Justia Legal Services & Lawyers Directory

Has the thought of putting together an estate plan, trust , will, living will or power of attorney drain you?



Do you need a guardianship for a loved one and don't know where to turn?


Is the estate you need to administer or are about to probate

making your life hectic?



Has your family put you in charge of sorting a difficult family situation

and you don't know where to turn or even the questions to ask?



Do you need a plan for the future for yourself or a loved one that

you have been putting off until now?



Have you lost money due to stockbroker negligence?



Today is the perfect day to deal with these issues that have been on your to do list and we are the right law firm to do the job. We have taken care of these type legal matters for thousands of clients throughout the years. With our many years of experience and our rolodex of contacts, our goal is to get you through this experience smoothly.



With her boutique elder law, estate planning, probate, guardianship, trust and estate administration and and investment fraud law firm, Debra, a former chair of the Elder Law Committee of the Bar Association, TV legal expert, quoted in more than 250 periodical nationally, and voted by other lawyers as a top elder law and investment fraud lawyer, has help thousands of families with their legal needs. Every client is treated as if that client will determine the success of this firm.



Debra get results - effectively and compassionately. Her book "Money, Health and Home: Seven Steps to Helping Your Parents Navigate Retirement and Aging" is being published shortly.



Public service is an integral part of this law firm. We serve the community by educating the public and other lawyers about investment fraud, elder fraud, and elder law. We also provide extensive and worthy pro-bono service to the indigent elder community.



Debra is also an astute, experienced, and aggressive litigator with a national and international securities law practice. Before going into private practice in 1990, Debra was an attorney with the Enforcement Division of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) prosecuting brokerage firms and stockbrokers for investment fraud and regulatory violations. Prior to that, she was an attorney and vice president with Thomson McKinnon Securities, Inc., an international brokerage firm which later merged with Prudential Securities. While at Thomson McKinnon, she passed every stockbroker and brokerage firm examination that the securities industry offered, including all options and commodities examinations.



Debra holds a law degree, a master's degree in finance with a thesis on program trading and stock markets, and a bachelor's degree in accounting. Prior to entering law school, she was an accountant.



She has been quoted in over 250 periodicals throughout the world, including Newsweek, Kiplinger's Magazine, USA Today, Crain's New York Business, American Banker, The Street.com, Securities Week and Investment News.



She had been voted by other lawyers as being one of Philadelphia's top lawyers appearing in Best Lawyers of Philadelphia. She is also listed in Who's Who in American Law and Who's Who in America. She was honored by the National Organization of Women Business Owners with their annual "Women Making History" award. Debra has been acknowledged by Arrive Magazine as being one of the five "Women to Watch" on the East Coast for her work defending the rights of defrauded Senior Citizens.



Debra is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum for her securities arbitration work. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is limited to attorneys who have won million- and multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements.



Debra is a frequently invited guest speaker for business, professional and non-profit organizations, and is a legal commentator for radio talk shows and television. She has appeared on Wall Street Journal Radio, NBC TV, CNN Financial News TV, CNBC TV's "Wake Up Call" and "Power Lunch Financial News," CN8 TV, Fox News, and WB17, as well as Comcast TV's "Legal View" with the Securities and Exchange Commission Director speaking on topics related to securities fraud. Debra has written extensively about investment fraud and elder fraud, and those articles have appeared in various newspapers and magazines.



Debra is on the Lawyers Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Securities Commission. Pro bono work is an integral part of her law practice. She has been on numerous non-profit boards, including SeniorLaw, which assists indigent senior citizens with their legal problems. She is also on the board of directors for AMIT Children, and received an award from the organization for her fundraising efforts on behalf of abused and disadvantaged children.



Debra is a lecturer for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and other continuing legal education programs on the subject of securities fraud and the elderly, and has been a co-lecturer with the Pennsylvania Securities Commissioner on the subject of investment fraud. She is co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's annual elder law course "Legal Issues in an Age of Aging," and was chair of the elder fraud conference in conjunction with the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging, the purpose of which was to educate senior citizens on how not to become victims of fraud.



In addition to being a former chair of the Elder Law Committee of the Bar Association, she has been active in other committees and sections including the Probate and Estate Committee and the Securities Regulations Committee. She belongs to, and serves on, various committees and subcommittees of the American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Public Investors American Bar Association, American Association for Justice, American Trial Lawyers Association, British Law Society, Connecticut Bar Association, Florida Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and DC Bar Association. She is also an arbitrator for FINRA and the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.



Debra welcomes new clients and referrals from law firms and looks forward to working with you.

I have been practicing law for over 29 years in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. I am currently licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and other states upon Court approval (including Delaware), am a member of the Society of Certified Senior Advisors (CSA), and The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA). Prior to coming to the Philadelphia area after graduating from law school, I clerked with the United States Department of Justice, Tax division. I am a 1981 graduate of American University’s Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., and Allegheny College, in Meadville, PA. I spent my youth growing up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

I am active in special education, personal injury, and elder law issues. I have had both six and seven figure verdicts. I have successfully litigated special education Due Process hearings, Incapacity hearings, and insurance disputes regarding a variety of issues. I have been involved in appellate litigation before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the U. S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

I am active in helping parents of special needs children receive a free and appropriate public education as well as plan for their future personal and financial independence. I am currently a member of the Legal Services for Exceptional Children Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the School Law Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association. I help teach professional continuing education courses for Lorman Education Services. I am a volunteer AARP Driver Safety Instructer. I am the father of a gifted child and a special needs child.

I also am involved in helping middle income clients develop affordable estate plans so that they may maintain their independence.

If you have any questions or would like to meet to discuss your current concerns, please contact us at (215)266-7872. In New Jersey, you can call 856-308-3330.

Dawn Getty Sutphin has practiced in a large Philadelphia firm as well as for a smaller New Jersey Law office. She has completed the Estate Planning Certificate Program at Villanova Law School, concentrating on federal estate taxes, state inheritance tax, drafting Wills and Trusts, estate planning for individuals and for small business owners, taxation of estates and of trusts, post death estate planning, and estate administration and probate.

Personal philosophy: Everyone needs an effective and personal estate plan including at a minimum a Will, as well as a Durable Power of Attorney, and an Advance Medical Directive or Living Will. These documents permit you to set forth your personal directions and plans for the future. Everyone should have a good lawyer who they can trust and who will charge them a fair and reasonable fee for these legal services.