Bernard W. Smalley, Sr.

Bernard W. Smalley, Sr. is a trial attorney at Raynes & Lawn who has spent more than 40 years advocating for victims of corporate or professional negligence. He has secured scores of seven-figure recoveries and has handled significant matters involving medical negligence, institutional negligence, injuries to children, and defamation. His long trial career centers on representing people harmed by serious wrongdoing and presenting difficult factual records through litigation, trial, and negotiated resolution.

Smalley received his Bachelor’s degree from Temple University and his law degree from Widener University School of Law. Before developing his plaintiff-side trial practice, he served as a Deputy Court Administrator in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where he worked with Judge Stanley M. Greenberg and observed trial lawyer Arthur G. Raynes. That early court experience exposed him to trial advocacy, judicial procedure, and the practical operation of Philadelphia’s court system.

Smalley’s significant cases include matters involving medical negligence, psychiatric malpractice, injuries to children, and defamation. He represented a child who suffered severe injuries after contracting E. coli at a petting farm and obtained a confidential multimillion-dollar settlement. He has also handled seven-figure medical negligence and psychiatric malpractice matters and a defamation case involving Philadelphia police captains. He frequently lectures on trial techniques before national, state, and local legal organizations.

Bernard W. Smalley, Sr. is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and the American College of Trial Lawyers. He served as president of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and received its Justice Michael A. Musmanno Award. His other honors include the Justice Thurgood Marshall Award of Excellence and the Legal Intelligencer Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2025, he became President Emeritus of the Board of Directors of City Trusts.

Law Office Affiliations

• Attorney, Raynes & Lawn
• Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association
• Member, United States Supreme Court Bar
• Member, International Academy of Trial Lawyers
• Member, American College of Trial Lawyers
• Member, American Association for Justice
• Member, National Bar Association
• Member, Pennsylvania Association for Justice
• Member, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
• President, Board of Directors, City Trusts (2021)
• Board Member, Ellis Trust
• Member, Chairman’s Council, Mann Center for the Performing Arts
• Former Board Member, Philadelphia Zoo
• Board Member, The Philadelphia Tribune Newspaper (2019)
• Member, Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia

Licensed State

• Pennsylvania

Education

• Widener University School of Law
  Law degree
• Temple University
  Bachelor’s degree

Awards & Badges