Jerome A. Hoffman
Senior Counsel | Philadelphia
Jerome A. Hoffman

Jerome A. Hoffman is the past chair of the labor and employment practice group. Mr. Hoffman has had extensive successful jury trial experience (over 52 successful jury trials) in all areas of employment law, as well as major case experience before the NLRB, with the OFCCP and involving ERISA stockdrop and other fiduciary litigation. Although officially retired from Dechert, Mr. Hoffman was recently lead counsel on a race discrimination case against a major network, in which the jury returned a defence verdict in less than three hours.

He has been heavily involved in ERISA class actions representing such employers/trustees as Lockheed Martin, Norfolk Southern, Polaroid and Crown Holdings.

Mr. Hoffman has been designated as a leading attorney for labor and employment by Chambers USA, a referral guide to leading lawyers in the United States based on the opinions of their peers and clients. Chambers notes his “long experience with collective bargaining agreements and ability to provide excellent and timely advice” as well as his “good feel for the practicalities of employee relations.” He has also been recognized in Best Lawyers in America for labor and employment law since 2007.

Mr. Hoffman formerly served as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice. He has lectured on a variety of employment topics including: “Drug Testing and Smoking in the Workplace,” “Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988,” “Ethics of Employers/Supervisor Representation,” and “Employment Jury Trial Techniques.” He teaches labor and employment law at the Temple University Beasley School of Law where he as an Adjunct Professor. Mr. Hoffman wrote a chapter entitled “Preventing and Solving Major Labor and Employment Problems” for the book Inside the Minds: Labor and Employment Litigation Strategies, that features top attorneys and their perspective on key strategies and best practices for negotiating, litigating, and settling employment disputes. The book was released worldwide June 2007.

  • It's Not Your Grandparents' Discrimination Case: How Age Discrimination Class Actions Are Different — ABA Section of Labor & Employment Law Employment Rights & Responsibilities Committee, Key West, FL (March 27, 2009)
  • Pay Attention, Class: Cutting Edge Issues in Employment Class Actions — American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law's Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee Midwinter Meeting, Puerto Vallarta (March 18, 2006)
  • Collective Actions vs. Rule 23 Class Actions: Who Are All These Plaintiffs? — EEO/ERR Joint Midwinter Meeting, Palm Springs, CA (March 25, 2004)
Services
    • The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 1959
    • University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., 1962
    • Pennsylvania
    • Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
    • United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
    • United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
    • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
    • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    • Member, American Bar Association’s Individual Employee Rights Committee and served on its Major Litigation Subcommittee
    • Member, Bar of the US Supreme Court
    • Presented papers dealing with compulsory ADR in the employment setting, ADEA and FLSA litigation in the Third and DC Circuits
    • Provides pro bono representations in the employment law area