Distinguished Service Award as "Defense Lawyer of the Year" by the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel (PADC). Ms. Sachs was honored at the organization's annual meeting, held June 2 at the North Hills Country Club in North Hills, PA.

The William J. O'Brien award is given annually to a PADC member who demonstrates outstanding legal service and contributions to the PADC and the greater legal community. It is named after William J. O'Brien, a past president of the PADC who was one of the pre-eminent Philadelphia trial lawyers of his generation. The award comes with a $1,000.00 stipend to be given to a charity of the recipient's choosing.

With 30 years of experience as a civil litigator, including 20 years as a trial attorney, Ms. Sachs has significant experience representing all manner of insureds, self-insureds and insurance carriers in complex litigation matters in both the state and federal appellate courts. Her appellate track record includes the successful representation of universities, corporations and insurance carriers in multi-million dollar matters involving catastrophic personal injury, coverage disputes and other professional liability matters. She regularly appears before the Pennsylvania State and Federal courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and she has been asked to represent insurance industry groups, as amici curiae, before the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Courts.

Prior to concentrating on appellate law, Ms. Sachs, who holds a Bachelor's Degree in Pharmacy, focused her practice in the defense of medical and dental professional liability matters. She also has significant experience in the areas of product liability and premises liability defense, insurance coverage matters, and uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage disputes.

In addition to the PADC, she is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Bar Association of the Third Federal Circuit, and the Philadelphia Bar Association, where she sits on the Appellate Courts Committee.  Additionally, she is a Director of the Lawyers' Club of Philadelphia. She is a graduate of Villanova University School of Law and the University of Connecticut.