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Gene Locks, Founding Partner

Gene Locks is married to Sueyun Pyo Locks and the proud father of six daughters. He resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Fishter Island, Florida.

Gene is the founding and managing partner of Locks Law Firm, a prominent national environmental, litigation, and consumer-oriented law firm formed in 1966, with offices in Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey. He is a graduate of Princeton University, and received his Doctor of Laws degree from Columbia University. He is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, as well as many federal courts in the United States.

Gene Locks

The Locks Law Firm was founded by Gene Locks, who established the Firm in Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey after more than 40 years of practice. Since then, the firm has grown into a prominent national environmental, personal injury, consumer-oriented, and complex litigation law firm.

Gene was born and raised in the Philadelphia area and is the product of the Philadelphia public school system. He has dedicated his life to representing the people of Philadelphia and beyond, who have been used and abused by the legal system. He obtains justice for the working people of the world and focuses his work exclusively on helping individuals, not corporations, obtain justice through the legal system. He is an innovator, creator, and a pioneer. Gene Locks is a true people's lawyer.

Gene was a pioneer in asbestos personal injury litigation, having handled such cases and obtaining precedential verdicts in decisions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Virginia, since 1974. Asbestos litigation has since become the largest mass tort in the United States. Gene and the personal injury attorneys at Locks Law Firm have represented in excess of 16,000 personal injury victims in more than 20 different states. Gene is co-counsel and acts in a pro hac vice capacity in both federal and state courts across the country. Gene has tried hundreds of these complex product liability matters. He has participated directly and as amicus in numerous appeals resulting in precedent-setting opinions in many states that have become landmark decisions on a wide spectrum of issues.

Thanks to his litigation experience, negotiating reputation and his ability to persevere and sustain lengthy litigation, Gene was appointed by the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein of the Eastern District of New York to the Management Committee of the Agent Orange Litigation, MDL 381. He directed the liability and medical aspects of the Agent Orange cases and was co-chair of the negotiating committee which, at the time, resulted in the largest class action settlement of a personal injury class of victims.

After negotiating the Agent Orange settlement, Gene became involved in other major toxic tort litigation primarily involving environmental and occupational exposure to hazardous substances. This led, in the early 1990s, to his being named as lead counsel in the nationally coordinated asbestos cases. He ultimately became class counsel in a case in which an innovative and creative solution to many major asbestos litigation problems was developed. The principles developed and negotiated have become a model for recent national asbestos resolutions.

Gene served as co-lead counsel in the Asbestos Personal Injury Litigation, MDL 875 in Philadelphia for many years. He became the Chairman and Director of the Board of UNR Industries, Inc. and director of Celotex Corporation and Raytech Corporation, reorganized multi-million dollar former asbestos companies which have paid millions of dollars in benefits to hundreds of thousands of asbestos victims. Gene was chief negotiator representing victims in almost all the 20th century bankruptcy re-organizations. Gene and the attorneys of Locks Law Firm have also represented numerous school districts and other entities across the nation in property damage cases arising from asbestos exposure.

In the late 1990s, Gene and Locks Law Firm attorneys filed class actions in the Diet Drug (Fen-Phen@) Litigation in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Gene was co-lead negotiator in that litigation which culminated in a 3.75 billion dollar settlement of those claims (in Brown v. American Home Products Corp, MDL 1203).

Gene, a former quarterback in college and high school, is a man who plays to win. He chooses to represent those with just positions who deserve to win against the abuses created by large global companies. Nationally and internationally, he and the firm fight to right the injustices of corporate misbehavior by helping individuals to obtain their fair day in court. A born leader, Gene is known for creating winning teams that bring people justice.

Practice Areas: Asbestos Exposure, Toxic Torts, Dangerous Pharmaceuticals, Product Liability, Environmental Litigation, and Professional Negligence

Admitted to Practice:
Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, District of Columbia as well as many federal courts in the United States

Education:

Columbia University School of Law, J.D. 1962
Princeton University, B.A. 1959

Professional Affiliations:

American Association for Justice

Board Affiliations & Appointments:
Lead counsel in numerous major national litigation matters and either chairman or member of numerous Chapter 11 reorganization committees involving large manufacturing companies and lead or class counsel in major national class action proceedings.

Co-Lead Class Counsel of Brown, et al. v. American Home Products Corporation
Diet Drug Class Action and Civil Action No. 99-20593, 1999-present
Co-Lead Class Counsel of Georgine, et al. v. Amchem Products, et al
Asbestos Victim Class Action and Civil Action No.9.-CV-0215, 1992-1997
Member and Co-Chairman
Agent Orange Plaintiffs' Management Committee and Negotiating and Causation Sub-Committees, 1983-1987
Chairman and/or Lead Negotiator of the following reorganized companies:
Official Creditors Committee of Asbestos-Related Plaintiffs
MANVILLE Chapter 11 Proceeding, a successfully reorganized public company, in New York, New York Bankruptcy Court, 1982 - 1988
UNR INDUSTRIES, INC.
Chapter 11 Proceedings, a successfully reorganized public company,  in Chicago, Illinois Bankruptcy Court,1982 - 1989
THE CELOTEX CORPORATION
Chapter 11 Proceeding, a successfully reorganized company, in Tampa, Florida Bankruptcy Court, 1990 - 1997
EAGLE-PICHER INDUSTRIES, INC., a successfully reorganized public company, in Cincinnati, Ohio Bankruptcy Court, 1991 - 1996
RAYTECH INDUSTRIES, INC., a successfully reorganized public company, in Connecticut Bankruptcy Court, 2001.

Numerous Lead Counsel roles in various state court coordinated case management complex litigation matters.

Business Activities:

Chairman, UNR Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ), 1991 - 1999
Director, UNR Industries, Inc., 1989 - 2002
Director, Celotex Corporation, 1997 - 2001
Chairman, APEX Teletech Resources, Inc., 1996 - 1997
President, Locks Investments, Ltd., 1990 - Present
Director, Raytech Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ), 2001 - 2009

Personal Activities:

Chairman, Board of Managers - The Philadelphia Foundation, one of the largest community foundation in a U.S. city, 1999 – Present,
Board of Managers - The Philadelphia Liberty Medal, 2005
Advisory Board Chairman Fund for Children - 2006
Trustee and Chairman, Asbestos Victims Special Fund Trust, 1988 -  1996
Board Member - Oceanside Five Condominium Association - 2006 - Present

Certifications and Awards:

Pennsylvania Association for Justice Stalwart Award
NJ Bar Association William A Dreier Award Winner - 2012

Common Name Misspellings: lock, locs, loks, loucks.lachs

Contact Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey personal injury lawyer Gene Locks and our other attorneys today to schedule a case consultation.

At Locks Law Firm, our partners are dedicated to the practice, to their clients, and to helping injured people achieve justice. They founded the law firm on the philosophy that individuals deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Each and every personal injury lawyer at our firm is willing to take on the negligent parties responsible for your injuries. We are outspoken advocates for victims of asbestos exposure, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, auto accidents, and medical malpractice. We are able to provide you with access to a level of representation previously available only to large corporations.

Each personal injury lawyer at the Locks Law Firm has extensive courtroom experience. We thoroughly investigate and develop each case we handle and present it in the most organized and effective manner to insurance adjustors, opposing attorneys, and jurors. Our personal injury attorneys are assisted by a team of more than one hundred professionals with backgrounds in insurance, law enforcement, engineering, accident reconstruction, economic assessment, and investigation. Contact a Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey personal injury lawyer today to schedule a free consultation.

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Contact a Pennsylvania, New York, or New Jersey personal injury lawyer for a case evaluation and consultation.