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Honoring the Philadelphia Law Firm of Anapol, Schwartz, Weiss, Cohan, Feldman & Smalley, P.C., as one of the largest law firms in the greater Philadelphia area, primarily representing Plaintiffs in our civil justice system and making it work for all people.
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WHEREAS, The law firm also known as Anapol, Schwartz, owes its current formulation to attorneys Paul Anapol, Richard Schwartz, and Sol Weiss when they began this journey in 1976 and was joined in 1977 by Alan Schwartz. The firm has made a regional, national and international name for itself in a variety of different disciplines, including personal injury, medical negligence, defamation, mass torts, products liability, class actions, drug litigation among other areas of practice; and
WHEREAS, The partners of Anapol, Schwartz are esteemed members of legal organizations such as the American Association for Justice, The International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocacy, the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Bar Association, the Public Justice Foundation, the Civil Justice Foundation, the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Bar Associations, the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Associations, all of which are established to promote the rule of law, the preservation of the civil justice system and the right to trial by jury; and
WHEREAS the members of Anapol, Schwartz have established their pre-eminence in the field of law and created precedent which affords protections to all, including but not limited to
* Breaking new ground in the area of collective bargaining agreement law;
* Reversing existing law by permitting wrongful death and survival actions on behalf of a viable but still-born fetus;
* Settling a class action lawsuit on behalf of small mini-market operators for being supplied defective gasoline, which affected the consumer;
* Initially establishing the right of passengers in trucks operating in inter-state commerce to obtain full compensation for their injuries under Federal law and not be limited by State Workers Compensation statutes;
* Successfully arguing that Health Maintenance Organizations or HMO's cannot seek protection under Federal ERISA laws and therefore are responsible to pay money damages under state laws for negligently preventing or allowing doctors to properly treat patients;
* Representing plaintiffs in an influential case with regard to building codes when an adult tragically died unnecessarily in a fire in a group home. As a result of this tragic accident, building codes were changed in Pennsylvania to prevent such an accident from happening again (i.e., residents locked in a home without access to exit);
* Representing homeowners from Bridesburg who suffered extensive property damage when a chemical manufacturing facility leaked hazardous materials into surrounding homes;
* Representing a child who became catastrophically ill after contracting e-coli at a suburban Philadelphia petting zoo. The case was the impetus for Pennsylvania later mandating that hand washing stations be installed at all public petting zoos;
* Representing hundreds of people seriously injured by the cholesterol lowering drug, Baycol; and
WHEREAS, the partners, attorneys and employees of Anapol, Schwartz believe it is part of their mission to give back to the community that it serves. The partners are involved as Chairmen, Past-Presidents, Board Members and contributors of the following organizations: Bethesda Project, Mothers Organized Against Drunk Driving, Jewish Community Centers of Greater Philadelphia; Board of City Trusts, Girard College, Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation, Race for the Cure, Red Cross, Northern Home for Children, Make a Wish of Philadelphia and Southeast Pennsylvania, just to name a few; and
WHEREAS the proliferation of guns in the City of Philadelphia has caused an unprecedented rise in shootings, injuries and death, Anapol, Schwartz has represented the families of children that have been caught in the cross-fire of shoot-outs and as such they have worked with the national Brady Center, which is a non-profit organization, whose principal focus is to prevent hand gun violence across the country; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby honor and commend the Philadelphia Law Firm of Anapol, Schwartz, Weiss, Cohan, Feldman & Smalley, P.C., as one of the largest law firms in the greater Philadelphia area, primarily representing Plaintiffs in our civil justice system and making it work for all people.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Bernard Smalley, Esquire as a partner of the Philadelphia Law Firm of Anapol, Schwartz, Weiss, Cohan, Feldman & Smalley, P.C, as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
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