Attorney at Purchase, George & Murphey, P.C.
Location:
Erie, Pennsylvania
Phone:
814-273-2010
Email:
Email me
Background
Mr. RIley Is a member of the law firm of Purchase George & Murphey, P.O. In Erie, Pennsylvania. He previously was a founding shareholder In the law firm of Conner RIley Friedman & Welchler In Erie. His practice Involves civil trial and appellate work In the state and federal courts. He Is admitted to practice before all Pennsylvania state and federal courts, as well as the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. RIley Is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and received his law degree there In 1978. From 1978 until January, 1993, Mr. RIley practiced law at MacDonald llllg Jones & Britton In Erie, PA, where he was primarily retained by national and regional Insurance carriers to defend civil cases brought against their Insureds. In January 1993, he joined with Andrew Conner to form the law firm of Conner & RIley, where his practice concentrated on the representation of plaintiffs In medical negligence, motor vehicle and products liability cases. In July, 2007, Philip Friedman and William Welchler joined them to form the law firm of Conner RIley Friedman & Welchler. In Jun, 2023, he joined the law firm of Purchase George & Murphey, P.C.
Mr. RIley was Inducted as a Fellow of The American College of Trial Lawyers In 2009. He has been board certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 1991. He previously served as a member of the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice (formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America). He Is a past Zone 7 Governor of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Immediate Past Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission, which Interviews and rates candidates for the state appellate judiciary.
Mr. RIley Is a Past President of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (formerly the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association) and received that organization’s Milton D. Rosenberg Award In 2011. He Is a Past President of the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, the Erie County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, and Is a member of the Foundation’s Keystone Society. He received the Pennsylvania Bar Association President’s Award In 2005 for his work with the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and again In 2015 for his work with the Judicial Evaluation Commission.
Mr. RIley was named Chancellor of the Erie County Bar Association In 2018. He was honored by the Pitt Varsity Letter Club as an Awardee of Distinction In 2015, and received the GIrard (PA) School District’s Distinguished Alumni Award In 2014.
Mr. Riley was appointed by the late Chief Judge Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to chair a Merit Selection Committee for a Bankruptcy Judgeship Vacancy in the Western District of Pennsylvania. In 2015, he was appointed by Chief District Judge Joy Flowers Conti of the United States District Court for the Westem District of Pennsylvania to serve on a Merit Selection Panel for the position of full-time United States Magistrate Judge at Erie, Pennsylvania. In 2020, Mr. Riley was appointed by the late Chief Justice Max Baer of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to serve on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Tricentennial Committee, a/k/a “Team 300,” an eleven member committee tasked with planning and executing the commemoration and celebration of the Court’s 300″^ Anniversary, which was held in Philadelphia in May 2022.
Mr. Riley previously served as Chairman of Hearing Panel 4.06 of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the Melvin S. Belli Society and the American Bar Foundation, and previously served as a Master in the Northwest Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Inns of Court.
An author and frequent lecturer at legal education seminars sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, he has been AV rated by Martindale Hubbell since 1997, has been annually selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer® by Law & Politics and Philadelphia Magazine since 2005; and has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Mr. Riley was selected by Best Lawyers as the 2016 Lawyer of the Year for Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs for the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area, and 2018 Lawyer of the Year for Medical Malpractice Law-Plaintiffs for the’ same region.
Mr. Riley currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Erie County Convention Center Authority. He is a Past President of the Board of Directors of Erie Independence House, Inc., and served on the EIH Board for over 36 years. He is a former chair of the Fund Distribution Division of United Way of Erie County, and a former member of the Board of Directors of Community Resources for Independence. He is also a Past President of the Erie Chapter of the Pitt Golden Panthers and a Past Vice-President of the Pitt Erie Club.
Mr. Riley and his wife, Patty, are the proud parents of three sons, two daughters in-law, and one grandson.
Practice Areas
Education
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- J.D. – 1978
- University of Pittsburgh
- B.A. – 1975
- Honors: magna cum laude
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania, 1978
- U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania, 1978
- U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit, 1981
- U.S. Supreme Court, 2006
Certified Legal Specialties
- Certified Trial Advocate, National Board of Legal Specialty Certification, American Bar Association Accredited Organization, 1991
Professional Associations
- American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
- American Association for Justice, Member; Past Member, Board of Governors; Past State Delegate
- Pennsylvania Association for Justice (formerly PATLA), Past President
- Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, Past President
- Pennsylvania Bar Association, Member, Board of Governors; Past Chair, Judicial Evaluation Commission; Former Member, House of Delegates
- Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, Past President, Keystone Society Charter Member
- Erie County Bar Association, Member; Past President; Chancellor of the Bar – 2018
- Merit Selection Committee for Bankruptcy Judge Vacancy, Western District of Pennsylvania, Chairman, 2003
- Hearing Panel 4.06, Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Former Chairman
- Public Justice Foundation, Member
- American Bar Foundation, Fellow
Honors
- The Pennsylvania Association for Justice Milton D. Rosenberg Award, 2011
- Erie County Bar Association, Chancellor of the Bar, 2018
- Pennsylvania Bar Association President’s Award, 2005 and 2015
- Erie County Bar Association President’s Award, 2000
- Best Lawyers in America, 2008 – Present; Lawyer of the Year, Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, Pittsburgh Region, 2016; Lawyer of the Year, Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, Pittsburgh Region, 2019
- Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, 2005 – Present
- Pitt Varsity Letter Club, Awardee of Distinction, 2015
- Girard School District “Hive of Fame” Distinguished Alumni Award, 2014
Community Involvement
- Erie Events/Erie County Convention Center Authority, Treasurer; Member, Board of Directors, 2016 – Present
- Erie Independence House, Inc., Past President, Member of the Board of Directors, 1981 – 2017
Fraternities or Sororities
- Phi Eta Sigma
- Omicron Delta Kappa
- Pi Kappa Alpha