Throughout his over 25-year legal career, has worked with regional and national clients on a broad spectrum of business and litigation matters encompassing a wide range of commercial disputes, condominium matters, insurance coverage and bad faith claims, real estate, construction, products liability, non-competes, trucking cases, among others. He is also active as a mediator for a wide range of matters. Practice Groups Alternative Dispute Resolution Commercial Litigation/Business Disputes Consumer Lending Insurance Insurance Coverage and Bad Faith Real Estate Trucking Education J.D., University of Maryland School of Law, 1987 With Honors B.A. Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania, 1980 Good Shephard Mediation Program, Mediation Training, 2012 NASD, Arbitrator Training, 2007 Bar Admissions Pennsylvania New Jersey United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Memberships American College of Business Court Judges Judge Pro Tempore, Lee has also been a Judge Pro Tem with Philadelphia's Commerce Court since 2006, and has expanded his practice to include service as a mediator and arbitrator. Lee has practiced at the trial level in state and federal courts, and he has extensive experience in private commercial arbitration. His work also includes appellate practice before Pennsylvania and New Jersey s Supreme Courts and intermediate appellate courts, and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He is widely published on a number of legal topics, including the critical relationship between lawyers and their clients. Lee is locally and nationally recognized as one of the leaders in promoting the development of specialized business courts in the United States, and is among only a handful of lawyers honored as a charter member of the American College of Business Court Judges. Experience Represented a Condominium Association Board before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, successfully arguing that the board s decision should be governed by the Business Judgment Rule. The board s decision on the allocation of parking spaces had been set aside by the intermediate appellate court. On appeal, Lee successfully argued that the board s decision should be subject to the Business Judgment Rule, respecting the board s function in decision making. As a mediator, Lee has successfully mediated matters to resolution involving real estate disputes, sales of businesses, internal business disputes, breach of contract claims, accounting malpractice, insurance coverage, and tortious inference claims. Represented an insurance carrier in Philadelphia s Commerce Court in obtaining a judgment that an employee of
Judge Pro Tempore, Commerce Case Management Program American Bar Association, Judges Initiative Committee, Co-Chair (2014-2017) University of Maryland School of Law s Journal of Business and Technology Law, advisor American Bar Association Subcommittee on Business Courts, co-chair (2007-2010) Subcommittee on Business Courts, vice-chair (2004-2007) Philadelphia Bar Association Commerce Case Management Program Opinion Project, coordinator Board of Governors, member (2010) Business Law Section, chair (2010) Business Law Section, treasurer (2008) Business Litigation Committee of Business Law Section, chair (2005 and 2006) contractors exclusion precluded coverage in that case. Represented an employer in a private industry arbitration that went on over the course of a year and was successful in defeating the employee s wrongful termination and lost income claims. The employee argued that he was owed compensation based upon a securities trading formula, and the employer denied applicability of that formula. The industry arbitration panel ruled that no compensation was due. Represented an insurance carrier in Philadelphia s Commerce Court and succeeded in obtaining a judgment on the pleadings that there was no duty to defend or indemnify in the underlying action. The insured issued a policy to a business that was sued by a third party. Represented a state banking department in connection with the extent of a seized bank s liability for taking funds to repay a loan from the account-holding business, which funds were found due to a superior secured creditor. Lee successfully argued to the trial judge that the judgment should be nearly one half million dollars less than the sum claimed by the secured creditor. Represented clients in bankruptcy court in connection with preventing the discharge of debts. Lee was successful at trial in persuading the court that the debtors had incurred debts from the clients through fraudulent conduct and thus that these debts should not be discharged. Represented condominium unit owners in a construction dispute with a developer and contractor. On the developer s motion, the Court of Common Pleas ordered the case into an arbitration forum, which the unit owners believed would be a limited and unfavorable venue. Lee successfully argued before the Superior Court of Pennsylvania that the Court of Common Pleas erred, and the Superior Court reversed the lower court and allowed the matter to proceed in court, rather than in the disfavored arbitration forum. Selected Publications PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT PERMITS FAIR AND REASONABLE SETTLEMENTS BY INSUREDS IN CASES DEFENDED UNDER A RESERVATION OF RIGHTS, WHERE COVERAGE IS DUE AND INSURER REFUSES TO SETTLE, July 29, 2015 IMPORTANT APPELLATE DECISIONS ON EMPLOYERS EXCLUSION AND RESERVATION OF RIGHTS LETTERS, June
2, 2015 COMPLETE OPERATIONS--LOADING AND UNLOADING: WHEN IS THE BEGINNING THE BEGINNING?, December 18, 2013 Firm Attorneys Co-Author Chapter 69 Truckers' and Motor Carriers' Commercial Vehicle Insurance for the 2012 Edition of New Appleman on Insurance Law, October 4, 2012 Applebaum Authors Chapter for National Center for State Courts, July 7, 2011 "Getting to Yes in Specialized Business Courts: The Unique Role of ADR in Business Court Cases.", Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal, March 29, 2011 What Shall We Do With a Disingenuous Lawyer?, The Legal Intelligencer, August 5, 1998 What it Means to the Profession When Attorneys Call Each Other Disingenuous, The Legal Intelligencer, May 27, 1998 A Matter of Privileges: In-House Attorney-Client and Work Product Claims Face Challenges, Corporate Counsel, A Supplement to The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly, November 2001 Use of Fraud Claims in Contract Settings Marginalized by State and Federal Courts, Civil Litigation Update, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Spring 2003 The Role of Breaches of Fiduciary Duty in RICO Claims Based on Wire and Mail Fraud, Business Torts Journal, American Bar Association, Fall 2003 Is There a Good Faith Claim for the RICO Enterprise Plaintiff?, 27 Delaware Journal of Corporate Law 519, 2002 Having More Judicial Opinions Can Improve Practice, The Legal Intelligencer, January 22, 2002 Common Sense Remains the Basic Guide in Electronic Discovery, The Business Law Report, The Newsletter of the Business Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, Vol. 10, No. 2, Fall 2004 State Court Are You Kidding Me?, July 21, 2010 The Commerce Court's First Decade, The Philadelphia Lawyer, Spring 2009 The Tension between Punitive Damages Law and the Justice of Juries, A Supplement to The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly, July 14, 2008 The New Business Courts, Business Law Today, March/April
2008 Commerce Court ADR Procedure Suited to Business Court, The Legal Intelligencer, February 7, 2006 Recent Developments and Trends in Pennsylvania Insurance Bad Faith Litigation, July 2005 A History of the Creation and Jurisdiction of Business Courts, The Business Lawyer, November 2004 Developments and Trends in Bad Faith Litigation, National Business Institute, February 2008 Commerce Case Management Program Decisions: Restrictive Covenants and Non-Compete Agreements, Handling Business Litigation in the Philadelphia Commerce Case Management Program, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2007 Decisions in the Commerce Case Management Program, Handling Business Litigation in the Philadelphia Commerce Case Management Program, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2006 When Lawyers Switch Firms During Litigation: Can an Ethical Wall Prevent Firm Disqualification?, Young Lawyers Guide to Defense Practice, Defense Research Institute, 2006 Evaluating Gut Instincts Wisely, The Legal Intelligencer, February 8, 2001 Good Lawyering is Not a Magic Trick, The Legal Intelligencer, November 5, 1999 To Thine Own Self and Your Clients Be True, The Pennsylvania Lawyer Magazine, May/June1999 What Lawyers can Learn from Aesop s Fables, The Legal Intelligencer, March 29, 1999 Communication Between Lawyers and Judges: Building Bridges to Strengthen the Process, The Legal Intelligencer, October 21, 1998 Ethical Issues for Lawyers Engaged by Insurance Carriers to Represent those Carriers Insureds, National Business Institute, September 2005 Third Circuit Sends Message to Stop Securities Law Claims Under Pennsylvania Consumer Protection Law, The Pennsylvania Law Weekly, May 4, 1998 Lawyers: Make Your Client Your Litigation Partner, The Legal Intelligencer, December 10, 1997 Predispute Arbitration Agreements Between Brokers and Investors: The Extension of Wilko to Section 10(b) Claims, 46
Maryland Law Review 339 (1987), Cited and quoted in a United State Supreme Court Opinion, Commerce Case Management Program Decisions: Piercing the Corporate Veil, Handling Business Litigation in the Philadelphia Commerce Case Management Program, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2007 Commerce Case Management Program Decisions: Fiduciary Duty Cases, Handling Business Litigation in the Philadelphia Commerce Case Management Program, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2007 Commerce Case Management Program Decisions: Gist of the Action Doctrine, Handling Business Litigation in the Philadelphia Commerce Case Management Program, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2007 Solomon and the Baby: Lessons in Mediation, Trade Secrets and Agreements Not to Compete, Chapter on New Jersey Non-Compete Agreements in national compendium published by the Defense Research Institute, 2008 and 2012 The 21st Century Interrogatory, Pretrial Practice and Discovery Committee Newsletter, American Bar Association, Summer 1999 Chapter 5 - Business Courts, Annual Review of Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation, ABA Committee on Business and Corporate Litigation, 2004-2013 Selected Presentations/Seminars "Advice of Counsel Discovery in Bad Faith Cases, written materials for the seminar Discovery in Bad Faith Claims Strategies, Common Disputes, and Emerging Issues" December 1, 2012 Business Courts: What Works Best and Why?, Business Bar Leaders Conference, American Bar Association Committee on State and Local Bar Relations, Chicago, Illinois, May 13, 2009 and May 12, 2010 Business Courts Around the World, Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association Section of Business Law, co-chair, Vancouver, April 17, 2009 American College of Business Court Judges, Brookings Institute 2005-2007, Searle Center, Northwestern University, 2008 ADR in Business Courts What Works Best?, Conference of
Chief Justices Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, University of Delaware, October 2008 Annual Developments in Business and Corporate Litigation, sponsored by the Committee on Business and Corporate Litigation, Spring Meeting of the ABA Section of Business Law Dallas, Texas, April 10, 2008 Addressed a Nevada Legislative Committee studying business courts, March 2008 Insurance Coverage Litigation, National Business Institute, February 2008 Handling Business Litigation in the Philadelphia Commerce Case Management Program, Pennsylvania Bar Institute and Philadelphia Bar Association, December 2007 Business and Corporate Litigation Committee Forum: An Introduction to Business Courts and Complex Litigation Courts - What Works Best and Why, program co-chair, Annual Meeting of American Bar Association s Section of Business Law, San Francisco, California, August 13, 2007 An Introduction to Business Courts, Institute for the Young Business Lawyer, Spring Meeting of American Bar Association s Section of Business Law, Washington, D.C., March 2007 Addressed South Carolina Supreme Court Task Force on creating a business court in South Carolina, 2007 Specialized and Improved ADR Procedures in the Commerce Program, Philadelphia Bar Association s Bench-Bar Conference, September 30, 2006 Jerry Maguire (Show Me the Money) - Considerations in Drafting and Enforcing Employee Non-Compete Agreements: Perspectives from the Bench and Bar, co-course planner, Philadelphia Bar Association s Bench-Bar Conference, Pennsylvania Bar Institute and Philadelphia Bar Association, September 30, 2006 Handling Business Litigation in the Philadelphia Commerce Case Management Program, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, June 2006 Practical Views on Litigation and Trial Practice from the Judges Perspective, moderator, Philadelphia Bar Association, March 2006 Practical Views on Experts from the Judges Perspective, course planner, Philadelphia Bar Association, November 2005
Practical Views on Experts from the Judges Perspective, course planner, Philadelphia Bar Association, November 2005 Current Issues Impacting Insurance Defense Practice, speaking on (1) Insurance Bad Faith and (2) Ethical Issues for Defense Counsel under Amended Rules of Professional Conduct, National Business Institute, September 2005 Practice in the Commerce Case Management Program from the Judges Perspective, moderator, Philadelphia Bar Association, May 2005 RICO Basics: Views from the Bench and the Bar, Philadelphia Bar Association, March 2004 Taking Care of Business: Business and Technology Courts in the 21st Century, University of Maryland School of Law and the American Bar Association s Business and Corporate Litigation Committee, Baltimore, Maryland, November 2003 Addressed Oklahoma Legislative Committee and Bar Association on creating business court, 2003 RICO Made Easy, Philadelphia Bar Association, September 2000 Honors/Awards Recipient of the Albert S. Dandridge, III Diversity Award, Philadelphia Bar Association Recognized By Business Law Section of Philadelphia Bar Association, January 27, 2011 American College of Business Court Judges, Honorary Charter Member Given an "AV" rating by Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating provided by the national legal directory. Selected for inclusion on the 2006, 2007, 2009-2014 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers lists Selected as a Judge for the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Pursuit of Justice Legal Writing Competition, Philadelphia Bar Association, 2010 Invitee to Business Bar Leaders Conference of ABA Committee on State and Local Bar Relations, 2009, 2010 Philadelphia Bar Association s Business Law Section s Committee of the Year Award, 2005 and 2006 Cunningham Award for Service and Achievement, University of Maryland School of Law, 1987