James E. Pocius

Mr. Pocius is a cospeaker for Workshop M6, "Workers Compensation Insurance for Contractors," on Monday. As a shareholder in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, office of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin and a member of the firm's workers compensation department, he supervises the workers compensation attorneys in the firm's Scranton, Allentown, Williamsport, and Harrisburg offices. His practice is dedicated to the full-time litigation of workers compensation claims, including Medicare Set-Asides, federal black lung claims, and employers liability claims. He exclusively represents insurance companies and self-insureds. His experience includes full file development and litigation in the United States District Court for Middle District of Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Federal Black Lung Administrative Law Judges, Workers Compensation Judges, and Appellate Courts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Prior to joining Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, he was in private practice specializing in defense of civil litigation, workers compensation, and federal black lung. He was associate solicitor of the City of Scranton from 1988 until 1990. He was associate professor at Marywood College, teaching workers compensation in the ABA-approved legal program from 1987 until 1997. He has also served as an associate attorney with Lenahan & Dempsey, P.C., in Scranton; as a legal clerk to the Honorable James J. Walsh, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County; and as a member of the legal staff at Dollar Savings Bank in Pittsburgh.

In addition to numerous in-service presentations dealing with workers compensation and federal black lung issues for various employers, insurance companies, and self-insured administrators in Pennsylvania, Mr. Pocius has addressed the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and the CPCU Society on several occasions. He has also been a speaker for the American Bar Association, the National Workers Compensation and Disability Conference, and the National Business Institute and Lorman Business Institute. He has also been a speaker for Pennsylvania Education Systems, Inc., on numerous occasions. He wrote "Attorney's Fees and Penalties" and was coauthor of "Offsets under Act 57" for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. His article, "Interaction between the Pennsylvania Workers Compensation Act and the Heart and Lung Act," was published in the Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly and "Subrogation in Workers Compensation" was published by the Pennsylvania Defense Institute. He was coauthor of "Analysis of the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act," written for International Risk Management Institute's IRMI's Workers Comp: Coverage, Laws, and Cost Containment; "Defining the ADA," for the Pennsylvanian magazine, and "Litigation in Workers Compensation Claims," for the American Bar Association national magazine, Compleat Lawyer. Mr. Pocius is also responsible for multiple articles published in the Defense Digest on behalf of Marshall, Dennehey concerning various workers compensation issues.

He earned his juris doctor degree from the Dusquesne University School of Law in Pittsburgh in 1978, and his bachelor of science degree in pre-law from Pennsylvania State University in State College in 1974. He was selected for the Dusquesne Law Review, was a student representative from Dusquesne Law School to the American Bar Association, and was news editor for the law school magazine, Jurist.

He is a member of the American Bar Association and the bar associations of Pennsylvania and Lackawanna County, and the Pennsylvania Defense Institute. He has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for 2006 and 2009 in the area of workers compensation.