Howard F. Messer
| Location: | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Phone: | 412-567-5437 |
| 800-4MESSER | |
| Fax: | (412) 246-4776 |
| E-mail: | E-mail Me |
A 1971 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Howard F. Messer has over 35 years of experience as a lawyer. In 2004, Howard received the distinction of being named a "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" by Philadelphia Magazine for his outstanding efforts to protect the rights of victims in Pennsylvania. In 1999, he was invited to join the American Board of Trial Advocates and became a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum whose membership is limited to those lawyers who have demonstrated exceptional skill, experience and excellence in advocacy by achieving a verdict, award or settlement of $1,000,000 or more.
An active member of the legal community, Howard obtained positions in a multitude of professional organizations. He is a past president of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association; past president of the Academy of Trial Lawyers in Allegheny County; and past president of the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. He is also a member of the Allegheny County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations. He served as a member of the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice from 1994-1997. He is a founding Master of Pittsburgh's first American Inns of Court.
Howard has been a professor of law in trial advocacy at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law from 1986 until 2005 and was an instructor for the NITA Advanced Advocacy Seminar at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He has lectured extensively for the Trial Advocacy Foundation and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. He also is involved with Lawyers for Consumer Rights. He also served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss Fund until October, 2002. In May of 2002, Mr. Messer was appointed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority which was created to promote the safety of all patients in the health care system of Pennsylvania. In 1997, Howard was honored by an invitation to join the American College of Trial Lawyers, which claims as members less than 1% of all trial lawyers in the country. In 2005, Mr. Messer was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to the Civil Procedural Rules Committee.
A Special Trial Master for the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Howard was also appointed to serve on the Arbitration Panel for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and has served as a Special Mediation Counsel for the Court. He is admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court; the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; United States Claims Court; and at all levels of the Pennsylvania court system. Howard is listed in the Who's Who of American Law, and is listed in Martindale-Hubbell's Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in America.
Areas of Practice
- Airplane Crash Litigation
- Automobile
- Medical Malpractice
- Personal Injury
- Products Liability
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Education
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- J.D. - 1971
Classes/Seminars
- Professor of Law, Trial Advocacy, University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 1986 - 2005
- Instructor, NITA Advanced Advocacy Seminar at University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Honors and Awards
- Named "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" by Philadelphia Magazine, 2004
- Invited to join American College of Trial Lawyers, 1997
- Listed in Who's Who of American Law
- Listed in Martindale-Hubbell's Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers of America
Professional Associations and Memberships
- American Board of Trial Advocates
- Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Member
- The Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, Past President
- The Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, Past President
- The Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, Past President
- Allegheny County Bar Association, Member
- Pennsylvania Bar Association, Member
- American Association for Justice, Board of Governors, 1994 - 1997
- American INNS of Court, Founding Master
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss Fund, Advisory Board
- Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority
- Civil Procedural Rules Committee, 2005 - Present
- Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Special Trial Master
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Arbitration Panel
