Hon. Edward G. (Pete) Biester, Jr., (Ret) has spent a lifetime in public service, having worked in all three branches of government during his 40-year career. For the past 26 years, he has served as a distinguished member of the judiciary as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Bucks County, Pennsylvania; as Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1979-1980); and as a member of the United States House of Representatives (1967-1977). His broad based experiences and history afford him a unique perspective for mediations and arbitrations in a wide variety of practice areas.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
- As a judge for twenty-six years, presided over numerous civil and criminal cases, many of which either resolved or achieved settlement prior to trial
- As Senior Judge in the Court of Common Pleas, presided over a number of complex cases in various courts in Eastern Pennsylvania, including many in Philadelphia
- As a member of the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives, was ranking minority member of the sub-committee on Patents and Copyrights
- As member of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, he was ranking minority member of the African Sub-committee, and the sub committee addressing International Economics
- As Attorney General, among other things, resolved disputes between and among various agencies of the Commonwealth
Representative Matters
- Business Commercial: disputes involved valuation of closely held corporations, dissolutions, and non-compete covenants
- Defamation/Libel: settled libel matters between various significant public officials against national and local news publications
- Motor Vehicle: tried and/or settled a substantial number of personal injury claims involving motor vehicles, including quadriplegic and paraplegic cases
- Personal Injury: experience handling a variety of wrongful death and catastrophic bodily injury matters, as well as other less serious matters
- Products Liability: tried to verdict matters involving prescription medication used to avoid spontaneous abortions; crash worthiness of motor vehicles; settled a wrongful death action arising from a private pool accident; and other products liability cases
- Professional Malpractice/Medical: handled a variety of medical malpractice matters involving but not limited to dental, eye, and OB/GYN
- Real Estate: disputes between private owners, architects, builders, and contractors; sales agreements; landlord tenant disputes
- Trade Secrets: tried and/or settled cases alleging trade secret violations including manufacturing processing