Like many other members of the Philadelphia legal community, I was shocked when I first learned Slade McLaughlin had died. As fellow plaintiffs attorneys, whose firms had offices in the same building, Slade and I would speak often.

It seemed Slade had it all: a family he loved and was proud of, a law firm he co-owned that consistently secured incredible verdicts and settlements for its clients, and a sterling reputation locally and beyond as both a force of nature and someone who’d give the shirt off his back to his clients and his colleagues.