On the Pulse…Erie, Pennsylvania, Office Profile
In the run up to the 2024 presidential election, Erie County was featured as the “bellwether” or “pivotal” county that could determine the outcome of the election. Erie County’s history of voting for the winner in the last four presidential elections mirrored the outcome in Pennsylvania and created a blitz of media coverage and campaign appearances from both parties to try to win the all-important votes. Why Erie?
Erie County is located along the shores of Lake Erie in northwest Pennsylvania, equidistant from Buffalo and western New York, Cleveland and eastern Ohio, and Pittsburgh in the southwest part of the state. The county features the metropolitan area of the City of Erie, where Marshall Dennehey has its office, with rural areas surrounding the city. The County’s 270,000 residents have strong blue-collar roots, with industrial employers such as Wabtec, the successor to General Electric’s locomotive plant, and with expanded white-collar employers, including Erie Insurance Company, the area’s largest employer and a Fortune 500 company. Several universities, the largest medical school in the country, and a strong tourist economy based on the recreational opportunities centered on Presque Isle State Park attract people from all across the area to Erie. These characteristics make Erie County an important area in politics and in law.
Erie has been home to a Marshall Dennehey office for 27 years, since opening in 1996. The Erie office serves 10 counties in northwest Pennsylvania, along with western New York State. Its downtown location has witnessed the transformation of the city core into a vibrant entertainment, office, and residential area. During this time, the attorneys and staff in the Erie office have provided its clients with defense representation in litigation across all practice areas of the firm.
Our office is currently staffed by five attorneys and two paralegals. This team of experienced professionals enables Marshall Dennehey to service clients in all areas of litigation. The practices of our attorneys include casualty, professional liability, employment and workers’ compensation, and health care.
Thom Lent is the senior attorney in the office, and he directs the health care group. Thom has defended and tried numerous medical malpractice lawsuits on behalf of individual physicians and medical professionals, medical practices, long-term care facilities, and hospitals. He also has taught at the local medical school, and he enjoys moonlighting in a band featuring local attorneys.
Pat Carey handles both professional liability and casualty work, and he spends most of his time defending local municipalities in litigation involving public officials, law enforcement, and prisons. His practice is primarily in the Federal District Court in Erie.
Our office is staffed by two associates, Lori Mason and Emily Downing, who work in all areas of the firm’s practice, but primarily in professional liability and casualty. Lori’s experience as an assistant district attorney, public defender, and in corporate law brings a well-rounded perspective to her work defending individuals and businesses in litigation. Emily worked in the Erie County District Attorney’s Office for several years, where she was involved in several trials with outstanding results. Her background in law enforcement has enabled her to make a smooth transition to the defense of civil rights and public employment cases.
My practice is unique in that I have handled all types of cases for our clients, including premises and vehicular liability, employment and workers’ compensation, and professional liability. My current practice focuses on defense of employment litigation for public and private entities, along with defending professionals in real estate, insurance, legal, law enforcement, and financial liability cases.
Our office also partners with the firm’s offices in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and New York State to provide further depth and expertise to its work and to handle cases in the Erie region. The collaboration among the attorneys and staff in these offices provides our clients with the unique capability of having local attorneys who know the judges, attorneys, and jurors, with the breath of expertise from other offices to complement the work.
Marshall Dennehey’s presence in Erie and northwest Pennsylvania is unique in that it gives us the opportunity to provide strong defense representation to our clients in Pennsylvania and New York in a variety of practice areas and disciplines with the support of a 500-plus attorney regional law firm. This has enabled the Erie office to maintain its hold in the area as a premier defense litigation law firm, pivotal to the success of Marshall Dennehey.
Defense Digest, Vol. 30, No. 4, December 2024, is prepared by Marshall Dennehey to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1. © 2024 Marshall Dennehey. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.