Rawle & Henderson LLP

Rawle & Henderson LLP is a Mid-Atlantic regional law firm of more than 120 attorneys engaged in a civil litigation and a defense trial practice. Founded as the Rawle Law Offices in 1783, the firm has been recognized by the American Bar Association

American Bar Association

The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...

 as the oldest law firm in continuous practice in the United States.

History

Rawle & Henderson LLP, the oldest law practice in the United States, was founded by William Rawle

William Rawle

William Rawle was an American lawyer in Philadelphia, who in 1791 was appointed as United States district attorney in Pennsylvania...

 in Philadelphia in 1783 [1]. Rawle was a grandson of Francis Rawle, Jr., a Quaker merchant, economist, author and lawyer, who emigrated from Plymouth, England to the Province of Pennsylvania

Province of Pennsylvania

The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as Pennsylvania Colony, was founded in British America by William Penn on March 4, 1681 as dictated in a royal charter granted by King Charles II...

 in 1686.

William Rawle studied law at Middle Temple

Middle Temple

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...

, London in 1781, and returned to Philadelphia to open the Rawle Law Offices on September 15, 1783. He quickly took his place among Philadelphia's legal elite, managing a successful law practice and participating in the formation of the new republic. Rawle's reputation as a lawyer vaulted him into the position of delegate to the Pennsylvania Constitutional Assembly of 1789. His public service continued when he accepted President Washington's

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 request to become the first U.S. Attorney for the District of Pennsylvania. As U.S. Attorney, Rawle was instrumental in suppressing the Whiskey Rebellion

Whiskey Rebellion

The Whiskey Rebellion, or Whiskey Insurrection, was a tax protest in the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. Farmers who sold their corn in the form of whiskey had to pay a new tax which they strongly resented...

 in Western Pennsylvania and prosecuting the leaders of the insurrection. In 1792, Washington offered Rawle the position of federal judge for the new Pennsylvania district. When Rawle declined that post, Washington offered the position of U.S. Attorney General, which Rawle also declined, choosing instead to maintain his thriving private law practice and to serve existing client and organizations in various positions of leadership.

Rawle became the first chancellor of the newly-founded Philadelphia Bar Association in 1822, and remained in that position until his death. Rawle was a member of the American Philosophical Society

American Philosophical Society

The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...

, a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

, president of the local anti-slavery society, and founder and president of the Pennsylvania Historical Society.

William Rawle, Jr. joined his father's practice in 1813. To meet the growing need for official published reports of Pennsylvania decisions, William Rawle, Jr. spent some of his time away from the practice of law to co-edit, along with Thomas Sergeant, the Sergeant and Rawle Reports, beginning in 1814. William Rawle, Jr. also served as president of the Pennsylvania Historical Society and was elected in 1835 to the first of five terms as a member of the Philadelphia Common Council, over which he presided from 1836 to 1840.

William Henry Rawle joined the Rawle Law Offices in 1844. He became well known as a trial lawyer in high profile and constitutional cases. Examples include the Registry Act cases, the Public Slaughterhouse cases and the Burd Orphan Asylum case. William Henry Rawle was a member of the Philadelphia Board of City Trusts and represented the Philadelphia Centennial Commission in the United States Supreme Court. He published well-known and definitive texts, including the practical treatise on the law of covenants for title and the American Edition of Smith's "Law of Contracts." Noted as an eloquent public speaker, William Henry Rawle was honored to deliver the address to both Houses of Congress for the unveiling of the statue of Chief Justice Marshall

John Marshall

John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...

 in Washington.

During this period, many future distinguished members of the bench and bar trained as lawyers in the Rawle Law Offices before embarking on their legal careers. One, the Honorable Joseph Hopkinson

Joseph Hopkinson

Joseph Hopkinson was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, and later a United States federal judge.-Early life, education, and career:...

, served as counsel to Samuel Chase

Samuel Chase

Samuel Chase was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and earlier was a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland. Early in life, Chase was a "firebrand" states-righter and revolutionary...

, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, in his impeachment trial before the United States Senate. Judge Hopkinson was also asked by Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster

Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...

 to serve as co-counsel in the famous Dartmouth College case. A member of the House of Representatives from 1815 to 1819, Judge Hopkinson was appointed by President Adams

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...

 to the United States District Court. Another alumnus of the Rawle offices was George Tucker Bispham, Professor of Civil Procedure, Evidence and Equity and Dean of the Faculty at the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania. Bispham also authored an authoritative text entitled "The Principles of Equity," and later served as solicitor of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Yet another Rawle alumnus, David Paul Brown, was well known as a great criminal lawyer, forensic orator and playwright in his spare time.

In 1878, Francis Rawle, the next leader of the Rawle law offices, was one of the founders of the American Bar Association

American Bar Association

The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...

, and its first secretary and treasurer. In 1902, Francis Rawle became the American Bar Association's president. A prolific author, Francis Rawle gained national recognition with his revision of Bouvier's Law Dictionary

Bouvier's Law Dictionary

Bouvier's Law Dictionary is a book with a long tradition in the United States legal community. The first edition was written by John Bouvier.John Bouvier was born in Codogno, France, but came to the United States at an early age. He became a U.S. citizen in 1812, was admitted to the bar in 1818,...

, the publication of which coincided with the centennial of the firm in 1883.

The first non-Rawle family member of the firm, Joseph Henderson

Joseph Welles Henderson

Joseph Welles Henderson , born in Montgomery, Pennsylvania, was acting president of Bucknell University from 1953–54.-Education:Henderson received his A.B...

, joined the firm in the summer of 1913, and became partner in 1917. In the 1920s, Mr. Henderson expanded the admiralty practice of the firm, a practice that the firm continues to this day. Henderson became the president of the American Bar Association in 1943 and served on the Board of Philadelphia City Trusts.

Present Day

Rawle & Henderson serves the Mid-Atlantic legal community. The firm has over 120 litigation and trial attorneys who are prepared to meet the changing needs of the new millennium. With offices in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg), New Jersey (Marlton), New York (New York City), Delaware (Wilmington) and West Virginia (Wheeling), Rawle & Henderson provides representation in litigation matters in diverse areas of the law, including aviation, product liability, insurance coverage, commercial motor vehicle defense, general casualty, health care and professional malpractice, employment law, commercial litigation and transactions, admiralty and workers' compensation. The firm's cases range from relatively small matters handled by a single attorney to complex litigation handled by the resources of a team of attorneys.

Practice Areas

Appellate: Rawle & Henderson handles appeals at all levels of the state and federal courts throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. This includes cases that Rawle & Henderson initially defended at trial as well as matters referred to the firm specifically to handle the appeal.

Aviation: The firm has represented pilots, flight instructors, fixed base and air taxi operators and airlines since the 1940s. Several attorneys on this practice team bring added perspective as certified pilots.

Architects & Engineers: For more than 25 years, the firm has represented client interests in all aspects of architectural and engineering malpractice defense, including litigation involving contract, tort, and breach of warranty issues.

Bankruptcy & Business Finance: Rawle & Henderson provides services to trustees, receivers, creditors, committees, asset purchasers, lenders, lessors, licensors and shareholders in bankruptcy and other insolvency proceedings, such as Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 federal bankruptcy cases and state court receiverships.

Casualty and Premises Liability: The firm represents local and national operators of retail stores, such as supermarkets, department stores, and convenience stores; common carriers and public transportation operators; motor vehicle owners and drivers; restaurants and fast food chains; municipalities; public sporting facilities; oil companies and gasoline station operators; schools; stadiums; hospitals and nursing homes; and the owners or operators of every type of facility where people conduct their lives.

Commercial Litigation and Transactions: Rawle & Henderson assists clients in complex business litigation involving contractual disputes, restrictive covenants, fiduciary duties, corporate collections, mortgages, and personal guarantees for large and small businesses. The firm's transactional practice includes negotiating and drafting multi-million dollar joint ventures, employment agreements, vendor transactions and government contracts. The firm's clients include profit and non-profit organizations, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and sole proprietorships.

Commercial Motor Vehicle: The firm defends commercial motor vehicles and their insurers in accident litigation, insurance coverage disputes and freight claims. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Group publishes a monthly newsletter, the Transportation Law Update, which provides timely articles on new trends in the law and the potential impact of these developments on litigation concerning the industry. In addition, State Law Summaries for Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware have been prepared which outline significant laws that affect commercial motor vehicles operating in those jurisdictions.

Construction: The firm defends both personal injury and property damage claims arising out of the construction process. The firm provides comprehensive defense of owners, developers, trade contractors, construction managers, architects and design and engineering professionals.

Employment Relations: Rawle & Henderson provides legal support for all aspects of employment-related matters, from counseling human resources personnel to defending employers in litigation including, but not limited to, claims involving employment discrimination based on race, age, gender, and disability, as well as claims involving sexual harassment. Attorneys have defended clients from claims based on violations of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Environmental: The firm's multidisciplinary team includes attorneys with experience in scientific, medical, epidemiological, hazardous waste and environmental areas, exposure cases and class actions. The firm handles complex and cutting-edge environmental mass and toxic tort claims.

Insurance Coverage: The firm’s attorneys have extensive experience representing insurers in coverage disputes, preparing coverage opinions and, if necessary, litigating declaratory judgment actions to determine the rights and obligations of the parties with respect to various types of insurance policies.

Maritime: From the firm's founding in the port city of Philadelphia, Rawle & Henderson has had an active admiralty and maritime practice. This practice group represents shipowners and operators throughout the Mid-Atlantic region in every type of casualty, litigation and transaction including vessel finance and maritime bankruptcies. The firm's maritime clients include both domestic and foreign shipowners and operators, terminal operators, intermodal logistics providers, pilots, multi-national offshore drilling companies, and marine underwriters, as well as a variety of local maritime interests, including pier owners, ship repairers, stevedoring companies, steamship agents, and ship suppliers.

Medical Professional Liability: For over 20 years, the firm has represented and defended health care providers confronted with claims of personal injury resulting from alleged medical malpractice. These matters have spanned all of the health care professions, including hospitals, physicians, dentists and nurses.

Product Liability: This practice group includes some of the area's best trial attorneys. A number of the attorneys in this group are routinely called in by clients at the 11th hour to take over and try catastrophic injury cases involving various products such as amusement rides, bicycles, vehicles, trailers, tires and rims, power tools, chemicals, electric blankets, household appliances, presses and other industrial machinery, firearms, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and medical devices.

Professional Liability: Rawle & Henderson represents professionals from all areas of practice. The firm has represented professionals in a variety of civil actions and licensing proceedings. Rawle & Henderson actively defends attorneys and law firms in professional legal malpractice actions, and has represented accountants and mortgage bankers. The firm has been involved in director and officer liability cases as well as defending professional clients charged with violations of the civil RICO laws.

Sports and Entertainment: Rawle & Henderson assists athletes and entertainers in negotiating player or talent contracts, as well as endorsement, licensing, and appearance agreements.

Toxic Tort: The firm's attorneys are experienced in the defense and litigation of claims related to toxic exposures.

Workers' Compensation: The firm represents many self-insured Fortune 500 companies, insurance carriers, and government agencies at every level of adjudication and appeal, in the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.

Offices

Rawle & Henderson attorneys [2] serve clients from seven offices located throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. In addition to its main office located in Philadelphia (1339 Chestnut St., One South Penn Square, the Widener Bldg., 16th Fl., Philadelphia, PA 19107; 215-575-4200) [3], the firm has other Pennsylvania offices in Pittsburgh (The Henry W. Oliver Bldg., 535 Smithfield St., Ste. 1000, Pittsburgh, PA 15222; 412-261-5700) [4] and Harrisburg (240 N. Third St., Payne Shoemaker Bldg., 9th Fl., Harrisburg, PA 17101; 717-234-7700) [5]. Rawle & Henderson also has offices in New Jersey (40 Lake Center Executive Park, Ste. 200, 401 Route 73 North, Marlton, NJ 08053; 856-596-4800) [6], New York (14 Wall Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10005; 212-323-7070) [7], Delaware (300 Delaware Ave., Ste. 1015, Wilmington, DE 19801; 302-778-1200) [8] and West Virginia (The Board of Trade Building, 80 - 12th Street, Ste. 600, Wheeling, WV 26003-3271; 304-232-1203) [9].

Publications, Articles and Case Law Summaries

Rawle & Henderson attorneys provide clients with updates on the latest legal issues through a series of client newsletters, including Rawle's Report [10] and Transportation Law Update [11].

The firm's attorneys also prepare articles [12] and case law summaries [13] on specific topics for independent publications.

External links

Firm Website http://www.rawle.com

Firm Overview http://www.rawle.com/About_Main.asp

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/rawle-&-henderson

Historical Society of Pennsylvania http://discover.hsp.org/Web/Search?lookfor=rawle+%26+Henderson