Steve Lupin is the former Managing Partner of the firm. He was named by the Montgomery County Trial Lawyers as the 2012 James P. Fox “Trial Lawyer of the Year.” Steve is a past President of both the Montgomery Bar Association (2010) and the Montgomery Bar Foundation (2012-2015), where he is a life fellow and member of the Stefan and Taxis circles. A partner with Hamburg Rubin since April 1981, Steve has vast experience in preparing and trying complex, high stakes cases and bet-the-house commercial litigation.

Steve is experienced in almost every aspect of personal injury, business and commercial litigation. With regard to personal injury, he has represented clients in motor vehicle accidents (car, truck and motorcycle), medical malpractice and products cases. In commercial litigation, he has rebuffed the challenge of the constitutionality of the Montgomery County Personal Property Tax Law (the Annenberg case) and has been in the forefront of obtaining a reduction of the equivalent dwelling unit as established by the Montgomery County Sewer Authority.  Steve has represented many condominium associations involved in litigation.

In addition, Steve has teamed effectively with lawyers of prominent national firms, including Arnold & Porter, Schuyler, Roche & Crisham, Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody and Agnello, and others, to prepare commercial and business litigation cases for trial in Federal and State courts. As a result of his many accomplishments, he has been named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers List for the years 2005-2023 and as a Super Lawyer in the Corporate Counsel Edition for the years 2008-2014. Steve has served as President of the Montgomery County Trial Lawyers Association. He is a long-time member of the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (formerly Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association), and for the last seventeen years has authored a regular Commercial Litigation column in the PAJustice News. Steve has been twice appointed a Zone 9 Delegate to the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s House of Delegates. Steve was presented with the Montgomery Bar Association’s Henry Stuckert Miller Public Service Award. Steve is an active member and Past President of the Montgomery American Inn of Court. A graduate of Temple University School of Law (J.D. 1973), Steve received his undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University (B.A. 1970).

Steve is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society whose purpose is to recognize deserving, experienced, and highly qualified lawyers. Membership is limited to 3,500 Fellows, representing less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. Members are selected and invited into Fellowship after being evaluated on effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation and trial work, along with ethical reputation.

Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin has been selected as a “Best Law Firm” for the years 2015-2023 by U.S. News and World Report. Best Lawyers® is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession.

Steve was selected to the 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023 lists as a member of the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel. NADC is an organization dedicated to promoting the highest standards of legal excellence. Its mission is to objectively recognize the attorneys who elevate the standards of the Bar and provide a benchmark for other lawyers to emulate.

    

Representative Cases

  • Successfully represented Montgomery County in the case of Walter H. Annenberg et al. v. Board of Commissioners of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States Supreme Court No. 00-343, in which Walter Annenberg challenged the constitutionality of the Montgomery County Personal Property Tax Law.
  • Successfully represented Montgomery County, Commissioner Mario Mele, Commissioner Jon Fox, Commissioner Joe Hoeffel, and the Northern and Western Waste System Authorities in litigation brought by Waste Management of Pennsylvania, Inc., which resulted in the collection of $5M for the County.
  • Represented many of the Montgomery County developers and was in the forefront of obtaining a reduction of the equivalent dwelling unit (EDU) as established by the Montgomery County Sewer Authority.  (An EDU is a sewer-connecting fee for each home.)
  • Successfully represented a developer in a four-year battle over ownership of a multi-million dollar sewage treatment plant.
  • Successfully represented a client seeking to expand its landfill onto an adjacent 133-acre farm, taking the case and fighting it through the zoning-hearing-board stage, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in which a unanimous Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted relief to Steve’s client.
  • Represented a national electronics communications network in five-year litigation with five separate cases in Florida and Philadelphia regarding a protracted contractual dispute, including securities law.
  • Successfully defeated a national corporation in the OSB antitrust litigation in Federal Court in Philadelphia.

News

Credentials

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania, 1973
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1973
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1979
  • U.S. District court, Middle District of PA, 2021

Education

  • Temple University School of Law (J.D. 1973)
  • Pennsylvania State University (B.A. 1970)

Memberships

  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
    • House of Delegates
  • Montgomery Bar Association
    • Chairman, Task Force on the Judicial System, 2012
    • Past President, 2010
    • Past Vice President, 2008
    • Past Treasurer, 2007
    • Past Secretary, 2006
    • Board of Directors – Executive Committee – 1990-1992, 2005-2009
    • Past Chairman, Insurance Committee
    • Past Chairman, Bench-Bar Committee
    • Past Chairman, Managing Partner Committee
    • Past Co-Chair, Medical-Legal Committee
  • Montgomery Bar Foundation
    • President, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015
    • Chairman, Board of Directors – 2011
  • Pennsylvania Association for Justice (formerly Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association)
    • 2011-2021 Chair of Commercial Litigation Section
    • Member, Board of Governors (4 Terms)
    • Presidential Appointment to Board of Directors
    • Commercial Litigation author, 2006-2021
  • Lawpac Century Club
  • The College of Master Advocates and Barristers
    • Senior Counsel Member
  • Montgomery County Trial Lawyers Association
    • Past President
  • Montgomery American Inn of Court (formerly Desmond J. McTighe American Inn of Court)
    • Past President
    • Barrister
  • Montgomery County Child Advocacy Project
    • Board of Directors Member – 2011-2013, 2018-2021
  • American College of Barristers, Senior Counsel Member
  • The Lansdale Kiwanis, Member and Past President
  • Lupus Foundation of America Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter

Publications & Speeches

  • Winter 2019; Carulli v. North Versailles Township Sanitary Authority – “The discovery rule will not be applied to toll the statute of limitations where the case is premised on a breach of an express written, negotiated contract according to Commonwealth Court.” Published in PA Justice News.
  • Fall 2019; Dominic’s Inc. v. Tony’s Famous Tomato Pie Bar & Restaurant, Inc. – “The requirement of fully complying with all contractual prerequisites to confessing judgment.” Published in PA Justice News.
  • Summer 2019; Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Zumar – “The perpetual restraints on alienation might be unenforceable – and the need for accurate property descriptions and loan documentation.” Published in PA Justice News.
  • Spring 2019; Gray v. PennyMac Corp. – “Frivolous Litigation; Pro se Plaintiffs and the ability to dismiss repetitive and frivolous litigation, Pa. R.C.P. 233.1”  Published in PA Justice News.
  • Winter 2018; Gregory v. Greguras – “Attorney Client Privilege – The courts will not condone the use of the Attorney Client Privilege as a weapon of opportunity.” Published in PA Justice News.
  • Fall 2018; Phelps v. Caperoon – “Whether an ‘as is’ disclaimer in an agreement of sale negated the seller’s duty to provide a sellers’ disclosure statement in accordance with the requirements of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Sellers’ Disclosure Law, 68 Pa. C.S. §7301, et seq. (“RESDL”)” Published in PA Justice News.
  • December 2017; “Banks v. Cooper – Whether a judgment of non pros should be opened and plaintiff permitted their day in court?” Published in PA Justice News.
  • October 2017; “Are In-House Counsel Fees Recoverable Under a Contractual Provision Allowing Lenders’ Recovery of Counsel Fees?” Published in PA Justice News. 
  • October 25, 2017; “Are In-House Counsel Fees Recoverable Under a Contractual Provision Allowing Lenders’ Recovery of Counsel Fees?HRMM&L Legal Spotlight
  • August 2017; “Whether a release could bar claims which had not yet accrued as of the time the release was executed?” Published in PA Justice News. 
  • May 2017; “Funding Litigation Hits a Road  Block” Published in PA Justice News. 
  • December 7, 2016; “A Possible Exception for the At-Will Employee” Published in HRMM&L Legal Spotlight
  • October 2016; “Commercial Litigation: Telwell, Inc. v. Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, LLC” Published in PA Justice News. Notwithstanding the previous dismissal of the plaintiff’s tort claims under the Gist of the Action Doctrine because the case sounds in contract, plaintiff must still establish the contractual relationship in order to sustain its contractual claims.
  • June 2016; “Commercial Litigation – Wakeley v. Brunner – Whether a plaintiff could overcome the presumption of at-will employment, where she specifically executed a “confirmation” as an employee.” Published in PA Justice News. 
  • March 2016; “Commercial Litigation – Creditone, LLC v. Schofield, Discussion of Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1311.1″ Published in PA Justice News.
  • August 2015; “Change of Heart Over Settlement Agreement” published in Western PA Trial Lawyers Association’s The Advocate. Originally published in PA Justice News, the article was reprinted with permission of Steve Lupin and the Pennsylvania Association for Justice.
  • June 2015; “Buyer’s Remorse – Absent Fraud It is Difficult for a Client to Overturn a Settlement” Published in PA Justice News.
  • March 2015; “Whether the Attorney-Client Privilege Survives a Dissolution of a Corporate Client.” Published in PA Justice News.
  • December 2014; “Standing – The Real Party in Interest.” Published in PA Justice News.
  • September 2014; The American Legal System, Continuing Legal Education course, Montgomery County Paralegal Association
  • March 20, 2013; PAJustice News Commercial Case Litigation Case Notes Milliken v. Jacono – The Real Estate Seller Disclosure Act, 68 Pa.C.S.A. §7301-7315 (“RESDL”) holding that an earlier murder/suicide on a property does not constitute a “material defect” requiring disclosure to a buyer under the RESDL. “I didn’t tell them everything I knew . . .” – Million Miles, Bob Dylan
  • Twelve year columnist on Commercial Litigation for publication of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (formerly Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association).
  • Author, Allocating Wrongful Death and Survival Awards, Legal Intelligencer.
  • Lecturer, Allocating Wrongful Death and Survival Awards, Montgomery Bar Association.

Honors & Awards

  • Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America
  • Selected to 2016-2019 and 2021-2023 lists as member of the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel
  • Named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Trial Lawyers Section of the Montgomery Bar Association
  • Presented with the Montgomery Bar Association’s Henry Stuckert Miller Public Service Award
  • Selected to the Lehigh Valley Business Power List for Law 2023
  • Selected for inclusion in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Lawyers in America 2013-2024
  • Named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list 2005-2022. (No more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyers each year.)
  • Named to the Super Lawyers list, Corporate Counsel Edition, 2008-2014
  • Fellow of the Academy of Advocacy, Temple University School of Law

Personal Interests

Steve is an alumnus of Penn State University and is actively financially supporting the Liberal Arts College. The Lupins established the Lupin Family Trustee Scholarship Program at Penn State. Steve is an avid fan of the Philadelphia Phillies and Penn State football and participates regularly in biking and a twice-a-week tennis doubles group. Steve’s wife, Linda, is the owner and operator of The Paper Umbrella, a boutique business which provides invitations and accessories for social events. Steve is the proud father of Ben, who is a Senior Regulatory Advisor at Willis Towers Watson in Philadelphia, and Elyse, who is President of Elysium Marketing Group, LLC.  Steve and Linda are also very proud of their grandchildren, Ari, Max and Henry Lupin, and Gavin and Sydney Chang.