Lifting the Burden
Mandracchia Law LLC strives to offer small-firm nimbleness and big-firm representation in legal matters involving life-changing injury, wrongful death, commercial litigation, and more.
Ask attorney Charles D. Mandracchia to describe his approach to representing clients and he’s bound to say just three words: “aggressive but ethical.”
“No matter the outcome, I don’t ever want a client thinking I didn’t look at every possible angle,” says Mandracchia, the founder and managing partner of Mandracchia Law LLC. “At the same time, I don’t want anyone to worry about or question anything I’ve done to help them. When people are in trouble, they come in here carrying a big rock, a heavy weight that affects almost every part of their life. I tell them, ‘Now it’s my turn. I’ll carry the weight for you.’ The weight is off their shoulders and the pressure is on me.”
Mandracchia Law, a full-service law firm based in Skippack, serves clients throughout Montgomery County and other parts of suburban Philadelphia. With more than 100 years of combined legal experience, Mandracchia’s legal team has represented clients in a wide range of delicate legal matters—personal injury and wrongful death, civil and commercial litigation, criminal defense, and more.
Mandracchia fully realizes the depth of his responsibility to help each client find resolution. He admits the weight feels a bit heavier in cases involving someone who has been gravely hurt or even killed.
“Personal injury and wrongful death cases are always difficult,” he says. “I represent people who have lost loved ones, including children—these are extraordinarily difficult situations—but I have the opportunity to help them. No amount of money can ever recover the loss of a child, but sometimes having their time in court can help people heal from a very traumatic event and move forward with their lives.
“In personal injury situations, people have had their lives turned upside down and want to see things set straight,” he continues. “As their attorney, you’re going up against insurance companies who are not acting in good faith. The people I represent in these cases have gotten hurt through no fault of their own, and they deserve to have their cases resolved.”
Likewise, he has helped business owners with everything from contract disputes and breaches of contract to real estate disputes and land development issues. He likes the fact that each case is unique. Also, even though he has seen a great deal in a legal career that has spanned more than 30 years, each case can bring a whole new set of challenging facts.
“We dig deep into each case so we can understand the different aspects,” he says. “It’s an interesting profession. Each case is different, so you effectively get to become an expert in a lot of different areas. What doesn’t change is that we look to get the best possible result for every client.”
Prepared for Anything
Mandracchia likes to say that he spent some time “in the CIA” before embarking on his legal career. This statement is technically true, but it does require some clarification.
“My father had a restaurant when I was growing up, so I started out in the restaurant business,” he says. “I went to the Culinary Institute of America for two years. The standing joke is that I was in the CIA before I decided to go back to school. The practice of law always intrigued me. I like the idea of helping people, whether it’s a business owner or an individual who has gotten hurt and needs help getting back on their feet.”
Mandracchia received his undergraduate degree from Villanova University, and he earned his Juris Doctor from the Villanova School of Law. He has been admitted to practice in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the New Jersey Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, the U.S. District Court, Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
He believes his time working as a public defender helped prepare him to lead his own practice, which he founded in 1991. He had been offered a position as a prosecutor, but turning down the prosecutor’s job to become a public defender turned out to be “one of the best decisions I have ever made.”
“As a public defender, you’re working on very difficult cases with not a lot of resources,” he recalls. “You learn how to work files. You learn to look for hooks to hang your hat on. You learn to study every detail of the case. I decided I wanted to be a trial lawyer, and that kind of job prepares you to become a very good litigator.”
He prides himself on thinking outside the box, and representing each client with honesty and integrity. The glowing reviews on the Mandracchia Law website, mmattorneys.com, suggest clients appreciate his no-nonsense approach. They’re not the only ones who have taken notice; Mandracchia has earned an AV Preeminent rating—the highest level of professional excellence, as voted on by peers—from Martindale-Hubbell.
The Mandracchia Law legal team includes Jeffrey W. Soderberg, who has significant experience in civil and commercial litigation. Mandracchia says Soderberg has been particularly valuable to business clients, dealing with all types of real estate and business transactions. Soderberg also has litigated the gamut of commercial cases—from straightforward matters to complex litigation involving multimillion-dollar disputes.
Soderberg graduated with honors from Pennsylvania State University, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Villanova University School of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and a managing editor of the Villanova Law Review. He is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
“We think of ourselves as a small firm with big-firm representation,” Mandracchia adds. “We put all the resources we have into each case. We take our cases seriously and always try to get the best results. Every attorney is going to say that, but those aren’t just words to me. If there’s a way for us to help, we’re going to find it.”
Mandracchia Law LLC
2024 Cressman Road
P.O. Box 1229
Skippack, PA 19474-1229
(610) 584-0700
Photograph by Jody Robinson
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, July 2021.
