Joe Dougherty and co-host Sam Pond, Managing Partner at Pond Lehocky, are joined by Chris Woods of District 1199C

The Lawyers of Pond Lehocky Show is sponsored by Tony Schuler of Pinnacle Medical Plus.

Samuel H. Pond has concentrated his practice on workers’ compensation litigation since graduating from Temple University School of Law in 1984. He is a founding and managing partner of Pond Lehocky, the largest workers’ compensation firm in Pennsylvania. Mr. Pond’s advocacy for his clients has resulted in some of the largest settlements in Pennsylvania and the nation.

A former president of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, Mr. Pond served for six years as treasurer of that organization’s Committee for a Better Tomorrow. He also is president of Union Services Access, a legal consulting services network for unions and their members.

He has previously served in leadership roles for numerous organizations, including chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section and member of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners.

Mr. Pond has received the highest Martindale-Hubbell rating for Legal Ability and Ethical Standards. He was selected by his peers for The Best Lawyers in America® from 2007-2018. He has also been included in Super Lawyers® Top 100 in Pennsylvania and Top 100 in Philadelphia lists for 12 consecutive years.

He was recently inducted into the Temple University Gallery of Success, becoming only the 23rd alumnus of the School of Law to be recognized.

Mr. Pond is a frequent author and speaker on workers’ compensation matters. Through lectures and seminars, he educates union members and employees throughout the region on their rights under the Workers’ Compensation Act. He also hosted the weekly Legal Eagles radio show, which aimed to educate the public on the law.

Mr. Pond’s charitable contributions are extensive, focused on children and education. He serves on the USC Shoah Foundation’s Next Generation Council. Other endeavors include the Union Services Access Scholarship Fund, The Pond Lehocky Trial Advocacy Scholarship and The Pond Lehocky Legal Studies Department Head Office at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business. In honor of his mother, he created the Marie Pond Scholarship Fund, which annually awards a scholarship to a member of the Torresdale Boys Club.

President Chris Woods, a Philadelphia native, is a long-time union activist. He previously led the Union’s Hospital Division, which includes Temple University Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and many other large employers. He grew up in the union, as his grandmother worked at Hahnemann University Hospital and brought President Woods to union meetings even as a child. President Woods also serves as the Executive Director of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees.

District 1199C is an affiliate of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, AFSCME, AFL-CIO. The roots of the National Union go back to June 7, 1932 when a group of pharmacists founded the Pharmacists Union of Greater New York.

Our own history began in December 1969, when a conference was held to form the 1199 National Organizing Committee for the express purpose of organizing health care workers throughout the country. Hoping to organize, committee representatives went to various cities across the country including Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Boston and Philadelphia. At that time hospital workers were not allowed to join a union! The National Organizing Committee successfully lobbied Harrisburg for the passage of Act 195 which gave hospital workers in Pennsylvania the right to organize and compelled employers to bargain in good faith.

District 1199C represents over 13,000 workers in the healthcare industry.