Aaron Dunbar
Aaron L. Dunbar is a versatile litigator who was shaped by his time working as a prosecutor representing victims of violent crimes for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. At Kline & Specter, he represents plaintiffs in product liability, medical malpractice, premises liability and toxic torts litigation.
A lifelong resident of Philadelphia, he sees it as his mission to advocate for the residents of Philadelphia and its surrounding counties who have been wrongfully harmed.
Some of Dunbar's successes include:
- Confidential medical malpractice settlement of $3 million
- Confidential product liability settlement of $38.5 million
- Confidential premises liability settlement of $8.25 million
- Confidential premises liability settlement of $1.1 million
Dunbar was co-counsel in a case that concluded in July 2023 with an $11 million settlement with a Philadelphia community umbrella agency for failing to oversee an infant’s care, leading to catastrophic child abuse. The child suffered a traumatic brain injury resulting in quadriplegia and blindness, requiring lifetime skilled care. (See media coverage)
Dunbar was also co-counsel in filing suits claiming that dozens of people contracted cancer from exposure to ethylene oxide, or EtO, emitted from a B. Braun plant in Allentown, Pa., at which the colorless gas was used to sterilize medical equipment. (See news coverage on WFMZ-TV, The Morning Call, Law360 lehighvalleylive.com)
Dunbar has been recognized by his peers for his work. He was the 2024 recipient of the Barristers' Outstanding Young Lawyer Award.
From 2022-2024, he was named by Super Lawyers* as a Pennsylvania Rising Star, placing him among the top 2.5 percent of lawyers in the commonwealth who are 40 or younger or practicing 10 years or less.
Dunbar previously worked in civil litigation at Post & Schell, P.C., in Philadelphia, where he handled product and general liability claims. Before that, he worked at a regional defense firm where he represented commercial entities and medical care providers.
As an assistant district attorney for three and a half years, Dunbar managed a caseload of approximately 120 complex criminal matters through various phases of prosecution, including pre-arrest investigations, grand jury indictments and trying bench and jury trials to verdict. Dunbar prosecuted offenders for crimes that included burglary, arson, robbery, narcotics, weapons violations, aggravated assault, sexual abuse against children and rape.
Dunbar graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore with a degree in criminal justice. He earned his law degree from North Carolina Central University School of Law, where he was staff editor of the NCCU Law Review.
While in law school, he worked with the Small Business and Community Development Clinic, the Criminal Defense Clinic and the Veteran’s Law Clinic. During law school Dunbar worked as a summer associate at the Raleigh, N.C., law firm Gray Newell Thomas, LLP, and as a legal intern for Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Karen Shreeves-Johns.
Dunbar is active in the community. He is a former treasurer of The Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia, an organization founded in 1950 to address the professional needs and development of Black lawyers in the city. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Share Food Program and is a former member of the board of directors for Men’s Center for Growth and Change.
Aaron Dunbar In The News:
- Aaron Dunbar interviewed on Roxborough high school shooting death, WCAU 10 News, 8/28/24
- Mother of slain Roxborough football player sues school district, PIAA, Metro Philly, 8/28/24
- Mother of student slain after football game sues Philly school district – NBC10 Philadelphia, 8/27/24
- Mother of football player Nicolas Elizalde, who killed in Roxborough, sues School District of Philadelphia in federal court - ABC 6, 8/27/24
- Mother of slain Roxborough football player sues Philly school district, saying it ‘ignored the threat of gun violence, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 8/27/24
- Mother of teen killed in 2022 shooting outside Roxborough High files federal lawsuit against school district, Audacity, KYW Radio, 8/27/24
- Nicolas Elizalde's mother sues Philadelphia schools, PIAA after son's shooting death after football scrimmage - CBS 3, 8/27/24
- Specter, Lepisto, Dunbar reach $11 million settlement with agency over child abuse, KYW News Radio, 7/7/23 (Listen to audio); Law360, 7/7/23
- Specter files suit for 16 over cancer-causing plant emissions, WFMZ-TV, The Morning Call, Law360 lehighvalleylive.com, 5/5/21
