The LEVIN LEGAL GROUP, P.C. is a law firm providing legal services to individuals, corporations and governmental entities seeking quality legal services within conservative budgetary constraints. Concentrating in labor and employment law, civil litigation, workers' compensation, civil rights and education law, the firm's attorneys have developed their skills in these areas and provide personalized attention to details. Some of the largest and finest companies in the nation place their faith in the firm and the firm is proud to be able to count such companies and associations as the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association Insurance Trust, FedEx Ground, William Penn School District, Downingtown Area School District, Centennial School District, National Union Fire Insurance Company, Old Republic Insurance Company, Ace Insurance Company and Genesis Insurance Company among its clients.

It is the mission of the LEVIN LEGAL GROUP, P.C. to improve the legal affairs of those we serve with a commitment to excellence in all we do. Our goal is to offer quality services that exceed clients' expectations in a professional, convenient, cost-effective and accessible manner. To accomplish our mission and to meet our goal, we believe that we have a duty to our clients to be well informed, to think, to listen and to ask questions. We consult in advance with those who will be affected by our actions, communicate openly and without ambiguity, and act honestly, fairly and consistently in our relationships with our clients.

The firm devotes considerable attention to the affairs of school districts across the Commonwealth, representing school districts in all aspects of their operations, including student issues, construction, purchasing, labor and taxation. The firm is General Counsel to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association Insurance Trust and School Boards Insurance Company, Ltd. On behalf of the PSBA Insurance Trust, attorneys in the firm advise the people responsible for its workers' compensation program for public school entities and provide in-service training to the program's claims administrators.

The LEVIN LEGAL GROUP, P.C. has a broad knowledge of Workers' Compensation Act, administrative practice and procedure, appellate practice, trial tactics and medical issues which impact upon the rights of both employers and employees with respect to work related injuries and diseases. Lawyers in the firm use this knowledge to counsel employers, insurance companies and individuals to steer them successfully through the maze of statutes and regulations dealing with workers' compensation. Lawyers in the firm have critically reviewed and evaluated the relationship of workers' compensation to other laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act and have developed strategies to respond to the requirements of each.

The firm views workers' compensation as just one aspect of labor and employment law. The firm has experience in negotiating collective bargaining agreements in both the public and private sectors and lawyers in the firm have appeared before both the National Labor Relations Board and the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board in representation and unfair labor practice proceedings. The firm regularly defends discrimination claims under such laws as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act and is quite familiar with the procedures followed by the EEOC, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the courts with respect to discrimination cases. The attorneys in the firm know how to apply the unusual rules pertaining to the "shifting" burdens of proof in such cases.

The firm's lawyers regularly appear in federal and state courts defending a multitude of actions including civil rights matters, contract claims and tort actions. Some of the cases defended by attorneys in the firm have received national attention and have been cases of first impression before the courts. For example, in Steirer v. Bethlehem School District, the school district's mandatory community service program was defended and in Gaudiello v. Delaware County Intermediate Unit, attorneys in the firm defended a decision by the Intermediate Unit and a school district not to allow a disabled child to bring a support dog to school. In John T. v. Delaware County Intermediate Unit, the firm achieved a ruling from the Third Circuit that under the fee-shifting provision of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq., a party is only entitled to attorney's fees when they are a "prevailing party" -- i.e., when they have achieved one of the following: (1) judgment on the merits of the litigation; (2) a court-ordered consent decree; or (3) a judicially-sanctioned stipulated settlement.  The Third Circuit noted that litigation is not driven by a litigant's desire to collect attorney's fees, since attorney's fees are never guaranteed.  The efforts of the firm's attorneys in these cases illustrate the kind of creativity that will be applied to a situation to defend individuals and entities from novel and unique claims.

The firm offers an interesting array of services for its clients, including in-service training, policy development, preparation of job descriptions and essential function listings for purposes of the Americans with Disabilities Act, reviews of employee selection procedures and legal updates of significant developments in the areas of the law practiced by the firm.

Moreover, the firm has a commitment to improving its services to its clients and friends through the use of technology. The firm has an ongoing program of replacing and upgrading it computers. Each of the firm's attorneys can be reached through E-mail. In September, 2001, the firm installed a new computer system as the first step in the process to convert the firm to a "paperless office."  Literally every substantive piece of paper that enters the firm's offices are immediately scanned into the computer system with high speed scanners so that documents can be managed effectively and efficiently. The firm's understanding of how technology is changing the way people do things is reflected in the fact that the president of the firm, Michael I. Levin, has created a computer software company, named "E-Forms, Inc." in order to create legal forms designed to help employers and school districts to reduce exposure to legal liability and to enable them to meet legal requirements with less cost.  Those forms can be found on the company's website at www.sureforms.com. 

Civil Litigation,  Education Law
Labor and Employment Law
Workers' Compensation
Sexual Harassment 
Insurance Law, Civil Rights