James Joseph McCabe, a noted litigator and legal leader in Philadelphia and a member of the Duane Morris law firm for more than 50 years, died Wednesday at his home in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia with his wife, Rose Marie McCabe, by his side. He was 81.

McCabe served from 1984 to 1995 as head of Duane Morris' Trial Practice Group, overseeing its growth. In his own extensive and varied trial practice, he focused on insurance, product, patent and securities litigation; professional liability; and class actions. McCabe was particularly well-known for his work in medical malpractice defense, an area in which he not only tried many jury trials but also taught as an adjunct professor at Thomas Jefferson University's Jefferson Medical College. McCabe spoke and wrote on a broad range of legal and medical topics.

McCabe was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and he was also active in many divisions of the Philadelphia Bar Association and served as chair of its judicial compensation and retirement committee. In addition, McCabe was also president and founder of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a past president of the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel and a former director of the Defense Research Institute.

McCabe was a 1955 graduate of Temple University School of Law and a graduate of La Salle College.

Born in Philadelphia on May 8, 1929, McCabe grew up in the Lawndale section of Northeast Philadelphia. He loved philosophy, which was his minor at La Salle. His wife commented that philosophy "permeated all of Jim's life" and listed her husband's favorite philosophers as Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and Blaise Pascal.

Friends, family and colleagues of McCabe provided their recollections in a statement supplied by Duane Morris.

According to Rose Marie McCabe, "Jim always thought a lawyer should be well-rounded, and people knew him for his mind. They would say it was so rich, because he could speak about history, music, art and religion."

"Jim grew up with a father who would talk to him about the sermon that was given at church every Sunday. He had a great faith, and told me and others that all the gifts anyone had were on loan," she recounted. "He felt he had an obligation to use those gifts, and once took a case for a little girl who lost toes off her foot in a lawn mower accident. He got a lot of satisfaction in getting an award for her that would not kick in until she was an adult, and it helped her with therapy and with her education."

"And then, years later, we went to her wedding," she added.

James McCabe was also remembered fondly by several distinguished figures in Philadelphia's legal and medical establishments.

"Jim McCabe was a terrific lawyer, one of the very best, and, equally as important, a wonderful teacher," said John Soroko, chairman of Duane Morris. "When you worked with Jim on a case, you not only learned about the law but you learned a lot about life and, particularly, about human psychology. Jim's inherent understanding of people, and what motivated them, was a major reason for his tremendous success as a jury trial lawyer. He was in many ways a true Renaissance man."

"Jim McCabe was a great trial lawyer," said Judge Michael M. Baylson, a former Duane Morris partner who now serves on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. "He was terrific in mentoring young lawyers at the firm, including myself. He had a great sense of strategy, and other lawyers regarded him as an outstanding lawyer. He was also very friendly and was easy to get along with, and everybody liked him."

Because of his teaching in medical schools, McCabe was a colleague of Dr. Robert L. Perkel, a senior professor in family medicine at Jefferson University Hospitals and a senior clinician in its medical practice. Perkel said: "I ran a class for all 250 second-year students on the social and political issues of import in the world of medicine. It was a series of six to eight hours of class, and Jim lectured with me, focusing on medical malpractice. He was truly a beloved lecturer in the medical school."

As a medical malpractice defense lawyer, Perkel said of McCabe: "It was incredible. He understood the physiology and the anatomy of disease. He was a master, and understood his material, with a really sophisticated knowledge of medicine. This is what made him such an outstanding lawyer, and brought him tremendous respect. I treated a few of his opponents, and they would tell me, 'I'm up against Jim McCabe, and he's the best.'"

In addition to his wife, McCabe is survived by three children from his first marriage – Deirdre Affel, Judith Jarvis and James McCabe – and seven grandchildren. His first wife, Dolores Ruane McCabe, died in 1981. He married Rose Marie McCabe in 1984.

Reprinted with permission from The Legal Intelligencer, © ALM Media Properties LLC. All rights reserved.