Attorney Profiles

Patrick J. McDonnell is a magna cum laude graduate of Temple University School of Law, where he served on the staff of the Temple Law Review and finished in the top five percent (5%) of his class.  He holds an Advocate rank as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), a selective invitation-only organization for civil trial lawyers. 

While attending Temple Law School, Mr. McDonnell served as a law clerk for the United States Department of Justice Organized Crime and Racketeering Division, Philadelphia Strike Force.  He also participated in clinical programs with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office and the Public Defender's Office of Camden County.  Upon graduation, he accepted a position with Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley as a litigation attorney where he worked until 1998.  At Blank Rome, Mr. McDonnell handled complex matters, including environmental litigation, commercial litigation and personal injury defense.  Mr. McDonnell left Blank Rome and became a shareholder of the law firm Silverman Frimmer Bernheim & McDonnell before founding McDonnell & Associates with Courtney Seda McDonnell. 

He is personally rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell, an independent publication which relies upon judicial and peer evaluation to establish its ratings.  For the fourth consecutive year, he was selected as one of Pennsylvania's "Super Lawyers" by the editors of Philadelphia Magazine and Law & Politics.  Mr. McDonnell graduated from Villanova University with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics.  He is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Mr. McDonnell maintains one of the region's most active trial practices, regularly appearing before juries throughout Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey.  He has successfully tried over one hundred cases to verdict, including premises liability, civil rights, trucking, and employment discrimination cases.  Mr. McDonnell has also appeared several times before appellate courts, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  He has been national counsel for automatic door litigation and regional counsel for a pharmaceutical concern.

Mr. McDonnell is a frequent lecturer to retail management on various subjects, including risk management and premises liability.  He has also lectured to other attorneys in the areas of trial tactics, medical causation issues, and expert witnesses.