Archives: Team Members

Background

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Mark joined McEldrew Purtell in 2020 as an attorney in the firm’s national civil rights practice. Mark is an experienced trial attorney who has tried more than 60 cases to verdict in both federal and state courts. His expertise and judgement shine through as trusted counsel for some of the firm’s most high-profile civil rights clients.

Prior to joining the firm Mark worked in the public sector as a civil rights litigator and guided the development of police and prison policies. He also litigated matters arising from personal injury, labor and employment, and land use. At McEldrew Purtell, Mark uses the insight and expertise he developed over his career to represent clients in issues arising from civil rights violations, disability discrimination, medical malpractice, FELA, and serious personal injury matters.

Mark is a faculty member at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and a nationally recognized presenter in the area of civil rights litigation. Mark is a graduate of Salisbury University and Temple University’s Beasley School of Law.

Background

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Danielle Duffy is a dedicated advocate and seasoned trial attorney whose entire career has been devoted to compassionately helping people in need. Ms. Duffy approaches each case with meticulous attention to detail and an unwavering dedication to fight for victims of corporate, medical, and individual negligence and recklessness whose lives have been terribly and forever altered. She regularly litigates complex and catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases.

Danielle is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law where she was a staff editor on the Temple Law review, was the Barrister’s Award Winner for trial advocacy, a student counselor, and part of the law school student government. She did all of this while working full-time and starting her family. Before law school, Danielle obtained her Master’s degree in Social Work from Temple University School of Social Administration.

Danielle is comfortable and confident taking cases to trial, when necessary. In the past, she has appeared on the front page of the prestigious Legal Intelligencer newspaper for her successes in trial. Danielle was nominated by her peers and selected as a Super Lawyer’s Rising Star and a Super Lawyer since 2015. These are accolades reserved for less than five percent of practicing attorneys.

Danielle is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Delaware County Bar Association. She is also a member of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyer’s association where she is a staff editor and writer for the PTLA legal publication to which other Philadelphia lawyers subscribe. Danielle is also an active member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice. Danielle is also a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Women in the Profession Committee. She is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania.

Danielle is proud to be on the Board of Directors for the Interboro Pirates Wrestling club which was founded in 1993. The Pirates is a community organization for youth ages 5-13 which teaches kids not only about the sport of wrestling but about commitment, resiliency, and dedication – all skills which Danielle utilizes every day to support the clients of McEldrew Purtell.

Background

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Colin is a seasoned trial attorney with a record of success in high-profile cases. He leverages his experience for the McEldrew Purtell team in the fight to secure your and your family’s future well-being.

Prior to joining our firm, Colin managed the School District of Philadelphia’s high-volume litigation practice overseeing practice areas including premises liability, motor vehicle accidents, civil rights matters, and complex commercial disputes. Before that, he worked as litigation counsel for the Pennsylvania Judiciary. He began his legal career as an intern and then attorney at the City of Philadelphia Law Department. Colin received both his undergraduate and law degrees from Temple University.

Colin lives in Glenside, PA with his wife and family. He is an active member of his local soccer league as a coach and player. When he isn’t fighting for your fair compensation or chasing his kids around, you can usually find him working on carpentry projects in the garage.

Background

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John has spent more than a decade as a trial-lawyer. At McEldrew Purtell, he utilizes his vast experience to represent families and individuals who are dealing with the fallout from catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths. He has a wide range of experience working with cases involving civil rights violations, trucking accidents, railroad injuries, medical malpractice, and other serious personal injury matters. In his time at the firm, John’s work has led to more than $85 million in recoveries for his clients. John’s reputation as a top-level trial attorney has led to him being highly sought after by clients to handle high-profile cases nationwide, including in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, California, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, and Florida.

Prior to joining the firm, John served as Assistant General Counsel for the Philadelphia School District, and Deputy City Solicitor at the Philadelphia Law Department. In those roles, John handled some of the city’s most high-stakes litigation. He previously worked for two federal judges – the Honorable Mitchell S. Goldberg and the Honorable R. Barclay Surrick – in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as the Honorable George A. Pagano in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas. In addition to his active practice, John has served as adjunct faculty at his alma mater, Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, teaching a class entitled “Strategic Considerations in Civil Rights Litigation.”

John’s work has been honored by his peers and the public alike. He has been consistently named as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers. His other recognitions include The Legal Intelligencer’s list of Lawyers on the Fast Track, “Who’s Next: Law” list, and he was recognized by the Philadelphia Bar Association with the F. Sean Peretta Service Award for his community service efforts.

John was a former varsity baseball player at Temple. He now lives in the Graduate Hospital area of Philadelphia. In his free time, he enjoys surfing, golfing, and sailing.

Background

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Dan Purtell is a trial attorney who has dedicated his career to defending victims of corporate wrongdoing, negligence and abuse.

Dan has tried more than 25 cases to verdict with over 100 additional cases resolving at mediation or arbitration. He has extensive experience litigating cases involving catastrophic injury and wrongful death, including cases resulting from pharmaceutical, medical and nursing home negligence, FELA violations, automobile accidents, trucking accidents, construction accidents and premises liability.

Dan was born and raised in the Philadelphia area and attended LaSalle College High School. After graduating from Temple University, he decided to become a trial attorney because of his experiences watching loved ones deal with injuries caused by others. Dan saw insurance companies, medical providers and corporations put their profits ahead of his family’s well-being. He has dedicated his legal career to fighting this injustice on behalf of his clients.

Dan is a graduate of Temple University – Beasley School of Law where he was a member of Temple’s nationally recognized Trial Advocacy Program. He is currently a member of the Pennsylvania Bar. Additionally, Dan is very active in the local and national legal community, with active memberships in The Temple Inn of Court, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association (PTLA), PTLA Future Leaders, Pennsylvania Association of Justice (PAJ), PAJ Board of Governors and America Association of Justice (AAJ). Dan’s efforts and abilities have been acknowledged by his National Trial Lawyers Top 40 under 40 and Super Lawyers Future Leaders designations.

Background

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Jim has been an attorney in Philadelphia for over 35 years. He has dedicated his life to advocate for victims of medical malpractice, railroad accidents, corporate greed, and nursing home abuse.

Since 1982, Jim has been actively involved, not only as a nationally renowned trial attorney, but as a community leader and a representative of several trial lawyer organizations at the national and state level.

Jim was appointed in 1995 as the national counsel for the Transport Workers Union (TWU) designated attorneys for the FELA program. He is also designated counsel for the railroad division for the International Brothers of Electrical Workers (IBEW). As a trial attorney and friend of labor, Jim has been involved in many railroad and labor arbitrations, contract disputes and negotiations, and has made safety on the railroad a major priority. He is a nationally renowned railroad expert, having appeared on television and radio to discuss train accidents.

Jim’s integrity, hard work and dedication have led his peers to elect him as President of the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys from 1995-1996, President of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association in 2005-2006, and a member of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Board of Directors from 2005-2007. Jim been recognized by the Support Center of Child Advocates and Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP).

He has countless victories in a wide variety of areas in law. A small sampling of Jim’s successes include a verdict of $13.3 million for twins who were born premature at 26 weeks with chorioamnionitis, a $7 million settlement for a 46-year-old man who suffered aortic artery damage during a spinal surgery, a $4.5 million for a railroad conductor who suffered electrical shock, a $4.25 million settlement was obtained for a college freshman who fell from a climbing wall during a student orientation activity, and a $1.9 million verdict in an FELA case for a 61-year-old injured car repair man who slipped and fell on snow and ice while reporting to work.

Another noteworthy case involved a police officer in Bucks County who lost his leg when a drunk driver trapped him against his police vehicle. During the litigation, Jim pursued cases against the plaintiffs uninsured motorists (UIM) carrier, the tortfeasor policy, and a dram shop case against the bar that served the individual who hit the police officer. In addition, he brought cases against the employers’ insurance carriers’ agent for fraud for trying to change the forms on the UIM coverage. A verdict and a settlement of $1 million against the employers’ insurance agent was also obtained. When the dust settled, Jim obtained nearly $7 million from eight different entities in litigation that spanned over a course 8 years.

Jim was also recently co-counsel on a qui tam case against Valeant Pharmaceuticals alleging numerous off-label marketing violations and kickback schemes that settled for $54 million.

He is AV Rated with Martindale Hubbell — the highest possible rating. Jim has a 10 out of 10 rating with AVVO. He has also been named a Super Lawyer since its inception in 2001 and has been named a national Top 500 Trial Lawyer with Lawdragon 500.

A Philadelphia resident, Jim has been married for 33 years and has four children: Caitlin, Kelly, Jim, and Michael. In his spare time, Jim enjoys fishing, scuba diving, karate, jiu jitsu, and boxing.