Mark Stephenson is an accomplished and tough trial attorney with more than 30 years of experience as a litigator in state and federal courts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He has represented his clients in many forms of complex litigation, some with exposures in excess of $74 million dollars. He has tried many cases to verdict and appeared before various courts of appeal, including the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Mr. Stephenson devotes much of his practice to the representation of professionals, including lawyers, accountants, bankers, design professionals, insurance agents/brokers, directors and officers and fiduciaries. In addition, he also routinely litigates labor and employment matters as well as provides counseling to employers of all sizes on employment best practices, implementing employee handbooks, policies and procedures that are tailored to maximize managerial flexibility and control. The remaining portion of his practice is dedicated to counseling and defending non-profit entities such as homeowners’ associations and faith-based organizations.
Mr. Stephenson is also an expert in employment law. He routinely counsels employers of all sizes on employment best practices, implementing employee handbooks, policies and procedures that are tailored to maximize managerial flexibility and control. He also works with companies to protect proprietary and confidential information as well as valuable relationships with customers and employees by developing effective restrictive covenants, works for hire, non-disclosure and non-competition agreements.
Representative Cases
• Esposito v. Peoples Bank, No. 3:2015cv06183 (D.N.J. 2015). Lead counsel to defend mortgage lender and resolve regarding whistleblower claims asserting $8 million in liability.
• First Baptist Church of Woodbine v. Knowles, No. 1:10cv2896 (U.S.D.C. –D.N.J. 2010); First Baptist Church of Texas City at MLK, No. 3:10cv00112 (U.S.D.C. – S.D.Tex. 2010). Lead counsel to defend mortgage broker/contractor and resolve claims regarding allegations of breach of fiduciary duty and fraud arising from “build to own” financing and construction of churches in New Jersey, Louisiana, Texas and North Carolina.
• Roarty v. Tyco Intern. Ltd. Business Travel Acc. Ins. Plan, 386 Fed.Appx. 329 (3d Cir. 2010). Successful appeal, reversal and remand of ERISA fiduciary benefit litigation, and subsequent summary judgment, in employee benefit claim presenting first impression issues.
• In Re U.S. Truck, No. 99¬59972 (Bankr. E.D. Mich. 1999). Lead ERISA counsel in successfully defending major trucking company in chapter 11 reorganization to reduce multimillion-dollar pension liability by 85 percent.
• Road Carriers L.707 Pension Trust Fund v. McCready, No. 9:93cv02255 (E.D.N.Y. 1993). Successfully defended lead defendant in complex breach of fiduciary duty, prohibited transactions and fraud litigation involving organized crime activity in pension plan.
Past Employment Positions
• Of Counsel, Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP, Philadelphia, PA
• Partner, Nelson, Levine, DeLuca & Horst, LLC, Blue Bell, PA
• Partner, Margolis Edelstein, Philadelphia, PA
• Of Counsel, Cozen O’Connor, PC, Philadelphia, PA
• Corporate Counsel, Unisys Corporation, Blue Bell, PA
• Senior Counsel, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Harrisburg, PA
• Assistant District Attorney, Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, Philadelphia, PA
Professional Associations and Memberships
• Stephenson is a member, and frequently invited speaker, of the Eastern Claim Conference
