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Ezra WohlgelernterEzra Wohlgelernter

Ezra Wohlgelernter

Shareholder
  • ezra@feldmanshepherd.com
  • P (215) 567-8300
  • F (215) 567-8333
Ezra Wohlgelernterprint matteprint matte

Shareholder

  • P (215) 567-8300
  • Alt P
  • F (215) 567-8333

The Team

Education

Temple University Beasley School of Law, J.D., 1981

Yeshiva University, B.A., 1978

Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1982

U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, 1982

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1983

Pennsylvania Supreme Court, 1982

New Jersey, 1983

New York, 1997

For now 37 years, co-founding partner Ezra Wohlgelernter has maintained a diverse practice portfolio including a successful history of motor vehicle and truck litigation, premises liability claims, medical negligence litigation, and significant personal injury claims. Ezra has represented victims of unsafe working environments, drunk driving and trucking accidents, operating room neglect, and civil rights violations. Wohlgelernter has successfully litigated cases against major amusement parks in Pennsylvania and New Jersey arising from significant skiing and amusement ride injuries.

Decades before it was on the public radar, Ezra successfully litigated cases holding municipal police departments and their officers accountable for violations of police practices and civil rights. Ezra has pursued claims brought by innocent victims injured and killed while in the path of vehicular police pursuits involving high-speed chases in densely populated communities. Ezra has pursued claims in federal courts for citizens injured and killed from injuries arising from the use by police of excessive force and represented incarcerated victims of deliberate indifference of their medical needs.

Ezra was the firm’s lead counsel in a landmark Pennsylvania decision, Lipsky v. State Farm, where the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that State Farm Insurance Company must compensate victims of negligent infliction of emotional distress in claims for underinsured motorist benefits and could not treat these claims under a “per accident” liability limit. The victory brought closure to many more victims throughout Pennsylvania whose claims for these damages had been denied, pending the court’s resolution in Lipsky.

Ezra has handled an array of significant medical negligence cases in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Working with members of the firm, he is the consummate team player, working on cases involving botched spinal surgery, anesthesia mishaps resulting in catastrophic injuries and traumatic brain injuries.

Ezra has been selected for inclusion since 2013 in the Best Lawyers in America list by U.S. News & World Report. He has been recognized by Thomson Reuters as a Top 100 Super Lawyer in Philadelphia every year since 2011. In addition, he was named as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer every year since 2009.

Ezra is a past president of The Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and has served on its board of directors since 2001. As a member of the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, he continues to be active in advocating the cause for all Pennsylvanians to have open and unfettered access to our courts.

For over a decade, he has also served on the board of directors and as former vice chair of the SeniorLAW Center, which provides pro bono legal services for the state’s underserved and growing indigent elderly residents.

Ezra is passionately involved in the Jewish community of Philadelphia and has served as a trustee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education, President of Politz Hebrew Academy, President of the Philadelphia Community Kollel and now President of the Northeast Community Kollel. He has been an active member of his community leading his synagogue for now over 40 years. Ezra’s scholarship in Jewish law has made him a most sought-after speaker on topics of comparative law. He has authored articles including “Talmudic Sources for Contemporary Tort Law Principles.” His passion is the study of the law; helping people has always been his mission.

Ezra, a Temple University Beasley School of Law graduate, is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Education

Temple University Beasley School of Law, J.D., 1981

Yeshiva University, B.A., 1978

Admissions

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 1982

U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, 1982

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, 1983

Pennsylvania Supreme Court, 1982

New Jersey, 1983

New York, 1997

Affiliations

Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
President, 2017
Board of Directors, 2001 – Present

Pennsylvania Association for Justice
Board of Governors, 2017 – Present

Committee for a Better Tomorrow
Chair, 2021
Trustee, 2015 – Present

SeniorLAW Center
Board of Directors, 2018 – Present
Board of Directors and Vice Chair, 2006 – 2015

Philadelphia Community Kollel
President, 2005 – 2007

The Verdict
Editor, 2005 – Present

Philadelphia Bar Association
Vice Chancellor, 2024
Compulsory Arbitration Committee, 1988 – Present
Civil Litigation Committee, 1988 – Present
Co-Chair Medical Malpractice Sub-Committee

New York Trial Lawyers Association
Member, 1997 – Present

New York State Bar Association
Member, 1997 – Present

Pennsylvania Bar Association
Member

Philadelphia Bar Association
Member

Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
Member

New Jersey Bar Association
Member

New Jersey Trial Lawyers Association
Member

Awards

Super Lawyers
Thomson Reuters 2005, 2009 – Present
Top 100 Super Lawyer in Philadelphia, 2009 – Present

Best Lawyers in America
U.S. News and World Report, 2013 – Present
Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Plaintiffs
Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs
Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs

President’s Award
Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, 2010

Publications

Hiding in Plain Sight – Med Mal Lawsuits and the Missed Cancerous Oral Lesion
The Legal Intelligencer, April 4, 2023

The End of the Special Venue Rule in Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Cases
The Legal Intelligencer, October 25, 2022

Speaking Engagements

Trial of a Civil Case: Practical Tips and Demonstrations
Moderator, Feldman Shepherd CLE, 2019

Strategies for Developing the Blockbuster Case
Moderator, Feldman Shepherd CLE, 2018

Supersize Your Verdicts: Creative Tips for Maximizing Jury Verdicts
Moderator, Feldman Shepherd CLE, 2018

Musmanno Award 2017 Speech
Introducing Alan M. Feldman
Click here to view video

Personal Injury Practicum Seminar
Dispute Resolution Institute, 2016

Creative Lawyering: Innovative Strategies to Enhance the Value of Your Case
Feldman Shepherd CLE, 2015

Maximizing Your Client’s Recovery in Personal Injury Cases from Investigation Through Trial
Feldman Shepherd CLE, 2015

A Whole New World? Product Liability Law in Pennsylvania After Tincher
Feldman Shepherd CLE, 2014

Creative Lawyering from Investigation Through Verdict: Part 2
Feldman Shepherd CLE, 2012

Creative Lawyering from Investigation to Verdict
Feldman Shepherd CLE, 2011

Community Involvement

Northeast Community Kollel
President 2018 – Present

Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Trustee, 1989 – 1995

Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education
Trustee, 1990 – 1993

Politz Hebrew Academy
President, 1989-1993

Congregation B’nai Israel
President 2004 – 2008

Philadelphia Community Kollel
President, 2005 – 2007

The Team
Practice Areas