Tom Brophy, Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin.

Tom Brophy, Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin

Brophy joined Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin as a paralegal in 1979 earning his law degree at night. In 1987, he was elected shareholder and handpicked to manage the firm's Norristown office. Demonstrating skill and vision, Brophy assumed responsibility for all of the firm's regional offices in 1989. He led the firm's continued growth by opening offices in Wilmington, Delaware, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Scranton, Lancaster, Bethlehem and Roseland.

At the same time, Brophy made a name for himself handling and trying complex products liability, medical malpractice and high-exposure general liability cases.

After assuming the roles of president and CEO, he guided the firm's further expansion into four offices in Florida, three offices in New York and two offices in Ohio.

He implemented innovative programs within the firm that helped solidify it into one of the leading civil litigation defense firms in the country. He helped to reorganize the firm into four practice departments; devised a quality control system whereby each attorney in the firm is audited on the quality of work annually; launched a NITA-based two-day trial advocacy program; expanded the firm's professional training such that the firm now hosts over 100 internal CLE's annually; and developed new practice areas to include maritime, aviation, trucking and transportation, employment practices and more.

The legal profession is constantly evolving and that evolution only seems to have accelerated in recent years. What's the biggest change you've seen in the profession during your career? 

I have been at Marshall Dennehey for 40 years. In response to this question, I'd like to identify the two biggest changes that I have seen in the legal profession during my career. The first would be the ever-expanding use of technology. The technology that is available today, the way it is used, and the demands both personal and professional that it creates, is the single biggest change that I've seen during my career.

However, the increasing size of law firms is also a very significant change. To a large extent, technology facilitates the continued growth of law firms. The technology enables things to be done on a macro scale. The technology connects attorneys and clients throughout the country and throughout the world, enabling them to take advantage of the economies of scale that come with increased size. Corporations grow larger. Insurance companies grow larger. They want to use larger law firms with a greater range of expertise, with greater depth of personnel, and greater geographic coverage. Generally, larger law firms will have better technology than smaller law firms because larger firms can spread the cost of technology over a greater number of people.

What is one thing about the profession that has remained unchanged over the years?

Notwithstanding the increased size of law firms and the increased use of technology, the law is still a people business. Ultimately, while technology can facilitate decision-making and communication, human beings make the decisions that shape the law and have the biggest impact on organizations and relationships. The technology that exists is generally available to all attorneys to one degree or another; thus the differentiator among lawyers and law firms is attorney competency, initiative, creativity and passion.

Name one thing you've learned over the course of your career that you wish you knew as a young lawyer.

The single biggest challenge for most lawyers is work-life balance. As lawyers, the demands on our time can change overnight. As children, spouses, and parents, the demands on our time can change overnight. Often we are worried because we have too much work; on other occasions we are worried because we have too little.

Because of these demands, the life of any successful lawyer is one of constantly shifting priorities and time management. At times it is difficult to maintain firm boundaries between our professional and personal lives. The difficulty in maintaining these boundaries has been exacerbated by technology. Quite often I've found work creeping into all aspects of my life. I wish I knew earlier in my life how to set and maintain those boundaries. As I look back over my career, I see things that I didn't have to do, meetings that I didn't have to attend, or assignments that I did not have to accept that would have freed up more time to spend with family and friends. I'd like to have recognized that earlier in my career. On the other hand, there were assignments that I accepted that, at the time, didn't seem momentous that led to significant opportunities for me. The challenge is knowing how to balance those demands in real time.