Michael T. van der Veen
Top rated Personal Injury attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim
Practice areas: Personal Injury, Criminal Defense, General Litigation; view more
Licensed in Pennsylvania since: 1995
Education: Quinnipiac University School of Law
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2005 - 2025 Call today:
215-309-8096
van der Veen, Hartshorn, Levin & Lindheim
1219 Spruce StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107 Visit website
Details
As founder of the firm, Michael effortlessly combines accessibility, experience, negotiation, collaboration, and compassion to achieve results. And he has named partners to the firm who value and demonstrate these tenets as well. He is the rare attorney who excels in both civil litigation and criminal defense. Known for his unwavering commitment to serving as the voice of the victim and advocate for the accused, he has established his reputation by winning multimillion-dollar jury verdicts in State and Federal Courts, as well as winning major criminal trials.
His record of success in both civil and criminal courts includes acquittals in high-profile criminal cases and numerous seven-figure and eight-figure awards for victims. He has saved many corporations from unfair and oppressive government regulation and has won out-right victories for small companies and owners embroiled in complex corporate litigation.
Always a serious student, Michael graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall in 1981 and earned a BA in political science from Ohio Wesleyan in 1985. He earned his first law degree, a J.D. from Quinnipiac School of Law in 1988. He is a 1992 graduate of the National Criminal Defense College and earned an LLM in Trial Advocacy with highest honors from Temple University School of Law in 1995. Michael has been named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list for thirteen consecutive years and often serves as an independent legal expert for print and television news media.
A resident of Chester County, Michael and his wife Marion have two daughters.
Practice areas
Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff, Criminal Defense, General LitigationFocus areas
Animal Bites, Arrest & Arraignment, Assault, Assault & Battery, Brain Injury, Construction Accident, Criminal Domestic Violence, Criminal Fraud, Criminal Law, Dram Shop Laws, Drug & Alcohol Violations, Expungement, Failure to Pay Child Support, False Accusations, Felony, Juvenile Delinquency, Litigation, Misdemeanor, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Motor Vehicle Offenses, Murder, Parole, Personal Injury - Plaintiff, Premises Liability - Plaintiff, Probation, Prosecution, Sex Offenses, Sexual Abuse - Plaintiff, Slip and Fall, Tax Evasion, Theft, Traffic Violations, Trucking Accidents, Wrongful Death
- 80% Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
- 10% Criminal Defense
- 10% General Litigation
First Admitted: 1990, New Jersey
Professional Webpage: https://www.mtvlaw.com/our-firm/michael-t-van-der-veen/
- Chairman, Board of Directors, American Diabetes Association, Philadelphia Chapter
- Treasurer, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, 2020
- Philadelphia Bar Association, Board of Governors, 2018
- Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association - Membership Coordinator, 2018
- Member of Pennsylvania Association for Justice
- Board of Directors, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
- Philadelphia Bar Association - Co-Chair of State Civil Litigation Section Executive Committee, 2018
- Won a $31.5 Million Dollar Judgment for a Client Who was Rendered Paraplegic in a Motor Crash.
- In front of a jury in Chester County, Mr. van der Veen won a $3.25 million dollar verdict for a nurse who suffered a mild traumatic brain Injury when a dump truck crashed into her.
- Charges dropped for client who was accused of a murder in 1993., 2018
- In Federal Court in Scranton, Michael won a $4.25 Million Dollar jury Verdict for a man Rendered Tetraplegic in a Crash with a Tractor-Trailer
- Michael Collected a $1.375 Million Dollar Settlement for a 24-year-old Man, Who Was the Passenger in a Car Hit by a Septa Bus on the Blue Route in Delaware County and Sustained a Head Injury.
- Mr. van der Veen represented a child run over by a tractor-trailer. In representing that child and his family, Michael had to fight immigration to bring the young boy's father from Haiti to Philadelphia. He fought for and arranged for the boy to get the best medical care in the world. When the trucking company tried to blame the boy for his own injuries, Mr. van der Veen took the case to trial in front of a Philadelphia jury and after four days of trial, settled the boys case for $10,000,000
- A suit was brought in Federal Court in Wilmington, Delaware to Fight for and Recover $1.4 Million Dollars for the Widow of a Pharmaceutical Executive Killed in a High-Speed Motorcycle Crash
- Court dismissed charges for an innocent client whom the Commonwealth alleged had unlawfully possessed weapons, 2017
- Mr. van der Veen and the firm are representing the family of Fanta Bility, an eight-year-old girl struck and killed by police gunfire exiting a high school football game in Sharon Hill., 2023
- Mr. van der Veen is representing Joseph "Cole" Barletta, the CFO of Par Funding in a federal, criminal matter. The case has generated a great amount of attention from the Philadelphia Inquirer and other outlets., 2023
- Mr. van der Veen represented celebrity client Brandon "Bam" Margera, of MTV's "Jackass," in two misdemeanor charges over a family incident at "Castle Bam." His appearance and commentary was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Page Six, TMZ and 6ABC, among others., 2023
- Mr. van der Veen represented Philip Nordo, the disgraced Philadelphia detective who was found guilty of charges relating to decades of sexual abuse of witnesses and informants. , 2022
- Mr. van der Veen represented Allen Weisselberg, Trump Organization chief financial officer, in his guilty plea to 15 charges relating to tax evasion, evading taxes on up to $1.7 million. The case was tried in Manhattan and received a great amount of press., 2022
- Mr. van der Veen represented the forty-fifth President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, in his second impeachment trial in the United States Senate. Mr. van der Veen won the former President's acquittal., 2021
- Mr. van der Veen sponsored the Oasis City Church in Olney, Philadelphia. The firm hosted weekend meet-and-greet where the attorneys offered free legal advice to visitors., 2023
- Philadelphia VIP Pro-Bono Attorney, 2018
- Board of Trustees, Montgomery School
- Volunteer to John Marshall School for Career Day, 2018
- Board of local YMCA
- Volunteer at Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia, 2018
- Van der Veen, Hartshorn & Levin has been named to the Watch List under Notable Clients/Verdicts. More specifically, the selection committee has named your firm to the Watch List because of “the firm's high-profile representations, currently in the national spotlight.", Watch List, The Legal Intelligencer, 2023
- Michael T. van der Veen, of van der Veen, Hartshorn, and Levin, has been selected to the 2023 list as a member of the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel. NADC is an organization dedicated to promoting the highest standards of legal excellence. Its mission is to objectively recognize the attorneys who elevate the standards of the Bar and provide a benchmark for other lawyers to emulate. Members are thoroughly vetted by a research team, selected by a blue ribbon panel of attorneys with podium status from independently neutral organizations, and approved by a judicial review board as exhibiting virtue in the practice of law. Due to the incredible selectivity of the appointment process, only the top one percent of attorneys in the United States are awarded membership in NADC. This elite class of advocates consists of the finest leaders of the legal profession from across the nation., Nation's Top One Percent, National Association of Distinguished Counsel, 2023
- Temple University School of Law, LL.M., Highest Honors, 1995
- National Criminal Defense College, 1992
- Ohio Wesleyan, B.A. Political Science, 1985
- Michael delivered a Continuing Legal Education lecture as part of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Auto Law Program. His lecture, "Using Criminal Cases in Civil Matters," discussed the ramifications of criminal proceedings on a civil case., Lecturer, Using Criminal Cases in Civil Matter, 2017
Office location for Michael T. van der Veen
1219 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Phone: 215-309-8096
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2005 - 2025
