Hope on the Horizon
Robert E. McCann and his fellow attorneys at McCann Dillon Jaffe & Lamb aggressively pursue justice for accident victims eager to get their lives back on track.
For those who have suffered a serious injury as the result of an accident, the physical repercussions can last for years, and perhaps even the rest of someone’s life. The aftermath often affects everything from simple daily activities to the ability to earn a living. The emotional toll can be just as life-changing, capable of affecting one’s moods, relationships, and even self-image.
Having represented people in this situation for more than two decades, Robert E. McCann understands as well as anyone the great responsibility that a plaintiff’s attorney has to help each client find a resolution to his or her specific problem. McCann, the founding partner of McCann Dillon Jaffe & Lamb, finds great satisfaction in fighting for those who may be grasping for hope wherever they can find it.
“When people come to us, something terrible has happened and it has rocked the foundation of their lives,” he says. “They often can’t work, they have to get medical treatment, they may need surgeries. There’s a lot of angst and a lot of stress, for good reason. I recognize it, and my colleagues and our staff recognize it. It’s very important to be there for support and to help the clients get things in place so they can get back to a normal life. Their world has been turned upside down, and our goal is to help them right the ship, get better, and get back to work.”
Founded in 2005, McCann Dillon Jaffe & Lamb represents accident victims and their families in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. Roughly half of its clients have been hurt in automobile accidents, while a quarter have been injured at work, many on construction sites. Other areas of practice include medical malpractice, slips and falls, and train accidents.
McCann graduated from Swarthmore College, where he was a four-year varsity baseball and football player, and Widener University School of Law. He started his law career 30 years ago on the other side of the aisle, as a defense attorney representing insurance companies in personal injury cases. He soon joined a plaintiff’s firm and gained valuable court experience. He branched out on his own in 2002, expanding his firm three years later.
“I had great mentors,” he says. “I learned that you have to take really good care of your clients. If you show them that you care, communicate with them, and empathize with them, and do a good job for them, they will leave the firm very satisfied and become your best source of business. That’s still how I practice today. Ninety percent of our clientele comes from former clients, current clients, and other lawyers who refer us business, because they know we’ll take good care of their folks.”
The firm aggressively pursues justice for its clients and strives to hold insurance companies and employers accountable for their actions. Over the past 15 years, the firm has generated $250 million in verdicts and settlements in personal injury and wrongful death cases. A tireless work ethic and a commitment to a just cause are the heart of the firm’s success.
“The only way to get the other side to do the right thing and settle the case for the right and fair amount is to put the case in suit,” McCann says. “We put cases in suit as much as or more than any other firm in Delaware, and we do the same thing in Pennsylvania. Not every case is going to go to trial, but we plan and we’re prepared for it, and if it has to go to trial, we’re ready to do it.”
Although their opponents often have immense power and unlimited resources, McCann and his team take pride in rising to the challenge. He recalls one case in which he and his partner at the time were up against the country’s largest oil refinery, two of the biggest law firms, and two of the biggest insurance companies in the world. McCann and his partner found all the inspiration they needed in their clients to help the family of an employee who suffered a fatal accident on the job.
“That was an enormous amount of time and energy, and as a result of the hard work, we got a phenomenal result for our client,” says McCann, who has been nominated a Super Lawyer every year from 2007 to 2022. “We were David versus Goliath in that case, and we were ready to go with our slingshot. They’re not all like that, but there are times when you’re going against a multibillion-dollar Fortune 100 company and an equally big insurance company. When we take on a case, we know we have to be prepared to go to war, and when we do it right, we’ll get a great result for our client because the other side will recognize how strong our case is.”
As a lifelong athlete who realizes the value of teamwork, McCann is quick to share credit with his partners—Timothy A. Dillon, Mark Jaffe, and Patrick C. Lamb—as well as the other attorneys and paralegals on the staff. His office administrator, Teresa Ludwig, has been with him since the beginning, and he calls her “the glue that keeps the entire operation going. It’s hard to find incredibly gifted, hardworking people, and she’s all of the above.”
Thirty years into his career, McCann shows no signs of slowing down. Rather, he has been reinvigorated by the recent return to in-person meetings after the firm had pivoted to virtual consultations during the pandemic. He enjoys looking clients in the eye and sincerely expressing his willingness to fight for them.
“No matter how small the case is or how big the case is, we treat the clients the same way,” he says. “We want them to feel satisfied, and we want to do the best we can for them. If we do that, they become our most loyal and best referral sources. That’s an old-fashioned way of doing business, but I think it’s still the best way to do things in this field.”
McCann Dillon Jaffe & Lamb, LLC
Locations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey
(215) 569-8488 in Philadelphia
(302) 888-1221 in Delaware
mccanninjurylaw.com
Locations in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey
(215) 569-8488 in Philadelphia
(302) 888-1221 in Delaware
mccanninjurylaw.com
Photograph by Alison Dunlap
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, March 2022.
