Theodore Roosevelt once said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
While the former president’s sage advice isn’t the official mantra of Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba, the guiding principle of the full-service law firm headquartered in Lehigh Valley reflects those words by demonstrating a personal commitment to every client who comes through its doors seeking assistance with legal issues.
“A lot of times I’ll meet clients who live in the Bucks County area at their homes or businesses on my way into work or my way back home at night,” says Anthony S. Rachuba IV, a member of the firm’s Estate Planning and Administration group and a resident of Doylestown. “It’s just the way we do business, and it shows the level of commitment everyone at our firm has for our clients.”
Although the firm’s offices are located in Center Valley, some of its 29 attorneys call Wynnewood, Lansdale, Telford, Dresher and Doylestown home.
“People who come to us for help are some of the same people I see in my community,” he says. “Their community is my community. I live here, my kids go to school here, and my wife is a teacher here. When you live in a community, you make connections with people. You want to help them.”
That focus has stood as the bedrock of Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba since 1988, when the firm was founded in Allentown. Serving Lehigh Valley and Bucks County, as well as all of eastern Pennsylvania, the regional law firm has expanded from six attorneys in those early days to as many as 30, with a professional portfolio to address a wide range of matters including estate planning and administration, health care, corporate business and banking, real estate, employment law and labor relations, arts and entertainment law, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, elder law, eminent domain, family law, international trade law, litigation and trial practice, and mergers and acquisitions.
Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba also has developed niche markets in personal injury, planned communities and condominiums, project development and finance, tax assessment appeals and taxation.
“I think what sets our firm apart from many others is we work specifically in one or two specialized areas of law,” says Rachuba, who joined the firm in 2008, and was named to the Pennsylvania “Super Lawyers” Rising Stars list, an honor received by fewer than 3 percent of the state’s lawyers. He and one of the firm’s shareholders, Steven T. Boell of Telford, were selected as one of Bucks County’s 40 Under 40 by The Intelligencer in 2014.
“On top of that,” he continues, “I believe being in Lehigh Valley is just a different pricing market than being from Philadelphia. The quality of our service is at a high level. I think there’s a perception that the lesser you pay, the lesser quality you get. That’s just not always an accurate perception. Our lawyers’ backgrounds and pedigrees are exceptional. We provide our clients the best legal service they can find.”
Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba is sensitive to the needs and concerns of each of its clients, and its attorneys.
The firm’s attorneys support numerous nonprofit and business organizations in the Bucks County and Montgomery County areas. Boell serves on the board of directors for Child, Home & Community. Shareholder Timothy D. Charlesworth is co-chair of the Bucks County International Trade Council. Rachuba is a board member of the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Bucks County Estate Planning Council, and many other attorneys are active members of other Chambers of Commerce and economic development groups in the region. Attorneys Jacob M. Sitman and Douglas Panzer are members of the Montgomery County Bar Association, and Rachuba and Boell are members of the Bucks County Bar Association.
The firm was named one of the Pennsylvania’s Best Places to Work in 2010, 2011 and 2012, and one of The Morning Call’s Top Workplaces in the Lehigh Valley in 2013. The firm was also nominated for The Intelligencer’s Best Places to Work award in 2014.
Sitman, of Dresher, is a shareholder in the firm’s Employment Law and Labor Relations group, representing both private and public employers in an array of employment law and traditional labor matters. He litigates noncompete cases and claims of discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, breach of contract, wrongful discharge and workplace safety claims filed in state and federal courts. He also represents employers in wage and hour matters, Department of Labor audits and investigations and audits, and helps employers manage the legal risks associated with hiring, employing and terminating personnel.
Sitman, who has received an “AV” rating by Martindale-Hubbell, worked for a large Philadelphia firm prior to joining Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba. He has also been tapped by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to mediate employment law disputes. He suggests that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.
“It’s common for people to think the bigger-city firm is the better firm,” Sitman says. “But I think all you need to do is deal with us for a short period of time to learn that’s not necessarily true.
“It’s about relationships,” he continues. “Coming to a smaller firm has a more intimate feel to what we do, and perhaps there’s a greater degree of trust and credibility. I know the client gets a lot more true time and attention with us. We tailor what we do to their needs. … We’re practical and big and sophisticated enough to handle almost anything, but small enough that the client gets real value and attention. They’re not just another number. Our goal is to make all our clients successful, long-term clients.”
Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba, P.C.
Stabler Corporate Center
4001 Schoolhouse Lane
Center Valley, PA 18034
610-797-9000 | www.flblaw.com
Photograph by Allure West Studios
