Never Back Down
Even against the most powerful opponents, Hoeylegal founder Christian Hoey relishes the opportunity to seek justice for individuals who have been irreparably harmed.
by Leigh Stuart

Growing up two doors away from the Honorable Frank T. Hazel instilled in Christian Hoey a reverence for the law at a young age. At the time, Hazel was District Attorney of Delaware County, and has since become a senior judge on the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas.
 
“He was so well respected as a hardworking lawyer,” Hoey shares. “He always impressed me by tackling the most difficult cases and criminal prosecutions. He is a very intelligent, hardworking lawyer and has always been someone I respected and modeled my career after.”
 
In fact, Hazel’s influence was so strong that Hoey chose to pursue a spot as an Assistant District Attorney as a young lawyer.
 
“His influence both directly and indirectly led me to be a trial lawyer,” Hoey says. “I wanted to pursue no other area of practice, and I knew this as early as high school.”
 
Hoey earned his undergraduate degree in 1990 from Temple University and went on to complete his Juris Doctor at Widener University School of Law three years later. He then spent several years as an assistant prosecutor with the Chester County District Attorney’s office before moving on to litigating medical malpractice and wrongful death personal injury cases. His next move came in 2001, when he founded his own firm, Hoeylegal—a litigation only personal injury firm.
 
Throughout his career, Hoey has excelled through hard work, thoroughness, and dedication—qualities he honed during his time at Temple, where he rowed competitively.
 
“Rowing proved an important component in how my law practice works,” Hoey says. “The correlation between waking up at 5 a.m. to row 12 miles before class and the energy required to successfully litigate complex personal injury cases is obvious. That work ethic has stayed with me. It’s how my practice is run—work intensive, and results driven. My staff here understands how much energy is required to successfully represent our personal injury clients.”
 
Hoey concentrates his practice in criminal law and complex personal injury litigation, medical malpractice claims, nursing home claims, trucking accidents, and wrongful death claims.
 
“My parents were both very dedicated and hardworking individuals,” Hoey shares. “My mother was a coalminer’s daughter from Johnstown, Pa. She understood the meaning of hard work at an early age, when she’d milk the cows in the backyard and maintain a garden so her family of 10 could eat.
 
“My parents led by example,” he continues. “My mother, a Registered Nurse, and my father, an executive with GE, both got out of bed early and worked hard and instilled the principles of discipline and hard work into their kids. They were loving, great parents.”
 
Now the father of five children of his own, Hoey works to instill those same values in his children.
 
“Being a part of their lives and demonstrating the importance of competitiveness and fairness is a big part of being a parent,” Hoey says. “As an athlete throughout my entire life, from age 10 through today, I’ve been competitive, in rowing and in all other sports. I was taught very early on that winning is an attitude. You have to believe in your case, believe in yourself, and believe in your client. Litigation is a very competitive area of practice, and having the capacity and ability to go to trial on behalf of a client is a valuable asset. Many personal injury lawyers never leave the office and never see the inside of a courtroom. At Hoeylegal, we are prepared to go to trial for each and every client that walks through our door.”
 
Unsurprisingly, Hoey is not eager to settle claims—“until the value is appropriate,” as he says. “I’ve tried well over 100 jury trials, and each trial adds to the experience I bring to each client’s case. A personal injury attorney should be ready to, and expected to, try any case he takes on.”
 
In personal injury matters, Hoey says most clients come to his office in search of answers—why a physician made a particular decision, or why a company let a particular person operate a tractor-trailer. These are common questions asked by Hoey’s clients.
 
“These are answers you’re not commonly going to get from a defendant before you sue them,” he says. “Being a litigator means being a force for clients and diving into a case to gather as much information about a company or individual that allows us to get the answers our clients deserve. By being a litigator, you’re telling a client that you’re ready to get them the answers they deserve.”

‘A Powerful Responsibility’
Hoey understands that the more cases that he tries, the stronger his reputation becomes as a zealous and capable litigator. He also knows that each case is distinctive.
 
“Each client, with his or her damages, is a unique person and has their own story to tell,” Hoey says. “Each trial is different because each story for each trial is unique.”
 
Hoey has the ability to draw out that story from his clients and vividly present it to a jury box full of strangers. Hoey is not one to back down in the face of powerful opponents, either.
 
“I enjoy being able to compete against the largest corporations, institutions, and hospitals,” he explains. “I enjoy being the lawyer for the everyday person, telling a jury how important my client is—how that client impacted the lives of others, and in the case of wrongful death, how big a loss that is for my client’s family.
 
“In the face of all of the advantages that the defense of a large corporation can provide, I relish being on the other side of the courtroom telling the jury how important an ordinary citizen can be,” Hoey continues. “That’s what a courthouse is made for—it’s not an environment tilted in favor of an important doctor, institution, or corporation. It is important to our clients that the courtroom remain an environment in which they have equal and vigorous representation.”
 
Many of Hoey’s cases involve catastrophic injury and wrongful death—in other words, extreme loss.
 
“Our cases have a significant impact on the clients we represent, and the family that survives the death of a loved one,” Hoey explains. “When we litigate a wrongful death case, we are the voice for decedent. It is an honor to speak in the courtroom on behalf of the party who has lost his or her life and it is a powerful responsibility. We relish and honor the trust that each of our clients bestows upon us to be their voice in the courtroom before the jury.”
 
Hoey’s dedication to his clients is founded upon his tireless work ethic, extensive and profound litigation experience, and his compassion for the voiceless and underserved claimants.
 
“Every client has unfettered access to me and my staff,” he says. “We work long hours, we’re always available by cell phone, and we often meet clients in the evenings, weekends, or first thing in the morning. In other words, when a client retains us, that client has our attention from beginning to end.”

Christian Hoey
Hoeylegal
50 Darby Road
Paoli, Pa.
(610) 647-5151
Hoeylegal.com
cjhoey@hoeylegal.com

Photograph by Jody Robinson
 
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, July 2020.