Thomas R. Kline

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Thomas R. Kline
Tom Kline.jpg
Kline in 2012
Born1947 (age 76–77)
Hazleton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Albright College
Lehigh University
Duquesne University School of Law
OccupationPersonal injury attorney
Website www.klinespecter.com

Thomas R. Kline (born 1947) is an American personal injury attorney. His cases have helped shape Pennsylvania law and resulted in corporate, institutional, and governmental changes throughout the civil justice system. [1] The law schools at Drexel University and Duquesne University are named for Kline. He is a partner in Kline & Specter and a member and past president (2008-2009) of the Inner Circle of Advocates. [2]

Contents

Education

Kline earned his undergraduate degree from Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he was awarded the school's Distinguished Alumni award. [3] He attended Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he earned a master's degree in American history and completed Ph.D. course work. Kline attended Duquesne University School of Law, graduating with the Distinguished Student Award and later receiving the school's Distinguished Alumni Award. [4] He went on to work as law clerk to Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Thomas W. Pomeroy. [5]

Kline was born in 1947 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal region. His father worked as a dress factory manager. [6] Kline taught sixth grade for several years before attending law school. Following law school, Kline was an associate at The Beasley Firm in Philadelphia before partnering with Shanin Specter to open their own firm, Kline & Specter, in 1995. [7] In addition to his work as an attorney, Kline has appeared on television news programs as a part of discussions regarding law and legal issues, including providing commentary on ABC World News [8] and Good Morning America . [9] Another example of his television appearances is an edition of ABC's Nightline , which featured a case he won for a woman who died after a missed diagnosis of breast cancer. [10]

Kline's cases include the Vioxx litigation, which resulted in a $4.85 billion settlement paid by Merck & Co, [11] for which he served as a member of the Plaintiff's Steering Committee that directed the federal MDL proceedings against Merck. [12] In the civil rights case Hall v. SEPTA, Kline won a $51 million award against the Philadelphia mass transit agency for a boy whose foot was torn off in a subway escalator. [13] In Davis v. Motiva Enterprises, a 2013 case of Kline's, there was a $36.4 million settlement against an oil refinery operator in the death of a worker killed in an explosion in which he fell into a tank of sulfuric acid. [14]

Kline in Trial As Theatre, 2009 Silhouette-red-tall-high res.jpg
Kline in Trial As Theatre, 2009

In Manlove v. Scully Co. Kline was lead attorney for 11 of 12 plaintiffs in an apartment explosion case that resulted in a $40.5 million settlement. [15] In that case, six people died and six were injured in a 2001 explosion and fire that erupted at a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, apartment complex after heavy flooding dislodged a gas dryer. [16] In the 2010 case Leach v. Chad Youth Enhancement Center, Kline reached a settlement of $10.5 million. This was a federal lawsuit in the case of a Philadelphia teenager who died after he was placed in a restraint hold at a Tennessee treatment center. [13] In the December 2011 verdict in Zauflik [17] v. Pennsbury School District , Kline's case resulted in a $14 million verdict for a teenager who lost her leg after she was run over by a school bus at her high school. [18]

Theatre career

Kline has written and performed three productions of his show titled Trial as Theatre. [19]

Awards and recognition

In 2000 Kline was named by the National Law Journal among its "Ten of America's Top Litigators" [20] following the Hall v. SEPTA case. Kline was chosen for nine consecutive years (2004–2012) as the No. 1 attorney in Pennsylvania by Super Lawyers. [21] The publication Best Lawyers selected Kline as its "Lawyer of the Year" for 2013 for Philadelphia Medical Malpractice and in a previous year as its Philadelphia Personal Injury Litigator of the Year. [22] [23] He is also an elected member of the American Law Institute. [24]

Philanthropy

Tom Kline is chair of the Board of Advisors of the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, previously known as the Earle Mack School of Law [25] and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Drexel University. [26] On September 17, 2014, it was announced that he donated $50 million to Drexel University to rename its law school and develop the Thomas R. Kline Institute of Trial Advocacy of the Kline School of Law. [27] [28] On September 7, 2022, it was similarly announced that he donated $50 million to Duquesne University School of Law; accordingly, the school has been renamed the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University. [29]

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References

  1. ↑ "Drexel Renames Law School After Thomas R. Kline". 18 September 2014.
  2. ↑ Inner Circle of Advocates .
  3. ↑ "2004 Alumni Association Award Winners: Awarded Alumni Reunion Weekend, April 30 – May 2". The Albright Reporter. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Distinguished Student Award, 2012 Archived 2012-08-31 at the Wayback Machine ,Duquesne University.
  5. ↑ "Former Pennsylvania Justice Pomeroy Dies at 94, "By Tom Namako, The Legal Intelligencer, December 23, 2002
  6. ↑ Dale, MaryClaire. "Trial lawyer gives $50M to Drexel law school". The Big Story. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Davies, Paul. "Wheels Of Justice He's Showing A Lot Of Class $51m Lawyer Credits Teaching Experience". Philly.com. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  8. ↑ Tom Kline comments on Sandusky trial on YouTube, ABC World News
  9. ↑ Tom Kline comments on Sandusky trial on YouTube Good Morning America
  10. ↑ The Lackman case. Missed diagnosis of breast cancer on YouTube, ABC Nightline, October 22, 2003
  11. ↑ "Merck Agrees to $4.85 Billion Settlement in Vioxx Claims". The Legal Intelligencer. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  12. ↑ "Another Risk Factor For Merck" . www.bloomberg.com. Bloomberg Businessweek. 30 July 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  13. 1 2 "Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  14. ↑ "Law.com". Law.com. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  15. ↑ "$40.5 Mil. Agreement Reached in Lethal Fire Case". The Legal Intelligencer. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  16. ↑ "City native bolsters 'Ruthian' reputation," By Ed Conrad, Hazleton Standard Speaker, October 8, 2004
  17. ↑ School Bus Accident, Pennsbury High School
  18. ↑ "Jury awards $14 million for loss of leg due to bus," By Bill Reed, The Philadelphia Inquirer, December 06, 2011
  19. ↑ Trial As Theatre, Philly.com, November 07, 2011
  20. ↑ "Winners" edition of The National Law Journal, 8/14/2000
  21. ↑ "Top Rated Philadelphia, PA Personal Injury Attorney | Thomas Kline". Super Lawyers. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  22. ↑ "Tom Kline and Shanin Specter of Kline & Specter On Achieving Some of Pennsylvania's Largest Verdicts". Best Lawyers. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  23. ↑ Campisi, Jon. "'Best Lawyers' names Philadelphia's Tom Kline medical malpractice 'Lawyer of the Year'". The Pennsylvania Record. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  24. ↑ https://www.ali.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=about.bio&bio_id=648&fromne=1%5B%5D
  25. ↑ Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law, Chairman
  26. ↑ "Trustees". Office of the President. 2022-07-19. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  27. ↑ Blumenthal, Jeff (September 17, 2014). "Drexel Law gets $50M gift, the largest ever for the university". www.bizjournals.com. Philadelphia Business Journal. Archived from the original on September 18, 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  28. ↑ Mathis, Joel (18 September 2014). "Drexel Renames Law School After Thomas R. Kline". Philly Magazine. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  29. ↑ Deto, Ryan (7 September 2022). "Duquesne Law school renamed after $50M gift from Thomas. R Kline". TribLIVE.com. Tribune Review. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
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