Hal A. Barrow is a Partner and Co-Founder of Barrow|Hoffman, and serves as the Managing Partner of our Greater Philadelphia Office. Hal has represented hundreds of community associations. A magna cum laude graduate of Widener University School of Law, Hal has tried cases in state and federal courts throughout Pennsylvania. Hal is an active member of CAI, the Community Association Institute, and has served as President of the Pennsylvania and Greater Delaware Valley Chapter and as past chair of CAI’s Pennsylvania Legislative Action Committee. Hal has had many successes for community associations. Some of the notable accomplishments in his distinguished career include:
- Caselaw confirming the declarant’s liability for assessments from the time the Units are created legally, and not when they are built as contended by most developers.
- Successfully sued local borough to enforce the Subdivisions Development Agreement and compel dedication of the streets in the community, overturning a lower court ruling against the association.
- Defended a high-rise condominium against a mold lawsuit, succeeding a having the plaintiff’s expert witness precluded from testifying because so-called mold science was not supported by scientific evidence.
- Won trial verdict upholding the association board’s power to assess expenses that benefitted only one Unit against only that Unit.
- Won a verdict of over $800,000 against a developer (also a county commissioner) for mishandling of association funds and violations of the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act.
- Pioneered the use of technology in community association practice, streamlining the legal collection process to improve efficiency and effectiveness while reducing costs.
Edward Hoffman, Jr., is a Partner and Co-Founder of Barrow|Hoffman and serves as the Managing Partner of our Lehigh Valley/Poconos Office. Ed regularly represents and counsels homeowners associations, condominiums and planned communities on full range of issues including litigation, governing document drafting, amendments and revisions, transition issues, covenant enforcement, assessment violations and collections.
Ed regularly counsels associations on the proper use of social media, websites, technology and other cutting edge issues. Ed also practices insurance defense litigation exclusively on behalf of community associations where he defends associations against general liability and director and officer liability claims. He is a member of CAI’s Pennsylvania Legislative Action Committee and the CAI PA/Del-Val Poconos Regional Council. A graduate of Temple University (B.A.), California State University (M.S.) and Temple University School of Law (J.D.), Ed is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Ed is a prolific author and speaker on association topics and has been published and presented on association law and related topics both regionally and nationally. Ed presently serves as the Board President of North Penn Legal Services and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute.