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Arizona attorney Mark P. Hummels, was shot by a pro se litigant following a mediation session yesterday.  Mr. Hummels was shot in the neck and is in critical condition, but is expected to recover.  Mr. Hummels’ client, Steven Singer, was fatally wounded.  Nicole Hampton, 32, who had no relationship to the matter was caught in the cross fire, and shot in the hand.  The gunman, Arthur Douglas Harmon, 70, remains at large.

There is no malpractice avoidance lesson in this sad story, only a reminder that in our business we often deal with unstable people, and when they are armed, it becomes a real danger to us.  Pennsylvania has had its own share of attorney murders and other violent crimes:  Eric Birnbaum, Esquire was murdered outside of his office; Fred Barakat, Esquire suffered a home invasion and was shot, both appear to have been specifically targeted, and neither crime has been solved.

-Josh J.T. Byrne, Esquire