Schnader Mourns the Loss of Retired Partner and Friend Edward W. Mullinix

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP is saddened to announce the passing of retired partner Edward W. Mullinix on December 9, 2015. Edward was a terrific mentor, friend, and advocate.

“Ed was uncompromising when it came to the requirement of excellence, and held himself and those around him to the same high standards,” recalls firm chairman David Smith. “At the same time, he was an attorney willing to give significant responsibility to young attorneys, and was always available to help others in the firm. Ed had an incredible memory, and if you asked a question, he could tell you who said what to whom. He used his detailed knowledge of the law and procedures for the benefit of both clients and the firm.”

Former chairman and partner Dennis Suplee remarked, “Ed was in all respects an elegant gentleman: elegant in his dress, elegant in his movements and, most importantly, elegant in his analysis of the most complex of legal problems, and a gentleman in treating everyone, of whatever station, with unfailing courtesy.”

While rejected by Philadelphia’s old-school law firms for lack of societal connections and pedigree, Mr. Mullinix was recruited by firm co-founder Earl Harrison, his professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, to join a firm founded on diversity. He joined Schnader in 1949 as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Department. Mr. Mullinix developed a thriving antitrust practice, and represented movie theaters, water heater companies, and electric companies, among others, in some of the biggest cases of the era. Clients relied on his keen legal sense, practicality, strong writing skills, and attention to detail.

Additionally, his work included alternative dispute resolution and serving as an expert witness and consultant on issues related to legal malpractice, ethics, and fees for legal services. He chaired the firm’s Standing Committee on Professional Conduct from its establishment in 1988 until his retirement.

Throughout his career, Mr. Mullinix was active in the American Bar Association, having served as a member of Council and on the Special Committee for the Study of Discovery Abuse, and the Section of Litigation. He was a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Mr. Mullinix was an advocate and member of the steering committee for the elderly-victim-assistance program of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office’s Elder Justice Project, and also served as director and president for The Historical Society of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  

He received his J.D. from the University Pennsylvania Law School in 1949, where he graduated summa cum laude and first in his class, and studied at St. John’s College in Annapolis.

He is survived by his wife, Virginia L. Mullinix, two children, Edward (Ted) Mullinix, Jr., and Marcia Lee Ladd, as well as several grandchildren.  

Mr. Mullinix is remembered in this obituary in The Philadelphia Inquirer, this article published in the Philadelphia Business Journal, and in The Legal Intelligencer.