Education
University of Cincinnati College of Law, 1995, JD
University of Cincinnati Law Review
Miami University, 1992, BA, cum laude
Phi Beta Kappa
Clerkship
Hon. John M. Manos, United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
Admissions
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
New York
U.S. Court of Appeals:
Second Circuit
Third Circuit
Sixth Circuit
Federal Circuit
U.S. District Courts:
Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Middle District of Pennsylvania
District of New Jersey
Northern District of Ohio
Peter ("Tad") H. LeVan, Jr.
Tad is an accomplished trial and appellate lawyer with a well-established record of success in a wide variety of sophisticated subject matter areas, including complex commercial litigation, high-stakes ERISA matters, and intellectual property disputes, among others.
A former federal law clerk, Tad represents plaintiffs and defendants in courts around the country in numerous high-profile matters. For instance, in the wake of the 2008 stock market crash, Tad represented several of the largest pension and retirement plans in the country in suits against J.P. Morgan Chase, the Bank of New York Mellon, and other financial institutions, ultimately achieving nearly $500 million in settlements to support plan participants. He also acted as the court-appointed lead ERISA counsel for a nationwide class of Taft-Hartley pension plans that suffered severe financial losses as a result of the Bernard Madoff fraud. Outside of the ERISA context, he has first-chaired numerous jury and non-jury complex commercial litigation matters involving breach of contract, patent infringement, non-competes, theft of trade secrets, and breaches of fiduciary duty, as well as represented Governor Rendell, Pennsylvania executive agencies, and the City of Philadelphia in several high-profile litigation matters involving First Amendment retaliation, separation of powers, constitutional authority, and agency rule making.
In addition to trial work, Tad has a robust appellate practice and has argued important cases before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, and Sixth Circuits.
A two-time winner of the Equal Justice Award and a recipient of The Philadelphia Bar Foundation's Pro Bono Award, Tad also has a long history of important pro bono and public interest engagements. Among other accomplishments, he recently obtained a unanimous ruling from the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, sitting en banc, holding that The Older Adults Protective Services Act – a Pennsylvania statute that had prohibited thousands of qualified individuals from holding certain jobs – to be facially unconstitutional and unenforceable.
Tad has created several legal courses and often is asked to participate as a course presenter or guest lecturer on topics such as oral advocacy, brief writing, deposition practice, trial practice, ERISA issues, and class certification. He regularly teaches workshops on deposition and trial practice at The University of Pennsylvania Law School, has been a guest lecturer at the Temple University Beasley School of Law, and has presented numerous continuing legal education courses on a variety of topics, including The Art of the Deposition, an interactive two-day course that Tad created, prepared and presents at The Pennsylvania Bar Institute.
In addition to faculty engagements, Tad has published articles in The Legal Intelligencer and The Philadelphia Bar Journal and has been quoted in numerous national and regional media publications, including NPR's All Things Considered, Bloomberg, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and The ABA Journal, among other publications.
Prior to co-founding LeVan Stapleton Segal Cochran, Tad was the founding member of LeVan Law Group, a shareholder at Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, a partner at Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, and an associate at Squire Sanders & Dempsey.
Awards & Recognitions
The Philadelphia Bar Foundation's Pro Bono Award (2016)
Equal Justice Award (2016 & 2004)
Named by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazine as one of the state’s top attorneys as the result of a statewide survey of lawyers
Fellow, Academy of Advocacy
University of Cincinnati Law Review
See Award Methodologies here
Leadership & Community Involvement
Project 440, Inc.
2014 – 2021 (Chairman, Board of Directors)
2014 – present (Board Member)
Deacon, Presbyterian Church at Woodbury
2012 – 2018
Trustee, Vice-President and Performer
Choral Arts of Southern New Jersey
2013 – 2018
Mayor's Advisory Council – Washington Twp, NJ
2005 – 2007
Assistant Borough Solicitor – Swarthmore, PA
2001 – 2004
Faculty & Speaking Engagements
Project Creator and Faculty Presenter
Trial Practice Skills Boot Camp
The University of Pennsylvania Law School
Program Creator, Facilitator and Faculty Presenter
The Art of the Deposition
The Pennsylvania Bar Institute
Program Creator, Facilitator and Faculty Presenter
Deposition Boot Camp: The Art of Taking, Defending and Preparing for Depositions
The University of Pennsylvania Law School
Faculty Presenter
Class Certification Trends in ERISA Litigation: Winds of Change are Blowing
Law Seminars International
Guest Lecturer
ERISA Litigation: Important Decisions Involving Breaches of Fiduciary Duty
Temple University Beasley School of Law
Selected Press & Publications
My 15-Year Pro Bono Matter: How a Single Case Can Become the Endeavor of a Lifetime, The Philadelphia Lawyer, Summer 2016
Ending OAPSA's Unconstitutional Employment Ban in Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Bar Reporter, July 2015
Featured in Carrie Johnson, Can't Get a Job Because of a Criminal Record? A Lawsuit is Trying to Change That, NPR's All Things Considered, April 30, 2015
Representative Cases
Representing one of the largest building products distributors in the United States, operating more than 250 locations nationwide, in numerous complex commercial litigation matters
Representing family trust in complex commercial dispute with gas producer in the Marcellus Shale region
Representing real estate developer in complex commercial litigation matter against property management and construction companies
Representing class of landowners in Northeast Pennsylvania against several hydrocarbon producers for failure to properly pay royalty amounts owing on natural gas production
Representing principal investors in multi-million dollar dispute over closely-held IP company
Successfully tried a real estate dispute involving claims of adverse possession and prescriptive easement
Successfully obtained dismissal of multi-million dollar lawsuit brought by secured lender against trustees of ESOP plan
Successfully represented international pharmaceutical licensing company in complex contract dispute with strategic partners
Successfully represented investment bank and individual agents accused of ERISA and related violations arising from sophisticated tax-advantaged financial transaction worth hundreds of millions of dollars
Successfully obtained a unanimous ruling from the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, sitting en banc, declaring the lifetime employment ban contained in The Older Adults Protective Services Act to be facially unconstitutional and unenforceable
Successfully represented two national classes of pension plans against Wall Street financial institutions for numerous ERISA violations, achieving nearly $500 million in settlements for the benefit of plan participants
Successfully represented, as court-appointed lead ERISA counsel, a national class of Taft-Hartley funds that suffered severe financial losses arising from the Madoff fraud
Successfully represented the Pennsylvania Department of Health and obtained dismissal of a hospital group's attempt to compel the continued offering of an angioplasty program
Successfully obtained summary judgment in favor of the government agency in a First Amendment retaliation and whistleblowing case brought by former in-house counsel