Spring 2021
The MLO Minute: By Dennis McAndrews, Esq. —
Our law firm is fully committed to intensive, continuing professional development as part of our firm culture. The practice of law changes rapidly, and we undertake continuous efforts to keep abreast of changes in our areas of practice, and to use all available opportunities to maintain unsurpassed skills to serve our clients. One aspect of our extensive in-house educational process is the use of our unique courtroom in our Berwyn office for litigation training through conducting mock arguments, mock trials, and other litigation training programs for our attorneys. Our ability to represent clients in the various forms of litigation involved in our areas of practice is critical and fundamental to our work, and these training programs prepare our attorneys in the most comprehensive manner to provide effective advocacy on behalf of our clients.
Other law firms have borrowed our courtroom in order to provide an authentic environment in which to prepare for actual courtroom proceedings, and local schools have borrowed this facility to prepare for mock trial competitions. We are always happy to welcome these visitors to our Berwyn courtroom.
We recently received a lovely gift of the judicial robes of the late Hon. Thomas A. Masterson from his service as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1967 to 1973. When appointed to the bench, Judge Masterson was one of the youngest judges on the federal bench in the United States, and he served with distinction until he returned to private practice as Chair of the Litigation Section of Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius in Philadelphia. Judge Masterson was a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Prior to ascending to the bench, Judge Masterson worked as an Assistant District Attorney and as a Deputy City Solicitor in Philadelphia, as well as in private practice. The gift of these judicial robes to our firm as pictured in the accompanying photographs was presented by his son, Thomas A. Masterson, Jr., Esq. who is a highly regarded personal injury attorney in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and was a classmate of Dennis McAndrews at the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Our firm has accepted this gift with appreciation to the Masterson family, and these robes will be preserved respectfully in our courtroom.
