SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
has named individuals as
2015
LA WYERS OF THE YEAR
Carol Nelson Shepherd
in Philadelphia, based on their particularly high level of peer recognition. ANTITRUST LAW Stephen D. Brown
FAMILY LAW Jeffrey M. Williams
APPELLATE PRACTICE Deena Jo Schneider
FAMILY LAW MEDIATION Edward Blumstein
ARBITRATION Charles F. Forer BANKING & FINANCE LAW Bruce R. Lesser BANKRUPTCY & CREDITOR DEBTOR RIGHTS / INSOLVENCY & REORGANIZATION LAW Bonnie Glantz Fatell BET-THE-COMPANY LITIGATION Alexander Kerr CONSTRUCTION LAW James H. Landgraf COPYRIGHT LAW Gary A. Rosen CORPORATE COMPLIANCE LAW Henry N. Nassau CORPORATE GOVERNANCE LAW Steven B. Feirson CORPORATE LAW Howard L. Shecter CRIMINAL DEFENSE: NON-WHITE-COLLAR Brian J. McMonagle CRIMINAL DEFENSE: WHITE-COLLAR John C. Dodds EMPLOYEE BENEFITS (ERISA) LAW Edward I. Leeds EMPLOYMENT LAW INDIVIDUALS Neil J. Hamburg EMPLOYMENT LAW MANAGEMENT Christopher J. Moran ENERGY LAW Anthony C. DeCusatis
FRANCHISE LAW James A. Goniea
GAMING LAW Robert P. Krauss HEALTH CARE LAW Marc S. Raspanti
LITIGATION SECURITIES M. Duncan Grant LITIGATION - TRUSTS & ESTATES Glenn A. Henkel MASS TORT LITIGATION / CLASS ACTIONS DEFENDANTS J. Gordon Cooney, Jr.
IMMIGRATION LAW Jon Landau
MASS TORT LITIGATION / CLASS ACTIONS - PLAINTIFFS Michael D. Fishbein
INSURANCE LAW Ellis I. Medoway
MEDIATION Abraham J. Gafni
LABOR LAW MANAGEMENT Michael J. Ossip
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LAW PLAINTIFFS Carol Nelson Shepherd
LABOR LAW - UNION Richard G. Poulson LAND USE & ZONING LAW J. Edmund Mullin LEGAL MALPRACTICE LAW - DEFENDANTS John L. Slimm LEVERAGED BUYOUTS & PRIVATE EQUITY LAW Carmen J. Romano LITIGATION ANTITRUST Allen D. Black LITIGATION BANKRUPTCY Claudia Z. Springer LITIGATION CONSTRUCTION B. Christopher Lee LITIGATION ENVIRONMENTAL Christopher R. Gibson LITIGATION - FIRST AMENDMENT Michael E. Baughman
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW David G. Mandelbaum
LITIGATION INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Roberta JacobsMeadway
EQUIPMENT FINANCE LAW Richard S. Perelman
LITIGATION - LABOR & EMPLOYMENT Alan D. Berkowitz
ETHICS & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY LAW James C. Schwartzman
LITIGATION - PATENT Dale M. Heist LITIGATION REAL ESTATE David Smith
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS LAW David A. Gerson NON-PROFIT / CHARITIES LAW Frederick J. Gerhart PATENT LAW Daniel A. Monaco PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION PLAINTIFFS James R. Ronca PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION DEFENDANTS Joseph E. O'Neil PRODUCT LIABILITY LITIGATION PLAINTIFFS Andrew J. Stern PUBLIC FINANCE LAW Marc S. Stein REAL ESTATE LAW James R. Williams SECURITIES / CAPITAL MARKETS LAW Stephen M. Foxman TAX LAW David Shechtman TRADEMARK LAW Kevin R. Casey TRUSTS & ESTATES Kevin P. Gilboy WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW - CLAIMANTS Lenard A. Cohen
Medical Malpractice Law - Plaintiffs Philadelphia, PA BY JOHANNA MARMON
■ As the child of two physician parents, Philadelphia plaintiffs’ attorney Carol Nelson Shepherd grew up fascinated by the medical profession. From the age of about 11, Shepherd recalls, she even pitched in around her mother’s office, which happened to be on the first floor of her childhood home. But Shepherd knew pretty much from the get-go that becoming a doctor herself most likely wasn’t in the cards. “I didn’t have the stomach for the blood and guts,” she recalls with a laugh. So after undergraduate studies in English and sociology, law school seemed like the natural progression—with medical malpractice law being the ultimate best fit. “This practice has allowed me to steep myself in the medicine, so it ended up being the perfect match for me,” she says. Indeed, Shepherd—one of the founding partners
of Philadelphia plaintiffs’ powerhouse Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig— pored over medical textbooks as bedtime reading for years in order to learn the medical aspects of her cases. But she also knows that it isn’t the science that really drives her. “My heart really lies with helping people, and that’s what pushes me to try to excel at what we do,” she says. For Shepherd, a prolific author who has been a leader of several prestigious legal organizations and associations, excelling has never really been a question. Her results speak for themselves, securing countless multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients who have suffered catastrophic personal injuries as a result of medical malpractice. “Knowing that I can take care of the fatherless kids, the brain injured little ones… that’s what it’s all about for me,” she says. www.bestlawyers.com | 11