John Popilock

John M. Popilock is a trial lawyer with significant experience in complex civil litigation. For more than 30 years, he has concentrated his practice on multi-party construction accidents and product liability matters, representing workers’ compensation insurers and individuals in catastrophic workplace injury lawsuits. John has aggressively investigated thousands of workplace accidents, exposing dangerous equipment and unsafe construction practices, and has recovered tens of millions of subrogation dollars for the insurers of workers required to work in these environments. He is recognized as a skilled advocate for his clients, having prosecuted dozens of complex cases to verdict as lead counsel in more than a dozen state and federal courts across the country.

John founded Popilock Law in 2024, where he continues to have an impact beyond the courtroom, helping to promote public safety through one-on-one justice. He previously served for nearly 10 years as chairman of the Workers’ Compensation Subrogation Group of a prominent national subrogation law firm with a practice concentrated on recovering major insurance losses across the United States. Earlier in his career, John worked for other prestigious firms in the Philadelphia region.

A legal thought leader, John is regularly asked to speak with workers’ compensation insurers, risk management professionals, and other professional groups around the country (including the National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP), the Property Loss Research Bureau (PLRB), and the National Workers’ Compensation Insurance ExecuSummit) concerning the unique issues involving workers’ compensation subrogation. In addition, he frequently lectures to lawyers, judges and government agencies on the investigation of workplace machine and construction accidents, and the trial techniques to successfully prosecute these complicated cases. John has contributed numerous articles discussing subrogation and trial techniques to national insurance industry periodicals.

John earned a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy with honors from Temple University and a J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

When he is not practicing law, John enjoys traveling with his wife of more than thirty years, and spending time with his three adult children and their families.

Education

Gonzaga University School of Law, J.D., 1993

Temple University, B.A., 1991

Admissions

Pennsylvania Supreme Court, 1994

United States District Court, Middle District of PA, 1995

United States District Court, Eastern District of PA, 1997

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1997

Affiliations

National Association of Subrogation Professionals (NASP)

Philadelphia Bar Association

Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association

Pennsylvania Bar Association

Speaking Engagements

No Coattails to Ride: Pursuing Subrogation When the Employee Won’t, Can’t, or Doesn’t Get Involved
National Association of Subrogation Professionals 2020 Annual Conference

Statutory Employer, Borrowed Servant, and Employer Negligence – The Biggest Landmines in Work Comp Subrogation
2020 National Association of Subrogation Professionals NASP Webinar Series

When the Obvious Cause of a Vehicle Accident is not the Obvious Cause of an Occupant’s Catastrophic Injuries: An Introduction to Vehicle Crashworthiness Claims for Subrogation Professionals
National Association of Subrogation Professionals 2020 VIRTUAL Spring Conference

Employer Liability and the Erosion of Workers’ Compensation Immunity for Your Insureds
National Association of Subrogation Professionals 2019 Annual Conference

When the Rubber Meets the Road: How to Determine if a Tire Failure Caused or Contributed to an Accident
National Association of Subrogation Professionals 2019 Annual Conference

Subrogation Lurking in the Darkness: Property Owner Liability and “Insufficient Security” Subrogation Cases When Workers are Intentionally Injured by Criminals
National Association of Subrogation Professionals 2018 Annual Conference

Building a Workers’ Compensation Subrogation Recovery from a Construction Accident
National Association of Subrogation Professionals 2016 Annual Conference, and
National Association of Subrogation Professionals 2022 Annual Conference

Human Factors in Forensic Engineering for the Subrogation Professional
National Association of Subrogation Professionals 2016 Webinar