Peter Houghton Levan Jr.

Tad is an accomplished trial and appellate lawyer who founded LeVan Law Group LLC to change the paradigm for provision of high-quality legal services to the business community.  Believing that the billable-hour model unwittingly places the economic interests of client and counsel in conflict, Tad sought to create a firm in which the clients' interests are fully aligned with that of their counsel through the availability of flat-fee and other alternative financial arrangements. Under the LLG model, both client and counsel independently strive for a successful resolution of the dispute at the earliest possible moment in the litigation timeline, with no economic incentive for delay or further protraction of the ongoing proceedings.

A former federal law clerk, Tad has a well-established record of success in a wide variety of legal practices.  In 2009, Tad joined the nationally-recognized plaintiffs' firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP as a partner. While there, he acted as lead counsel for the firm’s "class of plans" securities lending litigation cases, representing some of the largest pension and retirement plans in the country against J.P. Morgan Chase and the Bank of New York Mellon.  Tad also acted as lead counsel in dozens of ERISA class actions brought against Fortune 500 corporations (including Ford, Merck, Schering-Plough, Bear Stearns, Lincoln Financial and Fifth-Third Bancorp) and as lead ERISA counsel for a class of upstate New York Taft-Hartley pension plans that suffered losses in connection with the Bernard Madoff fraud.  In addition to trial work, Tad acted as lead appellate counsel for the firm's highest-profile ERISA matters, arguing important cases before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third and Sixth Circuits.  In 2012, Tad settled a handful of novel ERISA matters for nearly $700 million, including among others: Board of Trustees of the AFTRA Retirement Fund, et al. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (S.D.N.Y.) -- $150 million settlement (court-appointed lead counsel); CompSource Oklahoma, et al. v. BNY Mellon, N.A., et al. (W.D. Ok.) -- $280 million settlement (court-appointed co-lead counsel); and In re Beacon Associates Litigation (S.D.N.Y.) -- $219 million settlement (court-appointed lead ERISA counsel).

Prior to joining Kessler, Tad was a shareholder at Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin (now known as Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller), a renowned litigation boutique in Philadelphia. At Hangley, he first-chaired numerous jury and non-jury complex commercial litigation matters involving alleged breach of contract, patent infringement, non-compete agreements, theft of trade secrets, and breach of fiduciary duty, among others.  He also represented then-Governor Rendell, Pennsylvania executive agencies, and the City of Philadelphia in several high-profile litigation matters involving alleged First Amendment retaliation, separation of power, constitutional authority, and agency rule making.  From 2006-2009, Tad served as an elected member of the firm's Board of Directors and Executive Committee, where he participated in all aspects of firm management and development, including compensation, personnel and strategic planning decisions.

Before moving to Philadelphia, Tad was a law clerk for the Honorable John M. Manos, United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of Ohio, and a litigation associate with Squire Sanders in Cleveland.

Tad is often asked to participate as a guest lecturer or course presenter on a wide variety of legal topics, including oral advocacy, brief writing, deposition practice, ERISA breach of fiduciary duty issues, and class certification topics.  In January 2015, Tad created, prepared and taught Deposition Boot Camp: The Art of Taking, Defending and Preparing for Depositions, an interactive four-day practical workshop for law students at The University of Pennsylvania Law School.  Tad has also been a guest lecturer at The Temple University Beasley School of Law, as well as a presenter and panel member in continuing legal education courses on a variety of topics.  

In addition to faculty engagements, Tad has published articles in The Legal Intelligencer and been quoted in numerous publications, including The ABA Journal, Pennsylvania Law Weekly, BNA Pension & Benefits Daily and Law 360.

When not representing clients, Tad can be found singing with Choral Arts of Southern New Jersey, performing at The Broadway Theatre in Pitman, New Jersey, assisting with Project 440, or spending time with his three amazing children, who keep him young at heart.