Plaintiffs Firms Add Lawyers With Significant Defense Experience

Two Philadelphia personal injury firms have hired lawyers whose practices have traditionally included a significant amount of defense work, as well as commercial litigation.

On Sept. 13, the Locks Law Firm hired David Langfitt from Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads , where he was a partner in the litigation practice and spent much of his time defending clients in commercial litigation.

That same day, Silvers Langsam & Weitzman , perhaps better known as MyPhillyLawyer, brought aboard solo practitioner Robert S. Nix, who had previously concentrated mostly on defense work.

Langfitt, who in 2000 and 2003 actually defended the Locks Law Firm, then known as Greitzer & Locks, in two commercial lawsuits, said he was open to maintaining his defense practice as well.

"I would keep the practice intact as the opportunities arise," he said. "It depends on what the matter is and it depends on what the case is."

In fact, Langfitt said, Montgomery McCracken and the Locks Law Firm are now working as co-counsel on a few cases he brought with him.

"The Locks Law Firm is fully capable of defending a variety of different types of cases," Langfitt said, adding that he doesn't anticipate encountering client conflicts.

Michael B. Leh, managing partner of the Locks Law Firm's Philadelphia office, said the firm is open to Langfitt handling some defense work.

Dean Weitzman, a founding partner of Silvers Langsam, on the other hand, said he would be opposed to Nix taking on civil defense cases.

"Now you're asking me to do something I can't believe in," he said, adding, "It would really be difficult not to find a conflict in that area."

Both Nix and Langfitt said they would continue to handle commercial cases on the plaintiff's side to the extent that they arise, despite the fact that neither of their new firms have traditionally done much work in that area.

"I may not get the full opportunity to do that here in this setting, but to the extent that we can build in that direction, that's great," Nix said.

Weitzman said he and Nix are currently working on a case that involves "some commercial litigation allegations of fraud."

Leh said Langfitt's commercial litigation experience was "an unanticipated but good byproduct of his hiring."

"He will continue to handle those types of cases. In that sense, he gives us more breadth," Leh said, adding that it's "certainly possible" the firm could eventually build up its commercial litigation practice around Langfitt.

"Some of that is going to depend upon how much he's available to do the commercial work," Leh added.

Still, personal injury work continues to be the driving force behind both the Locks Law Firm and Silvers Langsam.

Leh said the firm brought Langfitt on primarily to take the lead on a number of new mass tort cases.

"We were just looking for someone who we felt was capable of spearheading those and stepping in and litigating complex matters," he said, adding that had Langfitt not become available, the firm might still be looking to fill that need.

Langfitt said he hadn't been looking to leave Montgomery McCracken until he was approached by Locks Law Firm founder Gene Locks, whom he's known for a decade.

"Having been his lawyer, I know him and the practice better than many do," he said.

Langfitt said moving to a firm where the bulk of his cases would be on the plaintiffs side "did not, in any way, seem unusual," nor did moving from a billable hour model to a contingency fee model.

"Right now, I brought cases with me and they're all billable," he said, adding that the firm has the capacity to bill hourly and regularly does so.

Like Langfitt, Nix, who had most recently been practicing part time following a 2008 bid for state Senate in the 3rd Senatorial District, was already familiar with his new firm before he joined, having worked at Silvers Langsam in 1995 as a law clerk.

Fifteen years later, Nix said he saw an opportunity in Silvers Langsam to "match my contacts with a great brand."

Nix was the second attorney that seven-lawyer Silvers Langsam hired in the span of about a month.

The firm had also added Todd Richman from Feasterville, Pa.-based personal injury firm Pollack Steinberg on Aug. 16.

Richman said he primarily focuses his practice on "serious injury" claims but also handles what he described as "a smattering of entertainment law."

Weitzman acknowledged that his firm is currently in growth mode and said he could envision adding more attorneys over the next year, which could also mean branching out further practice-wise.

"If there are other practice areas that are complementary to our plaintiffs personal injury practice, we'd be open to growing in other areas as well," he said, adding that the firm currently has a "niche criminal defense practice."

Leh said his firm is also in an expansion mode, having recently added Franklin Solomon from New York-based Weitz & Luxenberg to its New Jersey office, and is currently considering several other hiring opportunities.

"It's not a situation where we're actually looking," he said. "It's a situation where we're being approached or things are coming up that may be a good fit."