Uncommon Decency
Empathy is Mark Aronchick’s primary tool
By Matt aMis PHOtOGRaPHy By LuiGi CiuffeteLLi
Last fall, when the American Beverage Association
and other businesses filed suit against the city
of Philadelphia over the notorious “sweetened
beverage tax,” there was little doubt whom the city
would call.
“We knew that the soda industry was hiring some of the
best lawyers around to help them out,” says Marcel Pratt, who
chairs the city’s litigation group. “They had one of the largest
corporate law firms in the city and one of the most well-known
plaintiff personal injury firms in the city, so we needed to have
commensurate firepower.”
That’s why Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration brought in
former city solicitor Mark Aronchick, alongside Ken Trujillo, to fend
off the suit, which was dismissed in December. As a result, the
1.5-cent-per-ounce levy on beverage distributors, which officials
say will help fund expanded pre-kindergarten and state park
rehabilitation, took effect on Jan. 1. At press time, it was on appeal.
“What Mark and the team did was marshal the law and make
it clear that this is something the city council has a right to do,”
says city solicitor and former Hangley Aronchick shareholder Sozi
Pedro Tulante. “To have Mark and Ken leading that effort has
been invaluable, and they have the knowledge and wisdom to run
a team and know the law when there is hundreds of millions at
stake—in an age where cities really need that kind of revenue.”
