Attorney Profiles

Experience:
Edward Rubin heads the Civil Litigation section of Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin. He is board certified as a trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. This certification requires extensive experience in jury trials and one must pass rigorous testing.

He is one of a handful of trial lawyers to receive this honor in Montgomery County. For almost 30 years he has concentrated his practice in the civil-litigation arena, focusing on products-liability litigation, asbestos litigation, medical malpractice, environmental litigation and major personal injury cases.

Ed was voted by Philadelphia Magazine one of Pennsylvania's Super Lawyers in the field of products liability for the past four years. Only 5% of all lawyers in Pennsylvania receive this honor. Ed's entire career has been dedicated to civil litigation. He has tried hundreds of cases in Montgomery, Philadelphia, Lehigh and Bucks Counties and federal courts. His goal is to provide swift, cost-effective solutions to each of his clients.

Areas of Concentration:
Personal Injury Cases
Ed has extensive experience handling all types of personal-injury cases. The most notable case involved a 14-year-old boy rendered a quadriplegic while using a swimming-pool sliding board at a private home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Because the manufacturer of the sliding board was no longer in business, the problem was determining whether or not there was another defendant who was responsible and developing a theory of liability against that defendant.

After extensive investigation and discovery, Ed determined, and the courts agreed, that the most responsible party was the company that supplied the sliding board to the homeowner because that company was the party most knowledgeable about the dangers of swimming-pool sliding boards and because that company did not meet its obligation to warn the homeowners of very well-known risks of serious injury, including paraplegia and quadriplegia, that individuals could suffer if the sliding board was not placed in deep enough water.

The actual trial resulted in the largest verdict ever rendered in a civil case in Montgomery County -- $10.4 million. Ed negotiated a structured settlement which placed the money in a trust to invest the 14-year-old's funds for him in order to make sure that funds would remain available for the rest of his life, on a tax-free basis.

Environmental Litigation
Ed received extensive publicity in national and state environmental publications due to a landmark decision rendered by the Pennsylvania Superior Court and affirmed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The case involved a commercial property in Allentown that had allegedly been polluted as a result of the leak of No. 6 fuel oil from underground storage tanks on a neighboring property.

After extensive geological evaluations by a number of different experts, it was determined that the No. 6 fuel oil traveled through fissures in the bedrock under the soil from the neighboring property to the plaintiffs' property.

Under the environmental laws that existed in Pennsylvania up until this case was started, the only party that had the right to bring a case and rely on a presumption of liability without having to prove negligence was the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources.

Ed was able to convince the Superior Court that private individuals, such as his clients, also had the right to use the environmental laws in the same manner as the Department of Environmental Resources and that it was not necessary to prove negligence, but rather a presumption of liability should apply against a neighboring landowner who had underground storage tanks which contained the same substance as was found on the plaintiffs' property. Further, Ed was able to convince the Superior Court that the plaintiffs were not only entitled to damages but were entitled to attorneys' fees and expert-witness fees, which up until that time had only been awarded to the Department of Environmental Resources.

Because this landmark decision of the Superior Court completely changed the law in Pennsylvania, the defendant received permission to re-argue the case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Again Ed prevailed, and the Supreme Court unanimously found in his favor.

Professional and Civic Activities:
Ed has been very active with Bar Association activities over the years and is presently a member of the Judiciary Committee that passes on the qualifications of prospective judges. He is a frequent speaker and writer for professional groups and has held positions such as:

• Chairman of Montgomery County Bench Bar Committee.
• Member Ad Hoc Committee of the Bench Bar to reform Montgomery County discovery rules.
• Member of Board of Directors of Montgomery Bar Association.
• President of Montgomery Trial Lawyers Association.
• Member of Board of Directors of Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association.
• Chairman of Montgomery County Civil Rules Committee.
• Chairman of Montgomery County Medical-Legal Committee.

He is also very involved in community activities, having held positions such as:

• Chairman of Bucks/Montgomery Division of the United Jewish Appeal.
• Member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Federation Allied Jewish Appeal.
• Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Montgomery County -- He is presently a Big Brother and has been a Big Brother for two young men for over 20 years.
• Member of Board of Directors of North Penn Arts Alliance.
• Chairman of the Board of Valley Center Community Mental Health Clinic.
• Vice President of Lansdale Jaycees.

EDUCATION

Ed received his undergraduate degree from Penn State University and his Juris Doctorate from Villanova University School of Law in 1967.