Mary F. Platt

Mary Platt represents clients in complex litigation matters pending before federal and state trial and appellate courts. In 2018, Mary served as Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association after the Association’s membership elected her Vice Chancellor for 2016, and she served as Chancellor-Elect in 2017.

Mary’s practice has focused on defending companies in individual cases and class actions.  She has represented companies ranging from closely-held businesses to large global companies in a variety of industries, including the technology, pharmaceutical, chemical, oil and gas, and real estate industries.  She has experience in a wide variety of matters including contract claims, shareholder and partner disputes, antitrust claims, intellectual property, restrictive covenants, trade secret misappropriation, consumer protection and unfair competition claims, employment claims, real estate, environmental claims, insurance coverage, construction disputes, and toxic tort and product liability claims. She also has defended attorneys in malpractice cases and disputes arising from an attorney’s separation from their place of employment. As a Judge Pro Tem in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Commerce Court Program, she serves as a mediator in settlement conferences at the request of Commerce Court Judges.

In addition to leading the Philadelphia Bar Association as Chancellor in 2018, Mary is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s House of Delegates, a member of the Jenkins Law Library Board of Directors, and has held several leadership positions at the Philadelphia Bar Association, including Assistant Treasurer, Treasurer, member of the Board of Governors, chair of the Law Practice Management Division, and chair of the Federal Courts, City Policy, and Women in Profession Committees.  Mary has served on the Philadelphia Bar Foundation Board of Trustees, the Public Interest Law Center Board of Directors, the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Board of Directors, the Global Philadelphia Association Board of Directors, and the Women’s Law Project Board of Directors.

An honors graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and an honors graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Mary spent 31 years as a litigator at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads in Philadelphia, where she was an equity partner for 22 years, a vice chair of the Litigation Department, and a member of the Professional Responsibility and Technology Committees.

• Represented a specialty chemical company in trade secret misappropriation litigation.
• Represented a major oil company in a class action and hundreds of individual cases alleging personal injury and property damage arising from environmental contamination.
• Represented a major software company in a class action arising from an allegedly defective product.
• Represented a major telecommunications company in resolving a dispute with its landlord and general contractor over a significant construction defect at the client’s facility.
• Negotiated separation agreement for a law firm shareholder.
• Represented a specialty chemical company with respect to a third party subpoena seeking trade secrets and other confidential information pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782.
• Negotiated a separation agreement for a general counsel of a biotechnology company.
• Served as counsel to a major software company in antitrust class actions brought by indirect purchasers of the company’s software in several states and Canada.
• Represented major image distribution company in intellectual property litigation.
• Represented a major pharmaceutical company in insurance coverage litigation.
• Represented a commercial real estate company in landlord tenant disputes.
• Represented attorneys in legal malpractice cases.