Feldman Shepherd Attorney Royce Smith to Deliver Keynote Address at Abington Memorial Hospital Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Program

PHILADELPHIA, PA, February 16, 2011 (Press-News.org) Philadelphia attorney Royce W. Smith of Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock & Dodig, will deliver the keynote address at the Abington Memorial Hospital's annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Program on Feb. 22, 2011, in Abington, Pa. The MLK Program, to be held from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Frobese Auditorium of the Lenfest Building, each year honors King's tireless efforts to alleviate the hardships of disparity in education, employment, housing and health care. The program will be presented by the hospital's Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, its Office of Diversity and its Diversity Advisory Council. This year's program will also honor Smith's grandfather, the late Rev. Robert Johnson Smith, who was the first African American trustee to serve on Abington Memorial Hospital's Board of Directors. The elder Smith, a pastor for 40 years and founding member of the MLK Committee, was a friend and colleague of King's.

"It is a privilege to accept a posthumous award on my grandfather's behalf, and a pleasure to deliver the keynote address at Abington Memorial Hospital's celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. King," said Royce Smith. "I was fortunate to have my grandfather as a role model. He, Dr. King and their contemporaries were true freedom fighters who paved the way for African Americans in this country."

A native of North Philadelphia, Smith's parents and family taught him life lessons that have served him well professionally: to maintain justice, to do what is right and to give voice to the concerns of the voiceless. Smith's late father pastored a Baptist church in North Philadelphia and his mother is currently an associate pastor of a Baptist church in Mount Airy/Germantown, Philadelphia. Indeed, he comes from a long line of Baptist ministers, dating back to his great-grandfather in Chicago, and his grandfather, Rev. Robert Johnson Smith, Sr. and uncle, Rev. Robert Johnson Smith, II, who pastored Salem Baptist Church in Jenkintown for nearly five decades. Today, true to his roots, Smith provides free counseling at legal clinics hosted by area churches.

An advocate himself, Smith represents people who have been injured in a wide range of complex civil matters. In the past four years alone, he has served as lead or co-counsel in cases that have garnered millions in verdicts and settlements for his clients. He joined Feldman Shepherd in 2010. Smith's extensive practice experience includes catastrophic injury, wrongful death, civil rights, product liability, birth injuries, and major auto accidents, to name only a few.

Smith is also a frequent author and lecturer, having published numerous scholarly articles and presented educational courses to his peers. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association publication, The Verdict, and teaches trial advocacy and evidence to the Drexel University School of Law Trial Team. Smith has been recognized by Thomson Reuters, published annually in Philadelphia magazine, as a 2010 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star.

About Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock & Dodig: Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock & Dodig has handled cases producing some of the largest verdicts and settlements in Pennsylvania. The firm represents plaintiffs in significant personal injury, class action, and other complex civil litigation. Clients include victims of medical malpractice, defective products, unsafe workplaces, motor vehicle accidents, legal malpractice and insurer misconduct.