Patricia A. Hennessy

Pat brings over twenty years of experience to educational institutions and corporate America. Known for her ability to get to the heart of the matter quickly and thoroughly, clients praise her tremendous intellect and problem-solving skills. She anticipates problems and counsels her clients on how to avoid those problems before they happen.

Acknowledged as one of the top education lawyers in the country, Pat represents and advises schools from the application drafting process through startup and ongoing operations, including:

• School code and administrative code compliance

• Commercial and employment litigation

• Special education matters

• Student disciplineOperations (including drafting operational policies and policy manuals)

• Contracts

• Accreditation and licensure of administrative and teaching staff

• Federal legal issues (ESSA/ESEA, IDEA, Section 504, USDOE regulations, Office of Civil Right investigations, anti-discrimination and constitutional issues)

• Training for school administrators, school boards, teachers, and staff

• Routinely advise private school administrators on school code compliance, federal statues, school safety, and other matters.

• Presenting at seminars for charter school related organizations, private school associations, and continuing legal education providers

Pat is a charter schools advocate and activist, serving on the National Litigation Council for the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools and as a long-term member of the Alliance of Public Charter School Attorneys. As part of her private school and boarding school practice, Pat served as a board member of the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools and was the outgoing Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee. On a state level, Pat is active in legislative affairs on issues related to Pennsylvania School Code, education reform, school choice, and other related legislative areas that impact schools.

Earlier in her career, Pat served as assistant general counsel of Synthes (USA), an international manufacturer and distributor of orthopedic implant devices, where she was the primary attorney for Synthes Spine Company, L.P., overseeing the highly successful in-house claims process and defense of product liability lawsuits throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.  She coordinated the company’s successful national defense of the In Re: Orthopedic Bone Screw Litigation – MDL 1014. The company’s success resulted from a two-pronged approach by ensuring the denial of the class certification and then the systematic defeat of the resulting stand-alone claims by motions for summary judgment or defense verdict.

Additionally, Pat worked as one of the lead attorneys for a South Jersey manufacturing defendant, where she successfully defeated class certification of a high-profile mass tort class action litigation involving personal injury and medical monitoring claims for the residents of the City of Camden who consumed the city’s drinking water over a 25-year period. After the defeat of the class certification, Pat was an integral part of a defense team that defeated the standalone claims via motion for summary judgment.

Pat serves as the co-chair of the firm’s education law group.