Joan joined Marshall Dennehey in 1997. As a member of the Health Care Department, she concentrates in litigation involving hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities, residential facilities, physicians, nurses and dentists, as well as other health care issues.
After spending a year in Jakarta, Indonesia, as a foreign exchange student, Joan attended LaSalle University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984. She then attended Widener University School of Law where she earned her juris doctor in December 1986. Joan's legal education also included courses at Notre Dame School of Law, London, England, and The Dickenson Law School, Florence, Italy.
Since completing her education, Joan has focused her practice on the field of medical litigation. After graduation, she first worked at O'Brien & Ryan, where her practice concentrated on the defense of medical malpractice cases.
Classes/Seminars Taught
· Trial Negotiation and Business Skills for Women Trial Attorneys, Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, April 11, 2001
· Treatment and Consent for Minors, Insurance Society of Philadelphia, February 21, 2001
· Medical Treatment to Minors, Lehigh Valley Risk Management Society, March 1, 2000
Associations & Memberships
· Desmond McTighe Inn of Court (1996)
· Montgomery County Bar Association
· Pennsylvania Bar Association
Honors & Awards
· AV® Preeminent™ by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell
Year Joined Organization: 1997
Publications
Nurses: Their Expanding Role as Expert Witnesses
Defense Digest Article · March 1, 2011
Pennsylvania - Health Care Liability, Key Points: Nurses are competent to offer expert causation testimony in a medical malpractice case. The Supreme Court overruled Flanagan v. Labe. Freed opens the door for nursing..., Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 1, March 2011
News
Seminar on case evaluations and jury verdicts in medical professionals liability cases
October 1, 2011
Kevin FitzPatrick (King of Prussia, PA), Chandler Hosmer (King of Prussia, PA), Bill Banton (Philadelphia, PA), and Joan Orsini Ford(Doylestown, PA) presented a seminar on case evaluations and jury verdicts in medical professionals liability cases and defending the mental health case to...