Ronald L. "Ron" Hicks, Jr.

I am a civil trial lawyer who helps businesses, individuals and candidates resolve their disputes, both in and out of court, whether they arise in Pennsylvania or elsewhere.

I actively appear in state and Federal courts throughout the Atlantic coast and the Midwest, and I have pursued and defended claims brought before the American Arbitration Association in locales both in and outside of Pittsburgh. Also, I serve as an arbitrator, an early neutral evaluator and a special master for e-discovery disputes for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

My most notable engagements include:

*After 30 days of trial in a New Jersey state court, obtaining a $12.8 million verdict against a client’s legacy insurance companies for damages related to the environmental cleanup of its former metals manufacturing site.

*Protecting a manufacturer’s customer information and other trade secrets by obtaining in federal court 1-year and 10-year injunctions to prevent their misuse by a former salesman and a terminated dealer.

*After two 10-day jury trials in federal court, obtaining judgments totaling over $14 million for siblings against their brother/uncle and his wife for misappropriation and fraudulent transfer of family assets, and protecting those judgments by obtaining freeze orders, a declaratory judgment in Florida state court that a condominium was not homestead property, and a declaratory judgment in federal bankruptcy court that the judgment against the wife was not dischargeable.

*After a 6-day jury trial in an Indiana state court, receiving a defense jury verdict in favor of a real estate developer who had been sued for allegedly promising to provide a permanent easement over land that it was only leasing.

For the past 26 years, I have handled a variety of disputes, including claims of misappropriation of trade secrets and intellectual property, breach of restrictive covenants, unfair competition, fraud, fiduciary liability, breach of contract, insurance coverage, fraudulent transfers, creditors’ rights, real estate and oil and gas disputes, and telemarketing and on-line marketing. Also, I handle election law matters and disputes for local, state and federal candidates and their campaigns.