Fine, Kaplan and Black, R.P.C.

Allen D. Black

Allen D. Black, of counsel, is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, magna cum laude, where he was Comment Editor of the Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif. Thereafter, he served as law clerk to the Honorable John Minor Wisdom of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, and in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Navy.

Professor Stephen Burbank, one of the country's leading scholars on class actions, has written that, "Allen Black is quite simply one of the best and most thoughtful lawyers in the country, a highly successful litigator and important contributor to numerous law reform efforts." Burbank, "Litigation in a Free Society: The Roles of Litigation," 80 Wash. U.L.Q. 705, 719 (2002).

Mr. Black is highly rated in both general commercial litigation and antitrust law in the respected "client guide" published by Chambers USA. The Chambers Guide has described Mr. Black as "one of the finest antitrust lawyers around – and one of the nicest, too." Mr. Black also has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for outstanding reputation and distinguished work in the specialties of Antitrust Law and Commercial Litigation.

Mr. Black was a member of the plaintiffs' trial team in the seminal Corrugated Container Antitrust Litigation, a landmark case in which plaintiffs obtained $500 million in settlements after a four month jury trial. In 2007, Mr. Black served as trial counsel in United States v. Stolt-Nielsen S.A., a complex matter in which the firm successfully represented an executive charged with criminal antitrust violations. The charges were dismissed after a three-week bench trial.

Mr. Black has been an elected member of The American Law Institute since 1976, has served as a member of its Council since 1994, and has served since 2008 as the first vice president of the Institute. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Black has taught at the law schools of the University of North Dakota, Rutgers University, Temple University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Practice Areas

  • Class Actions
  • Complex Litigation (plaintiff and defense)
  • Antitrust
  • Legal Malpractice Representation (plaintiff and defense)

Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia, 1967
  • Pennsylvania, 1971
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1971
  • U.S. Court of Appeals Third Circuit, 1972
  • U.S. Supreme Court, 1975

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1966, LL.B.
    Honors: magna cum laude
    Honors: Order of the Coif
    Law Review: Comment Editor, University of Pennsylvania Law Review
  • Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 1963, A.B.
    Major: History

Published Works

  • "Judge Wisdom, The Great Teacher and Careful Writer," 109 Yale L.J. 1267 (2000)
  • "John Minor Wisdom: A Tribute and Memoir by One of his Law Clerks," 69 Miss. L.J. 43 (1999)

Representative Cases

  • In re Urethane [Polyether Polyols] Antitrust Litigation, 2012 WL 6610878 (D. Kan. 2012)
  • United States v. Stolt-Nielsen S.A., 524 F. Supp. 2d 609 (E.D. Pa. 2007)
  • In re Copper Antitrust Litigation, 528 F. Supp. 2d 908 (W.D. Wisc. 2007)
  • Harleyesville Mutual Ins. Co. v. GE Reinsurance Corp., 2002 WL 922148 (E.D. Pa. 2002)
  • Parsky v. First Union Corp., 2001 WL 535786 (Phila. Com. Pl. 2001)
  • Browne v. Abdelhak, 2000 WL 1201889 (E.D. Pa. 2000)
  • In re Corrugated Container Antitrust Litigation, 1983-2 Trade Cas. (CCH) Par. 65, 628 (S.D. Tex. 1983)

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • The American Law Institute (please visit www.ali.org) - Member 1976 to date; Member of Council, 1994 to date; Member of the Executive Committee, 1995 to date; First Vice President, 2008 to date.
  • American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow
  • Bucks County Airport Authority, Member (1992- 2012) and Chairman (1999-2010)