Firm News

In modern business litigation, mediation has become very common. By contrast, when I first began to work in the industry, mediations were rare. Most cases did not have a settlement conference of any kind until they were called for a pretrial conference by the trial...

What are business torts and why should they be utilized when available in litigation? A tort is a civil wrong and it is differentiated from a breach of contract. Examples of business torts include fraud, conversion and breach of fiduciary duty. The primary distinction...

This week, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania issued an opinion affirming the decision of the trial court in a case that I am handling. The lawsuit involves a claim that the plaintiff was squeezed out of a corporation in which he is a minority shareholder. The events...

When is the right time to file suit in a business dispute? It depends on a number of factors. Filing a lawsuit is a drastic remedy and as a general rule alternatives should be pursued first. However, that is not always possible. Sometimes the matter at hand is an...

A sad reality of civil litigation is that there is substantial pressure brought to bear to prevent civil litigants from trying their cases. Slim few of the cases that are filed in courts will ultimately be tried to conclusion. Most cases are settled. I decided to...

Many employees are considered “at will,” which means that their employment can be terminated at any time and for any reason, or for no reason at all. Generally, these employees work without a written contract. But not having a contract that governs the term of...

It is my great fortune to work with many business litigation clients who are very successful in their careers. They come in all shapes and sizes, and they ply many trades and professions. They are usually very intelligent, and often highly educated and experienced. I...

Recently, I was complaining about poor service I received from a contractor. That got me to thinking about the service lawyers provide to clients. Here a few thoughts about what a client should expect from an attorney in terms of service: The attorney should be...

When I began the practice of law, non-competes were still fairly rare. They were utilized most frequently to apply to salespeople and sellers of businesses. In the ensuing years, non-competes became much more commonplace. Now, there is shift away from non-competes....

Whistleblowing is a word that is relatively new to the American lexicon. For may people, the term was first heard when they watched Julia Roberts in the movie Erin Brockovich. So in the legal context, what is a whistleblower? That depends on the particular law that is...