In 1991, four partners, three associates and three assistants left America’s oldest law firm to start a new litigation firm in Center City Philadelphia. These attorneys believed that they could improve on the way lawyers of that era traditionally delivered legal services to their clients. Focusing on the then-novel idea of delivering both the highest level of competencies along with real financial value to their clients, the firm became well-established rather quickly, while their message and their method caught on. Today, that firm is the multi-disciplined, multi-office, multi-state Weber Gallagher.
The firm more than doubled its size in the first year, completing 1992 with 16 attorneys after starting with only seven. Dynamic and entrepreneurial, with the highest level of legal scholarship, these men and women committed themselves to resolving their clients legal issues, whether by trial or other methods, thereby ensuring the success and ultimately, the longevity of the newly opened practice. Through their perseverance, and without stinting on the long hours necessary for success, the firm rapidly amassed a base of over 1,500 matters for their clients. Unusually, but for the right reasons, the firm has kept to its core beliefs and service delivery models, allowing it to expand over the next 25 years.
Weber Gallagher has continued to diversify its practice in a variety of disciplines and locations, usually driven by specific request of the firm’s clients. Aside from its well-regarded core practices that include workers’ compensation and general liability, for about half of our history we have also served clients’ needs in these areas as well: employment defense, insurance, environmental defense, commercial transportation defense, medical malpractice defense, life care planning litigation and family law. The firm has also expanded its geographic breadth with 11 offices located throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Illinois, and Florida covering 17 practice areas in total.
Respecting the importance of a solid business platform, the firm has successfully managed its diversification and growth for over 25 years, avoiding the pitfalls that have limited or undermined many firms caught in the financial upheavals of the last decade. In fact, following the 2007 economic recession, which presented the greatest challenges to law practices since the depression, our firm continued to grow. We had no layoffs, we continued our summer associate and attorney recruitment programs, we opened new offices, we added new clients and we added lateral attorneys. Being in the fortunate position to deliver what clients were looking for, 2007 onward was, for Weber Gallagher, a period of exposure to new clients and high-quality attorneys who, like their predecessors at the firm, found a compelling environment that met their needs. Indeed, the firm increased its size by nearly 50 percent since 2007.
Many of the attorneys who started Weber Gallagher and fueled its success 26 years ago are the same individuals who lead the firm and represent our clients today. While some of the founders have retired, many more attorneys have joined the original group. Though it may have been difficult to imagine at the time of its humble beginnings, the firm has grown to be a nationally recognized leader in the legal industry and has received accolades from organizations such as U.S. News & World Report, Best Lawyers and other organizations. As a sign of further recognition, our attorneys are invited to join peer-review membership organizations that typically open themselves only to the smallest numbers of the most skilled practitioners. For over 25 years our top priority has been serving our clients’ needs and we remain steadfast in that focus today. But while doing this, we recognize the inevitable need for modernization, change, and overhead control. At the same time, we strive for inventive and imaginative strategies to improve our clients’ metrics and meet their legal needs. Adhering to these values, Weber Gallagher’s core philosophy remains the same as at our founding.
We thank our clients for their support of our firm. We have been honored to serve you for over 25 years and look forward to continuing these services in the decades to come.