Anapol Weiss Lawyers Open Boutique for Appellate, Public Policy Cases
Philadelphia plaintiffs lawyers David Senoff and Hillary Weinstein opened First Law Strategy Group earlier this month.
June 14, 2019 at 03:16 PM
3 minute read
Philadelphia plaintiffs lawyers David Senoff and Hillary Weinstein have launched a new law firm, aiming to fill a niche better served by a smaller, low-overhead operation.
The two lawyers most recently practiced at Anapol Weiss, where Senoff was a shareholder and Weinstein was an associate. Also joining them is paralegal Christina McNally. The new firm officially opened June 2, Senoff said.
The firm, First Law Strategy Group, will focus on class actions, appellate advocacy, insurance bad faith and high-stakes litigation.
Senoff said public policy cases have become a growing focus of his practice over the past decade, and opening his own firm would lend itself to doing that work. One of the most high-profile matters he has worked on was class action litigation related to the Luzerne County “kids-for-cash” scandal. He is currently bringing a lawsuit on behalf of Montgomery County over the defendants' alleged proliferation of lead-based paint in the community.
“It's hard with a larger firm, where there are much different obligations to others who may not share the same interests that I do in those public policy type cases, to take as many on as you might like,” he said.
Additionally, he said, Senoff hopes to provide appellate services to the trial bar “in a way that firms can afford.”
While defense firms can usually bill clients by the hour for appeals, most plaintiffs-side work is handled on a contingency basis.
“Appellate work is sort of a luxury in a plaintiffs firm,” Senoff said. “The smaller firms and even some of the larger firms are just not equipped to do that.”
He said his firm may do appeals on a flat-fee or hybrid arrangement.
“When I look around now and I see the landscape for appellate work, it's pretty expensive. But for people who are solely engaged in that kind of practice, they have to do that to cover the overhead,” Senoff said. A smaller firm supplemented by other kinds of work offers an alternative to that model, he said.
Senoff said he also hopes to expand his campaign and election practice. That work doesn't lend itself to a contingency fee model, and the clients are often constrained by a budget. But that work is also cyclical, he noted, so a small firm can take it on when the need arises, at rates that work for the client.
Reached for comment Friday, Thomas Anapol of Anapol Weiss said the firm wishes Senoff well, and hopes to continue working with him on certain matters.
The new firm will likely not hire any more lawyers in the immediate future, but may do so in a year or so if the appellate practice expands, Senoff said.
He is not a rookie to running a small firm, he noted, as he had his own shop before. But since then, he practiced at Pittsburgh-based Caroselli, Beachler, McTiernan & Coleman, where he was the head of the firm's Philadelphia office, before he moved to Anapol Weiss in 2015.
Senoff said he wanted to get back to running his own firm.
“I think plaintiffs attorneys are almost by definition entrepreneurial at heart,” he said.
|Read More
Montgomery County's Lead Paint Lawsuit Sent Back to State Court
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllReal Property Sale Proceeds Must Be Paid First to Unavoided Portion of IRS Tax Lien
7 minute readPittsburgh's Rothman Gordon Set to Close at End of Month After 70 Years
2 minute readTrending Stories
Who Got The Work
Dechert partners Andrew J. Levander, Angela M. Liu and Neil A. Steiner have stepped in to defend Arbor Realty Trust and certain executives in a pending securities class action. The complaint, filed July 31 in New York Eastern District Court by Levi & Korsinsky, contends that the defendants concealed a 'toxic' mobile home portfolio, vastly overstated collateral in regards to the company's loans and failed to disclose an investigation of the company by the FBI. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, is 1:24-cv-05347, Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Arthur G. Jakoby, Ryan Feeney and Maxim M.L. Nowak from Herrick Feinstein have stepped in to defend Charles Dilluvio and Seacor Capital in a pending securities lawsuit. The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in New York Southern District Court by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses the defendants of using consulting agreements, attorney opinion letters and other mechanisms to skirt regulations limiting stock sales by affiliate companies and allowing the defendants to unlawfully profit from sales of Enzolytics stock. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., is 1:24-cv-07362, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zhabilov et al.
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250