Former U.S. Diplomat Jeffry W. Duffy joins the Philadelphia office

BakerHostetler is proud to announce that Jeffry W. Duffy has joined the firm as counsel. He comes to BakerHostetler’s more than 50 lawyer Philadelphia office from the United States Department of State, where he served as a Foreign Service Officer with extensive experience in East Asia, notably in Japan and Singapore. His government experience is complemented by eight years of complex litigation experience in private practice in Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania law firms. Duffy’s appointment follows the August announcement that BakerHostetler is building a multidisciplinary litigation practice in its Philadelphia office under the leadership of prominent antitrust litigator and trial lawyer Carl W. Hittinger. This team will operate as a seamless part of the firm’s national litigation group, which includes more than 350 litigators located across the country.

Duffy has experience in complex commercial and civil litigation, including insurance coverage and appeals. He obtained a favorable result for a major reinsurance company in a complex arbitration with a ceding insurer over disputed surety bonds triggered by the Enron collapse. Duffy also assisted in successfully defending the constitutionality of hotel taxes imposed by two Pennsylvania counties to fund local convention centers through two separate trials and appeals.

Working as a United States diplomat overseas, he developed a practical, inside working knowledge of the Immigration and Nationality Act and associated regulations while adjudicating employment- and family-based immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications in Japan and Haiti. His foreign service work earned him several official commendations, including for his assistance to U.S. citizens in the aftermath of the catastrophic Haitian earthquake of 2010, and for combating human trafficking in Singapore.

“I am pleased to welcome Jeff to our expanding high-stakes litigation practice in Philadelphia,” said Hittinger, Partner and Litigation Coordinator at BakerHostetler’s Philadelphia office. “Jeff’s addition to our diverse team of trial lawyers will complement the firm’s international experience and benefit our clients.”

“The combination of Jeff’s litigation and foreign service experience is a unique and welcome addition to our Litigation team. His insights will provide our clients with a global perspective that’s important to consider in our worldwide economy,” said Joseph Lucci, Managing Partner of BakerHostetler’s Philadelphia office.

Duffy earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School and a diploma in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He received his B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania. He speaks proficient Japanese, French, and Haitian Creole and is a member of the Japan-American Society of Greater Philadelphia, the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, and Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia.