Attorney Profiles

Experience:
Steven Barrett has been practicing in the Litigation Department of the firm since graduating from Temple Law School and is a Partner with the firm. Reflective of the firm’s diversity, Steve’s practice is multi-faceted, spanning complex commercial, land use, real estate, and personal injury litigation. With his significant and notable jury verdicts, Steve enjoys a well-deserved reputation as being a premier trial attorney throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Areas of Concentration:
Transactional Litigation
Steve has represented many corporate and individual clients in a wide array of settings. The following is but a sample of the caliber of Steve's work and results.

Commercial. Continuous representation of corporate clients has made Steve fluent in corporate trade secrets, unfair business practices, commercial financing, and issues involving licenses, copyrights, and trademarks.

• Steve successfully defended a corporate client that was sued by a company claiming that the client stole trade secrets and business away from the company, costing the company in excess of $2.5 Million in lost profits and the value of the company. After the company’s preliminary injunction was denied by the court, the case proceeded to be tried before a twelve person jury. The jury reached a verdict, finding completely in favor of Steve's client.
• Steve represented a developer who had been paying off a 25-year construction loan for twenty years when the client realized that the bank was calculating the total pay-off with a higher interest rate, or $500,000 more than originally agreed. The bank wanted either payment of the $500,000 or additional payments of $5,000 per month for an additional 15 years. Steve brought suit against the bank and, after trial, the court ruled that the bank was wrong with Steve’s clients being relieved to pay any additional money.

Land Use. Steve has extensive experience with Pennsylvania’s Municipalities Planning Code through continual litigation on behalf of and against townships and municipalities.

• In a recent case, Steve represented a developer who had to bring a mandamus action against Skippack Township, located in Montgomery County, for failing to approve the developer’s preliminary plans for a residential project consisting of over 300 units and valued at over five million dollars. Steve was able to prove through extensive discovery that the township had acted in bad faith in denying the developer’s application. After commencement of trial, and upon the insistence of the trial judge who was completely persuaded by Steve’s presentation of evidence, the township settled, agreeing to grant preliminary and final plan approval and to waive certain fees amounting to a savings of $150,000.

Real Estate. Representing many developers and real-estate brokers as both plaintiffs and defendants. Steve has litigated disputes involving listing agreements, agreements of sale, escrow agreements and partnership agreements. With the real estate boom in Philadelphia, Steve represents several Philadelphia developers in forming customized agreements of sale, condominium associations, joint venture agreements, contractor agreements, and financing agreements. Steve is fluent and familiar with neighborhood civic associations and Philadelphia Council in representing his clients’ interests and development plans so as to assist his clients in reaching the final product in the most cost efficient manner.

• In one notable case, Steve represented a nationally recognized builder that sued a sewer authority for the reduction of fees under a Pennsylvania statute that had yet to be interpreted by the courts of PA. Steve brought the first case in PA with interpretation of the statute being of first impression. After trial and exhaustive briefing of the legal issues, the court found in the builder's favor, saving the client hundreds of thousands of dollars. With the success and notoriety of the case, Steve has attracted many developers, challenging the fee schedule of sewer authorities under the same statute. Steve has not lost a single case, recovering millions of dollars on behalf of his clients.
• In Federal Court, Steve successfully defended against a lawsuit claiming ownership of property by reason of adverse possession, which is a doctrine of real estate rarely employed in declaring ownership of property in absence of legal title. After a week-long trial, the federal judge found in favor of Steve’s client.

Personal-Injury Litigation
Although Steve’s practice focuses on transactional litigation, he represents victims of auto and slip-and-fall accidents as well as medical malpractice and asbestos exposure. Steve has successfully tried many complex personal injury cases in Montgomery, Philadelphia, Bucks, Lehigh, Northampton and Delaware counties. Since 2003, Steve obtained settlements and verdicts totaling in excess of Ten Million Dollars.

• In March of 2003, Steve tried a medical malpractice case in Northampton County in which his client was discharged from the emergency room of Lehigh Valley Hospital while demonstrating signs of suffering an imminent heart attack. After trying the case for a week, Steve successfully settled the case for $725,000. Note: as a result of the case being brought, the hospital improved patient care by changing its policy for monitoring emergency room patients.
• On November 13, 2003, Steve obtained a $1.7 Million jury verdict in Philadelphia for the family of a deceased man who died from asbestos-related esophageal cancer.
• On December 18, 2003, Steve obtained a $1.5 Million jury verdict in Philadelphia for the family of a deceased man who died from asbestos-related asbestosis.
• In February, 2005, Steve obtained a $5 Million jury verdict in Philadelphia for a gentleman suffering from asbestosis.

Professional and Civic Activities:

• Montgomery Bar Association: Board of Directors (2001-2003): President, Young Lawyers’ Division (1998); District Coordinator, Statewide Mock Trial Competition (1998-1999); Lecturer, People’s Law School (1997 to present); member (1992 to present)
• Member, Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association (1993 to present)
• Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association (1993 to present)
• Lecturer for Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association
• Board of Directors, Latino Leadership Alliance of Bucks County
• Board of Directors, Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas
• Counsel, Pennsylvania Statewide Latino Coalition
• Contributing columnist to El Sol newspaper

EDUCATION

Steve graduated from the University of Michigan in 1987 and taught English at a private high school before beginning law school. Steve graduated from Temple Law School in 1992.