My Practice

My Practice
My practice originated many years ago as a general practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the years following, my practice has become oriented to civil litigation. This means representing clients in non criminal disputes in Federal and Pennsylvania Courts and before Worker's Compensation Judges in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Rules of Professional Conduct which govern attorneys in Pennsylvania provide that an attorney should zealously represent the interests of his or her clients with the confines of the very same Rules which elsewhere set forth the ethical guidelines for attorneys to follow. Attempting to zealously yet ethically represent my clients in the many Courts in this jurisdiction has become my professional focus over the years.

In the course of this practice, I gathered a sufficient amount of courtroom and trial experience to qualify to be certified as a civil trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. The Rules of Professional Conduct in Pennsylvania do not allow Lawyers to hold themselves out as specialists as a rule. However the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has recognized the certification process of the NBTA and accordingly attorneys certified by the NBTA are permitted to publish the fact of their certification.

The NBTA publishes the following advice about the importance of board certification:

"Most criminal cases and virtually 98% of civil cases never actually got to trial. This is because they are settled out of court.

What will motivate your opponent to want to settle with you out of court? If you are represented by an experienced trial lawyer who is making reasonable request for settlement on your behalf, the opposition knows it would probably be foolish to take the case to trial against an experienced, skilled litigator. On the other hand, if the opposition knows something you don't know – that your lawyer has virtually no experience in court or has demonstrated a serious lack of skill in court – the opposition is much less likely to meet your settlement demands because they feel confident about their chances of success against your lawyer in court.

For these reasons, the most powerful advantage you can have is a lawyer who is known to be a highly-skilled trial lawyer. The odds are much greater that such a lawyer will be able to successfully negotiate an out-of-court settlement for you.

Litigation is often times compared to war. In litigation, as in war, the side with the greatest skill and experience is usually able to avoid conflict because the opposition is not willing to risk the consequences against such a capable opponent.

Therefore, as strange as it may seem at first, your chances of successfully resolving your case out of court are much better when you are represented by a skilled, experienced trial lawyer who is well-known and respected by the opposition. The NBTA simply makes these lawyers known to the public by identifying them as 'Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.'"

Click here to learn more about how I work with my clients in my practice.