Nolan N. Atkinson, Jr. is a member of the Trial practice group in the Philadelphia office and the firm's first Chief Diversity Officer.

Mr. Atkinson has had trials in both the state and federal courts in a variety of commercial and personal injury matters. He is an experienced litigator in commercial matters representing banks, insurance companies and other businesses in major disputes. He has an extensive background in defending major corporations in product and toxic tort matters. He has also represented numerous hospitals and physicians in complex health-related matters.

In August 2007, Mr. Atkinson was appointed the first Chief Diversity Officer of Duane Morris.

Mr. Atkinson is also the chairman of the Diversity Committee at Duane Morris. He has also served in a variety of administrative capacities, including membership on the Partners' Board, Hiring Committee and as Administrative Partner of the Trial Department.

Mr. Atkinson is the former chair of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, Inc., a consortium of law firms and corporations committed to increasing ethnic and racial diversity in Philadelphia's larger law firms. In addition, he is a member of the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association, a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association and was formerly appointed co-chair of the Conference of Minority Partners in Majority Corporate Law Firms, a constituent entity of the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession of the ABA. In 2008, he was appointed to the Mayor's Advisory Task Force on Ethics and Campaign Finance Reform by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. In 2006, Mr. Atkinson received the Honorable William F. Hall Award from the Barristers' Association of Philadelphia, and in 2004, Mr. Atkinson became the fifth recipient of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association's Rainbowmaker Award, awarded to a lawyer who has made exceptional contributions in support of a more diverse legal profession. He was also named as a 2004 SuperLawyer by Philadelphia magazine.

An active litigator, he has taught trial advocacy at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Temple University School of Law. He was Managing Partner of Atkinson & Archie between 1984 and 1991. He served for 12 years as a Commissioner of Lower Merion Township. He has also served as a member of the Boards of First Pennsylvania Corporation and later CoreStates Bank. Mr. Atkinson is a 1969 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (LL.M., international law), a 1967 graduate of Howard University School of Law and a graduate of Boston University.

Representative Matters

Represented the advisory board of a venture capital fund with a total investment in excess of $100,000,000 in the investigation of the fraudulent activities of the general partner. As a result of that effort, Duane Morris was engaged to pursue litigation against the general partner's counsel for fraud and attorney malpractice with an ultimate recovery in excess of $5,000,000.
Selected by a national manufacturing firm to defend federal court claims brought by more than fifty persons alleging that one of client's products contained PCBs that were a substantial factor in causing plaintiffs' cancers and fear of cancer. Lead a team of lawyers through extensive discovery and motion practice which resulted in the dismissal of most of the "fear of cancer" claims and the weakening of the plaintiffs' overall case.
Defended a national corporation accused of violating claimant's contractual rights to concession and restaurant space at a major facility within Philadelphia thereby denying her the right to do business and make a profit. The case was tried before a jury in the United States District Court. Near the end of the trial, the parties settled the matter in what was deemed a favorable outcome by the client.
Counsel to a former Mayor of the City of Philadelphia sued in federal court for civil rights claims alleging the authorization of excessive force. Complete success was achieved when our motion for summary judgment was granted. The United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.
For the past twenty years, represented railroad defendants, utilities and health care providers in major casualty and professional liability litigation with sums in excess of a million dollars routinely at risk. These cases require extensive preparation of experts, trial skills and the assessment of a client's risks.

Professional Activities

Chair, Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, Inc. 2001-2006
Instructor, Trial Advocacy, Temple University School of Law, 1974-1990
American Bar Association
- Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity -- Conference of Minority Partners in Majority Corporate Law Firms
--Co-Chair, 2001-2003
-Section of Litigation
Instructor, Legal Method, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 1969-1970
Philadelphia Bar Association

Admissions

Pennsylvania
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Education

University of Pennsylvania Law School, LL.M., 1969
Howard University School of Law, LL.B., 1967

Experience

Duane Morris LLP
- Chief Diversity Officer, 2007-present
- Member, Partners Board, 1998-2000
- Partner, 1991-present
-- Responsible Partner, Commercial Litigation Practice Group, 1995
Atkinson & Archie, P.C., Philadelphia, PA
- Partner, 1975-1991
Zack, Myers, & Atkinson, Philadelphia, PA
- Partner, 1972-1975

Board Memberships

Director, CoreStates Bank, 1990-1998
Director, First Pennsylvania Corporation and First Pennsylvania Bank (merged with CoreStates Bank), 1982-1990
Director, Bryn Mawr Hospital, 1984-1997
Member, Board of Corporators, Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1984-1990
Member of the Board of Trustees, Harcum Junior College, 1984-1988
Member, Greater Philadelphia First Corporation, 1985-1987
Trustee, Philadelphia Bar Foundation, 1984-1986
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Philadelphia Child Guidance Center, 1981-1985
President, Ardmore Community Development Corporation, 1970-1974

Civic and Charitable Activities

Appointed by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter to the Mayor's Advisory Task Force on Ethics and Campaign Finance Reform, 2008-2009
St. Luke's Church, Germantown, Pennsylvania, Accounting Warden and Chief Financial Officer, 1988-1996
Mayor W. Wilson Goode's Transition Team, Chairman, 1987, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lower Merion Township, Commissioner, Fourth Ward, 1974-1986
Democratic National Convention, Member, Credential Committee, 1980
Jimmy Carter for President, Co-Coordinator - Get Out the Vote, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 1976

Honors and Awards

Recipient of the Honorable William F. Hall Award from the Barristers' Association of Philadelphia, January 2006
Recipient of the Rainbowmaker Award by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), June, 2004
Philadelphia Magazine named Mr. Atkinson one of the top Civil Defense lawyers in Philadelphia in 2004

Selected Publications

"Diversity Mathematics 101: What Counts Within Law Firms?" The Legal Intelligencer, November 30, 2007
"How the National Practitioner Data Bank Affects Medical Malpractice Clients," The Practical Litigator, ALI/ABA Vol. No. 1 (Jan. 1994)
Note, "Justiciability and the Statute of the International Court of Justice," 15 Howard Law Journal 518 (1970)
Note, International Law and the Southwest Africa Cases, 13 Howard Law Journal, 371 (Spring 1967)
Note, The Press and Fair Trial - Implications of Sheppard, 13 Howard Law Journal, 371 (Spring 1967)
Recent Development: Felony-Murder - No Direct Physical Contact Occurring Between the Accused and the Decedent, 12 Howard Law Journal, 345 (1966)

Selected Speaking Engagements

Presenter, "The Adversity to Diversity," Temple American Inn of Court, January 2008
Panelist, "What the Minority Law Graduate Needs to Know When Beginning a Career in a Corporate Law Firm," Pennsylvania Bar Association Minority Bar Diversity Summit, October 2007
Moderator, "Doing Business With the Casinos: A Workshop for Minority- And Female-Owned Firms," Pennsylvania Gaming Congress, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, March 6-7, 2006
Keynote Speaker, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Annual Memorial Breakfast, The Barristers' Association of Philadelphia, January 16, 2006
Panelist, Minority Corporate Counsel Association "Diversity Dialogue," September 2004
"Strategies for Proper Case Assessment and Management so Litigation will be Cost-Efficient," Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) Second Annual CLE Expo, Chicago, Illinois, April 30-May 2, 2003
Moderator, "What Are the Law Firm Diversity Practices That Really Work," American Bar Association, Conference of Minority Partners in Majority Corporate Law Firms Mid Year Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 1, 2002
Panelist, "Trial Evidence in the Federal Court," Advanced ALI-ABA Course of Study, October 4, 2001
"Can the Daubert Standard Be Satisfied in MTBE Litigation?" Mealey's MTBE Litigation Conference, May 10-11, 2001
"Achieving Diversity in the Legal Profession," Pennsylvania Bar Institute CLE program, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 19, 2000
"Retention of Minority Lawyers in the Private Sector," American Bar Association Summit, Boston, Massachusetts, April 28, 2000
Moderator, "Impact of Multi-Disciplinary Practice on Various Substantial Practice Areas," Philadelphia Bar Association's Task Force on Multi-Disciplinary Practice, September 1999.
Panelist, "Roundtable Discussion on Advanced Discovery," Continuing Legal Education Course sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, PA, October 1995