The law firm of Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco has grown from a small two attorney law firm founded in Paoli by Buck Riley in 1984 to a team of more than 20 seasoned practitioners, now headquartered in the Eagleview Corporate Center in Exton. Remarkable not only for the breadth and quality of its client base, the firm is unique in the fact that many of its practitioners have worked together for virtually their entire legal careers.
“It is unusual in today’s legal environment to have a consistent core group of attorneys who have worked together as effectively as the attorneys at Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco,” says Denise Yarnoff, a firm shareholder who co-chairs the Land Use and Zoning Practice group.
Not only does the cohesiveness of the firm’s practice groups provide for a positive work environment, but this stability has also proven very attractive to the firm’s clients, many of whom have been with the firm since its inception.
“Clients look to law firms for steady guidance and long-term familiarity with their respective corporate needs and growth issues,” says Yarnoff. “The fact that we have literally ‘grown up’ with many of our clients is extremely important to them and to us. It is humbling how many clients have been with our firm for such a long time. We have built relationships through hard work, successful results and passion for the clients’ matters.”
While the firm essentially began as a prominent real estate and litigation practice, growth over the past 30 years has been extraordinary in the areas of telecommunications, business and estate planning. The Real Estate and Land Use practice group represents a large number of international, national and regional developers, schools, hospitals, industries and retailers, while the firm’s Telecommunications group is proud to boast a client base consisting of virtually every major wireless company in the nation. That practice area began with the modest representation of one or two providers some 30 years ago and has grown together with the industry it represents.
“Legal services are critical to the wireless industry in building and upgrading infrastructure, and the firm has assisted the industry in providing service in thousands of locations,” says Chris Schubert, chair of the firm’s Telecommunications practice group. Schubert attributes the meteoric explosion of this practice area to “word of mouth” referral among those in the wireless industry. Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco is known as one of the pioneer law firms that have grown with the industry since its inception.
“These clients look to us not only for our legal expertise but also for our knowledge of how they operate from a technical perspective,” says Schubert. “We believe we earn that trust with the best group of telecommunications attorneys in the region.”
The firm’s Litigation practice, under the direction of the firm’s founder, Buck Riley, has also enjoyed unrivaled success in recent years. From achieving record-breaking, million-dollar verdicts to assisting clients in navigating the world of business disputes, employment issues and other contentious matters, the experienced litigation team at Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco has quickly become the go-to firm in the region for litigation services. Shareholder Jane Richardson attributes this success to the firm’s team approach.
“Litigation matters are handled as a team,” she says. “We analyze and attack issues drawing on decades of combined experience. Our clients appreciate the fact that in today’s world, no one attorney is capable of efficient and effective representation, given the complexities of today’s legal environment. We use our combined expertise to provide the client the most effective litigation options possible.”
Of course, no full-service law firm would be complete without offering clients the benefits of an experienced and effective Business, Tax and Estate Planning department. Robert A. Cohen, chair of the firm’s Business Tax group, believes the growth of that practice area is proportionate to today’s increasingly complex tax codes and other governmental regulatory burdens.
“Our longevity with our client base enables us to advise based on understanding our clients’ personal and business goals as we assist in preparing for what we see as a more complex and challenging regulatory environment in the future,” says Cohen. “Our clients appreciate the fact that not only are we able to provide advice based on regulations as they exist today, but we also have a practice group with an eye on the horizon. Proactive and flexibility in planning are critical. This is vitally important to our estate practice as well. One of the more challenging aspects of this practice is staying ahead of, and accurately dealing with rapidly evolving regulations pertaining to wealth preservation.”
“We are experienced, effective and engaged,” adds Yarnoff. “There is only one way that a law firm can enjoy the explosive growth and respected reputation of our firm and that is through the assembly of attorneys working together to provide the stability and experience demanded by clients in today’s legal environment. Our clients are our best testament to the quality of our work, and we are truly gratified by the confidence they have placed in our hands.”
Riley Riper Hollin & Colagreco
Eagleview Corporate Center
717 Constitution Drive
Exton, PA 19341
610-458-4400
www.rrhc.com
Photograph by Nina Lea Photography
