John J. Hare and Teresa Ficken Sachs Selected "Influencers of Law" by The Philadelphia Inquirer
John J. Hare and Teresa Ficken Sachs, Co-Chairs of the Appellate Advocacy and Post-Trial Practice Group at Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, have been selected 2019 "Influencers of Law" in the area of business litigation by The Philadelphia Inquirer. The awards program recognizes attorneys who have raised the bar through outstanding leadership and counsel, and whose contributions have helped to shape, change and transform the legal industry in Pennsylvania. Mr. Hare and Ms. Sachs will be recognized with the other honorees at a luncheon later this month and featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer on March 24.
As appellate and litigation counsel, Mr. Hare has represented individuals, insurers and corporations in some of the most high-profile litigation in recent Pennsylvania history, including dozens of cases with multimillion dollar verdicts and settlements. Recent examples of his representation of lead parties in high-profile litigation include the five-month Market Street Building Collapse trial, the second longest trial in Pennsylvania history, the Philadelphia Food Truck explosion case, which resulted in a nine-figure settlement in June of 2018, criminal litigation stemming from the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal, and many of the eight-figure verdicts returned in Pennsylvania in recent years. As amicus curiae counsel, Mr. Hare has represented a diverse clientele, including the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and more. He has co-authored and edited two books on Pennsylvania appellate courts: The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; Life and Law in the Commonwealth; 1684-2017 (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2018); and Keystone of Justice; The Superior Court of Pennsylvania; 1895-1995 (Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2000).
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 for the Third Circuit, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and she has been asked to represent insurance industry groups, as amici curiae (friend of the court) before the Pennsylvania Superior and Supreme Courts. In October 2018 and again in January 2019, Ms. Sachs presented oral argument before the Supreme Court of the United States of America.