J. Michael Considine, Jr., P.C.

His experience is in Business, International Business, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Real Estate, Wills, Trusts & Estates. He have tried cases (jury and non-jury) in federal and state courts, and done federal and state appeals,  estate litigation, business, civil rights, personal injury, medical malpractice, legal malpractice, real estate and general litigation. Transactional experience includes business transactions, international business microenterprise, nonprofits, business acquisitions, representation of entrepreneurs and a variety of businesses, wills, estates, probate, and trusts. His cases have established favorable law which has become precedent, and he has many satisfied clients

Excellence in International Business (I.B.) requires experience, knowledge of trends and developments in the law, relationships with experts in many related areas of the law, knowledge of foreign cultures and language, skill in developing new relationships, negotiation and litigation skills, skill in drafting transactional documents and personal qualities such as courage, tact, trustworthiness and integrity. Years of working as a visiting lecturer in law schools in China, mentoring students, working in major trials and having international interns and a tutor in Mandarin have provided unique understanding of the Chinese culture. Never before has independent research of recent case law on cases involving international business resulting in monthly handouts containing detailed summaries of such cases ever been attempted in the Philadelphia Bar Association, the oldest bar association in the U.S.  He gained valuable ongoing insight on the issues of international business and how the courts have ruled, helpful for both transactional and litigation practices.  He is a member of the Global CEO Network, which provides help to companies in I.B. and has lectured at their annual meetings. He has been a referral attorney for I.B.E.C., which helps small businesses overseas, helped business clients in Haiti to obtain USDA organic certification for organic mangos and represented a photography business in India, and consulted a gold exporting business in the US and Ivory Coast, a scrap metal importer in China, and a solar-powered oven distributor in Tanzania.

Considine spent years as an associate in a firm that specialized in personal injury cases. He has represented many clients in state and federal courts in cases involving automobile accidents,  attacks by domestic dogs, assaults by humans, motorcycle accidents, slip and falls, accidents involving crossing guards, truck accidents, and many other cases involving  very serious personal injury. He has much experience dealing with very serious injuries such as herniated discs, spine injuries, ulnar nerve injuries, fractured skull, neck fractures, cervical facette syndrome, ear injuries, fractures of the legs and arms, serious brain injuries, shoulder injuries, fractured hips, knee injuries and many other injuries. He has represented many clients who have had injuries of the nervous system and who experience significant pain, disability and decreased ability to earn a living. The best expert doctors and other specialists are used to help the client reach maximum medical improvement and return as much as possible to a normal life. Top rehabilitation, wage loss, accident reconstruction, vocational and other experts are used. The client’s maximum recovery is a top priority of the law firm. He has had successful results in many cases and has many satisfied clients.

Considine has drafted many wills and helped many clients plan their estates. He has worked on many trust documents. He has represented many estates in Pennsylvania and Colorado. He has vast experience in probate, working with the Register of Wills and Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, and finding and having assets properly valued. He uses expert appraisers, Certified Public Accountants and tax experts to assist with federal estate tax returns and the deceased’s state tax return. He educates the representatives and beneficiaries of the estate as to the process, makes sure all bills of the deceased are paid promptly, and works regularly with banks, investment companies, companies whose stock is part of the estate, energy companies where royalties are in the estate, and companies which help marshal and sell assets and prepare real estate for sale. He has experience dealing with rare and valuable assets such as jewelry, Steinway pianos, family heirlooms, rare coins, gold and precious metals and interests in oil fields. He has experience in Colorado estates and electronic filing. He counsels clients on investments, dealing with creditors, strategy for insolvent estates, the interpretation of wills, and tax issues. He advises on investment in offshore trusts. He prepares Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax returns, obtains federal employment identification numbers online and short certificates for estates, prepares and has published estate notices and advises on strategies to legally minimize state and federal taxes. He has experience in probate litigation involving disputes between beneficiaries, unlawful taking of property or money from accounts, disputes between parents and their children, incompetent beneficiaries, lost assets, later-discovered assets, and distribution disputes. He has experience dealing with estates and estate counsel in other states. By working to communicate regularly with beneficiaries and estate representatives usually such disputes are avoided and the intent of the deceased stated in their will is brought into effect and the beneficiaries paid their distribution promptly. Usually he charges an hourly rate plus costs because in many cases it saves money for the estate over a sliding scale percentage fee.

Considine has had successful verdicts in medical malpractice cases. In a difficult case involving mistakes by anesthesiologists who failed during the procedure to periodically check the arm of a man undergoing abdominal surgery who as a result suffered an ulnar nerve injury that left him with a claw hand and inability to use one of his hands, which was normal before the surgery, Considine spent countless hours to find an anesthesiogist who would testify. The diligence paid off as one from outside the area gave helpful testimony which resulted in a very substantial settlement. The parties agreed to a high-low settlement which greatly benefited the client since he received a very substantial settlement even though the arbitrator found liability was not established. He can win the very tough medical malpractice cases.

Com. v. Johnson, 368 Pa. Super. 427, 534 A. 2d 511 (1987); Roe v. O.R., 123 F.R.D. 500 (E.D. Pa. 1988), 710 F. Supp. 577 (E.D. Pa. 1989), 919 F. 2d 857 (3rd Cir. 1990); NWC v. McMonagle, 868 F. 2d 1342 (3rd Cir. 1989); Slotterback v. Interboro S.D., 766 F. Supp. 280 (E.D. Pa. 1991); Sease v. S.D. of Phila., 811 F. Supp. 183 (E.D. Pa. 1993); Matter of Waldron, 43 Chester County 29 (1994); Com. v. Gillis, 61 Pa. D & C 4th 42 (2002); Com. v. Rose, 820 A. 2d 164 (Pa. Super. 2003); Victory Outreach Center v. Melso, 313 F. Supp. 2d 481 & 371 F. Supp. 2d 642 (E.D. Pa. 2004); Birdine v. City of Coatesville, 347 F. Supp. 2d 182 (E.D. Pa. 2004) and 225 F.R.D. 157 (E.D.Pa. 2004); Snell v. Duffy, 306 F. Supp. 2d 506 (E.D. Pa. 2004); Robinson v. Fetterman, 378 F. Supp. 2d 534 & 387 F. Supp. 2nd 432 & 483 (E.D. Pa. 2005); Gilles v. Davis, 427 F. 3rd 197 (3rd Cir. 2005); Siegel v. Miller, 446 F. Supp. 2nd 246 (E.D. Pa. 2006); First Korean Church of NY, Inc. v. Montgomery County Board of Assessment Appeals, 926 A. 2nd 543 (Pa. Com. 2006); LeBoon v. Lancaster Jewish Community Center Ass, 504 F. 3rd 217 (3rd Cir. 2007); Frantz v. Gress, 520 F. Supp. 2nd 677 (E.D.Pa. 2007); Dreibelbis v. Scholton, 274 Fed. Appx 183 (3rd Cir. 2008); Nelson v. Ulster County, NY, 789 F. Supp. 2nd 345 (N.D.N.Y. 2010); Hayes v. Easterday, 879 F. Supp. 2nd 449 (E.D.Pa. 2012); Kubiak v. Harris, 949 F. Supp. 2nd 584 (E.D.Pa. 2013); Kintzel v. Kleeman, 965 F. Supp. 2nd 610 (M.D.Pa. 2013) . These include landmark cases on students’ rights to distribute literature in public schools, habeas corpus relief for speakers arrested for disorderly conduct, excessive force by police, liability of private universities for arrest of public speakers, rights of onlookers to complain of police brutality without retaliation, the right to videotape police while on duty, zoning approval as a non-prerequisite to tax exemption, exemption from discrimination liability for a religious organization and rights of adults to participate in student activities under the Equal Access Act, and of due process regarding notice of tax sale of real property. In September 2011 in a false arrest, illegal search and excessive force case against police he had his largest settlement ever in a civil rights case, Asbury v. Sousa, No. 10-2394 (E.D.Pa. 2011)

B. A., English, with Distinction, the Honors Program in English, Penn State University 1979 (Dean’s List 9 of 12 terms); J. D., University of North Carolina, 1982; award for Academic Excellence,tied for first in class, Malvern Prep, Malvern, PA, 1975.

The Art of the International Deal, Norristown, PA 1998; Doing Business with the U.S.A. and Other Countries, Istanbul, Turkey, 1999; Transnational Litigation, Villanova, PA 1999 (P.B.I.); International Letters of Credit, King of Prussia, PA 2001 (P.B.I.); Legal and Other Barriers to International Trade in China, Hubei Correspondence University, Wuhan, China, 2002; Utilizing Internet Resources in International Business (with section on Service of Process in China), Norristown, PA, 2003; International Business Symposium, Wuhan, China; 2004; Successful and Strategic 1st & 4th Amendment Litigation, Philadelphia, PA, 2004 (P.B.I.)  Symposium on International  Trade, the W.T.O. and American Law, Wuhan University, School of Law, Wuhan, China (WUSL) 2005;  Procedure and Strategy for Litigation in U. S. District Courts, South Central University for Nationalities School of Law Wuhan, China (SCU), 2005; Success in the American Practice of Law, WUSL and SCU, 2005; Investigation (in Business and Litigation), WUSL and SCU 2006; Filing Electronically in Federal Court, Civil Litigation Section, Chester County Bar Association (CCBA), May, 2007; International Business Symposium, Ethical Dilemmas in the Practice of Law and Constitutional Issues in Criminal Prosecutions, WUSL, May 2007; Freedom: International Standards, The Legal System in the USA, International Franchising and Overview of the Common Law (4 lectures) WUSL, November 2007; The Multinational Enterprise, WUSL, April 2008.; Practical Advice You’ll Never Hear in Law School, WUSL, April 2008; Knowhow:  Intellectual Property, WUSL, September 22, 2008; Contract Formation under the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, WUSL, September 22, 2008; Limits on Power: Case Law and Recent Events Revealing the Checks and Balances Between the Legislative, Judicial and Executive Branches in the USA, WUSL, September 22, 2008; informal seminar to students on civil rights, Sichuan University School of Law, Chengdu, China (SISL) December 2008; Sources of American Law, WUSL,  April 15, 2009; International Electronic Commerce, International Arbitration Agreements, Arbitrators and Awards Under U.S. Law, and Policy v. Law: Dealing with the Operational Code or The Way Things Work in International Business, SISL, April 21, 2009; Examining Select US Supreme Court Cases from the 2007 and 2008 Terms & Third Circuit, CCBA, April 28, 2009; International Business Case Law Update, WUSL, September, 2009; The L3C, Global CEO Network, Orlando, FL March 11, 2010; Pro Bono Opportunities in the Law, WUSL, December 2010; The International Entrepreneur: A Global Philly 2013 Event: Legal Issues For The International Entrepreneur October 10, 2013; Tough Problems In International Energy (P.B.I.) December 4, 2013; Evaluating And Financing International Business Ventures (P.B.I.) January 31, 2013; Helping Global Companies Avoid Money Laundering (Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Red Flags) (Red Flags for Wire Transfers) (P.B.I.) August 22, 2014; How To Avoid Problems With Commercial Shipping Documents (Practical Advice About Shipping Documents) (Practical Advice And Helpful Tips On Shipping) & (Recent Case Law On Shipping And International Business) (P.B.I.) April 8, 2015

Guitar, music, carpentry, home repair, dancing, sports, foreign culture, languages, humor, mentoring, the outdoors, fitness, travel, hiking, friendship, justice, wilderness, learning, reading. He has a balanced life.

Teachable, a strong desire to help people; friendly, diligent, lighthearted, adventurous, intrepid, authentic; desiring to improve and grow; excellent people skills with desire to continue to build relationships