“Ever since the playground in grade school, I was always the kid fighting for the underdog,” says attorney Anthony P. Zarella of The Zarella Law Office LLC. “I like to fight for the person who needs representation and who is not going to get satisfaction, for the most part, unless they have an advocate.”
Now as a leading personal injury attorney, Zarella, who founded The Zarella Law Office in 2009, fights for clients who have suffered all manner of injury due to another party’s negligence. Such cases include automobile—including truck and motorcycle—accidents, “slip and fall,” product defects, dog bites and medical malpractice, mistakes and/or negligence.
Zarella, who is certified to practice law in all state and federal courts in Pennsylvania, earned his J.D. in 1993 from Temple University’s James E. Beasley School of Law. In addition to having spent decades in the legal profession, he can offer clients a unique perspective, as he spent more than 15 years working for major insurance companies, including American International Group and Nationwide Insurance Company.
“I defended the insurance companies for more than 15 years, so I know the business from the other side,” Zarella says. “This gives me a ‘leg up’ because I know what the opponents’ moves are going to be. I know how insurance companies think; I know their M.O., I can speak their language … and I know how to defeat the arguments they’re going to make. This has been invaluable in my practice and has allowed me to maximize recoveries for clients.”
During his time with these major insurance companies in Pennsylvania, Zarella served numerous roles, rising through the ranks from claims manager to legal counsel for the claims department.
“That experience gave me a very good understanding of what goes on internally in the insurance companies,” he says. “It’s all about communication, speaking the same language as the insurance company and communicating [the client’s] message in a way they understand.”
Zarella, who works on a contingency fee basis, and does not take a fee unless he recovers money for the client, also excels at devising individualized strategies for each of his clients. One recent client, for example, had a strong personal injury case but wished to avoid a trial setting because of his religious beliefs. Zarella worked with his client’s wishes in this regard and, using a third-party mediator, obtained very favorable results for his client. The insurance company had offered $400,000 to settle the matter, but Zarella mediated the case and ultimately obtained $1.5 million for his client.
“One thing I believe is that every client is different,” Zarella says. “In some cases, clients want to try their case because they want their day in court. For others, that’s not the way to go.”
Citing the aforementioned case as an example, Zarella says, “Because I conformed to his beliefs, this empowered him.” This, Zarella says, enabled the client to feel comfortable and, thus, ultimately see a successful resolution.
Clients are not the only ones to recognize Zarella’s record of excellence. His success has been rewarded with the admiration of his peers, who voted in two consecutive years to include him among Pennsylvania’s “Super Lawyers,” an honor that places him in the top 5 percent of the state’s 36,000 seasoned attorneys.
“The insurance companies have been doing this for a very long time, so if you’re going to try to take [a case] on yourself, it’s uneven,” he says. “They have very experienced people that are negotiating on their behalf, so you need an experienced person on the other side.”
The Zarella Law Office LLC
www.zarellalaw.com
1600 Market Street, Suite 1416
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7240
267-318-7416
Photograph by Jeff Anderson
