Richard E. Rush

Richard E. Rush is a trial lawyer with Thomson, Rhodes and Cowie, P.C., who has over 30 years experience in all areas of civil litigation. Mr. Rush's practice involves the representation of defendants, insurers and manufacturers. Mr. Rush has managed litigation and trial cases throughout the country, as national counsel in the representation of asbestos defendants, as regional counsel defending trucking companies, and as both a lecturer and lead attorney on insurance bad faith claims. His busy practice also includes premises liability cases, products liability lawsuits, the defense of all types of claims against automobile insurers or their insureds, including uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist claims, and the representation of defendants in all types of general negligence claims.

During the past 30 years, Mr. Rush has represented a variety of defendants in asbestos litigation throughout Pennsylvania, and nationally through special assignments. In these cases, Mr. Rush was frequently "lead" counsel in the defense of claims, because of his experience, his abilities to develop and present effective defenses to claims, and his knowledge of the underlying issues. For these same reasons, Mr. Rush has frequently been requested on the eve of trail to serve as primary defense counsel in cases outside of Pennsylvania, involving demands or exposures at the seven-figure level.

Mr. Rush has developed particular expertise with respect to bad faith litigation. He has carefully tracked developments in Pennsylvania's bad faith laws and has engaged in both proactive activities - counseling clients on how to prevent such claims - and as defense counsel whenever lawsuits arise. As a result of his success in representing trucking companies in Western Pennsylvania, Mr. Rush has been assigned on major cases throughout Pennsylvania and elsewhere, and has consistently achieved outstanding results.

As a veteran defense lawyer, Mr. Rush is fully familiar with the best way - as well as the most efficient manner - to defend more routine cases, such as those involving automobile accidents, underinsured and uninsured claims, slips and falls, and general negligence claims. Mr. Rush prides himself on being able to get to the heart of the case quickly, so that early decisions can be made whether to attempt to achieve settlement or to prepare for a full scale defense. If the case is one to be defended, Mr. Rush is completely cognizant of what needs to be done to get the case ready for trial in a manner that does not involve excessive or unnecessary defense costs.

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Mr. Rush was one of the founding members of Thomson, Rhodes & Cowie, P.C.