John Hare

Clients

John has represented a diverse clientele, including the United States Chamber of Commerce, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, the American Medical Association, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, other Pennsylvania lawyers, and academics interested in the outcome of appellate litigation.

Practice Areas

Appellate Advocacy & Post-Trial Practice

Career

John is a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and chair of Marshall Dennehey’s Appellate Advocacy and Post-Trial Practice Group. He has litigated more than 500 appeals in state and federal appellate courts. As litigation counsel, John has represented individuals, insurers, and corporations in some of the most high-profile litigation in recent Pennsylvania history, including dozens of cases with verdicts and settlements in excess of $10 million.

John serves by appointment of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania as the co-chair of the Court’s Historical Commission and on the Commission on Judicial Independence, a group of state and federal judges, academics, and attorneys who work to promote public awareness of the importance of a strong, independent judiciary in a free society. He also spent six years on the Supreme Court’s Civil Procedural Rules Committee, the last two years as chair, and served on the Board of Governors of the Bar Association of the Third Federal Circuit and as co-chair of the Amicus Curiae Committee of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute. He also serves on the advisory board of Ohlbaum on the Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence (Lexis-Nexis) and regularly speaks at appellate court events and continuing legal education seminars.

Professional Memberships

American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, Fellow, 2016

Bar Association for the Third Federal Circuit

International Association of Defense Counsel, 2018

Pennsylvania Bar Association

Pennsylvania Defense Institute, 2008

Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Civil Procedural Rules Committee, 2015-2021; Chair, 2019-2021

Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Historical Commission, Co-Chair, 2023

Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Commission on Judicial Independence, 2024

Publications

John has developed, edited, and co-authored two books on Pennsylvania’s appellate courts -- The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; Life and Law in the Commonwealth, 1684-2017, was published by the Pennsylvania State University Press in 2018; and Keystone of Justice: The Pennsylvania Superior Court, 1895-1995, was published by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2000.

John authored “Chief Justice Baer and the Supreme Court’s Tricentennial Anniversary,” 62 Duquesne Law Review 1 (Winter 2024).

He is frequently sought out by regional legal and business media seeking comment on appellate court activity. He regularly provides commentary to reporters at The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Legal Intelligencer, Pennsylvania Law Weekly, GoErie.com., The Pocono Record, and The Tribune Review. Visit his Marshall Dennehey website bio for the complete list.

Work Highlights

Favorable Precedential Decision Obtained in High-Stakes Construction Defect Case

Pennsylvania Appellate Courts Uphold Nonsuit Obtained By Jack Delany In $11.5 Million Construction Death Case

Appellate Attorneys Prevail in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court

$40.2 Million Medical Malpractice Verdict Vacated and Remanded for New Trial

Amicus Curiae Brief on Behalf of PDI and PADC

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Pennsylvania, 1994

Supreme Court of the United States

U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit

U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania

U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit

Languages Spoken

English

Education

Awards