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Thomas Anthony French

Partner
  • ph: (717) 231-6625
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Thomas French is recognized as a leading business and corporate litigation attorney.  He is one of the firm's most experienced commercial litigators, having tried numerous cases to verdict and appeal over the course of his thirty year career.  

As a young attorney, following graduation at the top of his law school class, he represented a wholesale consumer products distributor in a case against computer giant, Unisys Corporation. In that case, he obtained a verdict in excess of one million dollars, at the time believed to be one of the largest verdicts ever returned by a Harrisburg jury. Later, he represented the owners of the historic Bedford Springs Hotel, who had deadlocked on plans to redevelop the resort.  In 2007, he mounted a successful jury trial defense of a bank against a claim by a corporate minority shareholder that the bank had caused $84 million in damages resulting from the plaintiff’s alleged loss of control of a leading concrete and aggregate supply company.

Mr. French has also defended clients in multi-million dollar intellectual property litigations. He served as local trial counsel on behalf of an international pharmaceutical company in a case involving the validity of patents covering some of the world’s most commonly used vaccines.  More recently, he represented a Pennsylvania inventor and manufacturer, obtaining a defense jury verdict in one of the first cases tried under the Pennsylvania Uniform Trade Secrets Act. He has successfully litigated trademark and copyright infringement cases as well.

Mr. French has represented the owner of the “Zero Restriction”® and “ZR” ® brand golf apparel company in litigation arising from the sale of the company; sued Kmart corporation on behalf of a Pennsylvania grocery store chain for damages from a botched shopping mall development project; represented the seller of a drug store chain against the purchaser who consolidated the company into its own operations and then refused to pay the agreed upon purchase price; represented government and institutional investors in numerous cases against financial advisors who illegally invested and managed millions of dollars in public funds, and many other prominent businesses and institutions in their most important disputes. 

Counted among Mr. French’s clients are a number of Pennsylvania’s regional banks and insurance companies.  Mr. French handles litigation involving insurance coverage, bad faith insurance practices, and regulatory issues.  He frequently defends banks and other fiduciaries in trust and estate litigation where parties claim negligent investment and mismanagement of trust funds have occurred.  He has tried cases involving the validity of wills, and numerous fiduciary surcharge actions. 

Other attorneys and accountants have asked Mr. French to represent them when they have been sued in professional malpractice cases.  After one particularly contentious case was finally resolved, opposing counsel retained Mr. French to defend him personally when he was named as a defendant in a suit by a former client.  In fact, many of Mr. French’s litigation cases are referred to him by other attorneys who trust him to represent their own clients with their most important litigation matters.

As an experienced appellate attorney, Mr. French has successfully argued appeals before the Pennsylvania Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth Courts, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He also served as lead counsel on petition for certiorari before the United States Supreme Court.

In addition to his private practice experience, Mr. French served as a military attorney in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps, and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. In 2005, he was called to active duty and deployed to Afghanistan, where he advised commanders on rules of engagement and other military law issues.

In 2012, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett appointed Mr. French as a Commissioner to the Board of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He was also appointed by U. S. Senator Patrick Toomey to serve on his United States Military Academy selection committee. Mr. French is active in the community, serving on boards of non-profit organizations, including the YMCA. He is a frequent speaker before various business and professional associations and is a former member of the adjunct faculties of the law schools at Widener and Penn State Universities.


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