Professional Career: Case Handlings
Trials/Cases:
Attorney Otto personally tried to jury verdict 290 cases winning 275. The bulk of these cases were medical malpractice defense, but also included were many auto, railroad, and general liability cases, and some contract cases.
Atty. Otto has also represented Plaintiffs, including a case on behalf of a medical malpractice Plaintiff in 2015 resulting in what is reported to be the largest malpractice award ever made in Ventura County, California. Mr. Otto also represented Tammy Wynette in a successful defamation case against the National Enquirer.
Atty. Otto served as supervising Defense Counsel in thousands of medical malpractice lawsuits against physicians and hospitals between 1977 and 2015.
Atty. Otto pioneered the nation's development of captive insurance programs for major Health Care facilities and providers, both academic and non-academic related, in an effort to save substantial insurance costs as well as improve the quality of health care, and efficiency of insurance services for injured patients.
ADR Experience:
Atty. Otto has directly participated as Counsel in some 600 cases submitted to Mediation or Conciliation all of which cases were successfully resolved -including handling cases in most of the jurisdictions throughout Pennsylvania, W. VA, Ohio, the District of Columbia and Virginia.
Additionally, Atty. Otto has resolved hundreds of cases directly with Plaintiff s Counsel - cases in which Mr. Otto served as supervising Defense Counsel.
Atty. Otto has been approved to serve as an ADR Neutral by the USDC for the Western district of Pennsylvania.
Professional Career: Experiences/Achievements
Atty. Otto served as President of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County (1980 - 81).
Atty. Otto has been a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and of the American Bar Foundation for many years.
Atty. Otto is a member of the Million Dollars Advocacy Forum.
For some 30 years Atty. Otto served as a member of the Faculty for Institutes of Trial Advocacy sponsored by:
The University of Michigan Law School;
The University of Pittsburgh Law School; and
Duquesne University Law School.
Atty. Otto served as Special Counsel to the Health Review Committees for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (1977 - 2005) and Allegheny Health Network (2012 - 2015), as well as for a number of other Hospitals and Physician Groups.
Attorney Otto was commissioned as an Officer in the U.S. Regular Army, JAGC, and served on the Faculty of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. (1961 - 65)\ before joining the firm of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C., helping to build the firm into Pittsburgh's 4th largest, serving as Chairman of the firm's Professional Development and as Chairman, CEO and President (1965 - 2015), before forming the Otto Law Group.
Atty. Otto was recognized as the first Trial Lawyer in the U.S. to utilize video testimony in both the State Courts as well as the Federal Courts (1969 and 1970).
Atty. Otto has been recognized for many years as one of the Best Lawyers in America, and as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer.
Atty. Otto holds Martindale-Hubbell AV and AVVO 10.0 ratings.
Atty. Otto holds Bar Admissions in D.C. (1961) and PA (1962), and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Atty. Otto graduated from Dickinson College (A.B. Degree with Honors in Economics, 1958) and the University of Michigan Law School (J.D. Degree, 1961).
Personal
Atty. and Mrs. Otto are most proud of their 4 children - all lawyers - and 9 Grandchildren, 2 of whom are aiming for law schools in 2017.
Atty. Otto is a member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Sewickley, PA and Somerset Anglican Fellowship and has taught adult Sunday School for many years.
Atty. Otto has authored and published many professional articles and in 2015 his book "Resurrection: Fact or Fiction - A Trial Lawyer looks at all of the Evidence" was published.
1While at West Point, Capt. Otto was appointed to revise the Academy's Regulations, and in doing so, having had 2 daughters born at West Point, Capt. Otto proposed that women be qualified as candidates. The proposal was approved by the Dept. of Army and implemented in the year 1973.