Thomas R. Kline

Attorney Profile
Top Rated Personal Injury Attorney in Philadelphia, PA
- Personal Injury - General: Plaintiff
In three decades of practicing personal injury law, Thomas R. Kline has forged an incomparable record of courtroom victories -- some with remarkable results against seemingly incredible odds. As a result Kline has received a litany of accolades and recognition, including his elected position as immediate past president of the Inner Circle of Advocates, described by The Washington Post as "a select group of 100 of the nation's most celebrated trial lawyers."
Kline also has been honored for nine consecutive years, 2004 through 2012, as the No. 1 attorney in Pennsylvania by Super Lawyers magazine. He was also chosen in 2010 as among the top 500 "Leading Lawyers in America" and as “the leading personal injury plaintiffs' lawyer in Pennsylvania” by the survey group Lawdragon, which also called Kline “one of Philadelphia’s legendary litigators.” The publication Best Lawyers selected Kline as Philadelphia Personal Injury Litigator of the Year for 2009 and Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year for 2010 while listing him among the nation's best lawyers every year since 1995. Kline was named to the National Law Journal's Winners Hall of Fame. And Kline was referred to recently by the Editorial Board of the The Philadelphia Inquirer as "the high-powered plaintiffs' attorney... who has won a number of eight-figure awards for clients injured or killed due to negligence or incompetence by businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit health-care providers."
Yet Kline, a former sixth grade school teacher from Hazleton, Pa., counts among his greatest honors the letters of thanks he has received from people and families he has represented, clients who suffered severe injuries or the loss of a loved one, clients for whom he was able to obtain a measure of justice.
Kline has appeared on hundreds of television news programs and been featured or quoted in hundreds more newspaper and magazine articles. In a cover story, the Philadelphia Daily News summarized Kline’s career in a profile titled "Wheels of Justice: The lawyer who beat SEPTA," an article in which Kline was described as "the Babe Ruth of personal injury litigation." The newspaper story followed the celebrated Hall v. SEPTA case, which resulted in a $51 million verdict for a four-year-old boy whose foot was torn off in a subway escalator. The 1999 case against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority also resulted in Kline's selection to the "Winners" edition of The National Law Journal, which included him among "Ten of America's Top Litigators." In 2009 the publication selected Kline to its Winning Hall of Fame as one of fewer than 100 lawyers selected for compiling “significant bench or jury trial verdicts and who has a record of success over many years.”
Certificates and Credentials
Top Lists
- Top 100: 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2018 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2017 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2017 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2017 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2016 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2016 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2016 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2015 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2015 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2015 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2014 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2014 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2014 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2013 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2013 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2013 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2012 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2012 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2012 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2011 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2011 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2011 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2010 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2010 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2010 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2009 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2009 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2009 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2008 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2008 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2008 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2007 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2007 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2007 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2006 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2006 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2006 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2005 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2005 Philadelphia Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2005 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 100: 2004 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
- Top 10: 2004 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers
About Thomas Kline
Admitted: 1978, Pennsylvania
Professional Webpage: http://www.klinespecter.com/kline.html
Honors/Awards:
- Kline is listed in Best Lawyers in America and in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is AV-rated in Martindale-Hubbell and is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, which limits membership to 500 attorneys in the United States recommended by their peers and trial judges for outstanding skills and abilities as well as character and integrity. Kline was also selected for the 2007 edition of the World's Leading Product Liability Lawyers.
Bar/Professional Activity:
- He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and serves on the Board of Advisors of the Drexel University Earle Mack School of Law and the Board of Advisors of WXPN, the University of Pennsylvania public radio station.
- Kline is regional chairman of the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The 14-member citizen merit selection panel screens applicants for the federal bench and makes recommendations to the two senators from Pennsylvania, who in turn recommend candidates to the president. Kline has been a member of the committee since 1989 and its chairman since 1998. (read article)
- Kline is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New York. He is also admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and other federal courts.
Scholarly Lectures/Writings:
- Kline is a frequent lecturer at law schools, medical schools and continuing legal education programs. He has taught at many institutions from Temple University Beasley School of Law to Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. Kline has also taught complex litigation at The National Judicial College in Reno, Nev. And he has lectured to the Conference of State Trial Judges. In 2003, Kline was featured in the acclaimed 2003 Masters on Trial seminar. And Kline is the producer, director, writer and performer in the acclaimed one-man show "Trial As Theatre (TM)" as well as The Modern Trial and Tom Kline on Technology. He is the author of "Robert C. Grier: Jacksonian Unionist" and is the author of numerous other published articles. He recently wrote an Op-Ed piece for The Philadelphia Inquirer titled "Immunity Is Bad Medicine."
Educational Background:
- graduated from Albright College, where he has been honored with the school's Distinguished Alumni award. Kline began his professional career not as a lawyer but as a middle school teacher, teaching sixth grade social studies. He attended Lehigh University, where he earned a master's degree in American History and completed all of the Ph.D. course work. Kline then attended Duquesne University School of Law, where he graduated with the school's Distinguished Student Award and just this year received its Distinguished Alumni Award (see more). He went on to work as law clerk to Pennsylvania Supreme Court for Justice Thomas W. Pomeroy.
Articles about Thomas R. Kline appearing in Super Lawyers
Additional Sources of Information About Thomas R. Kline
Thomas R. Kline:
Last Updated: 1/8/2019