Email: markg@capozziadler.com
Tel: (610) 890-0200 Fax: 717-233-4103
Address: 312 Old Lancaster Road, Merion Station, PA 19066
Career
Mark K. Gyandoh, Esq. who spearheads the firm’s fiduciary practice group has nearly two decades of experience in complex civil litigation. Following graduation from law school he clerked for the Honorable Dennis Braithwaite of the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division from 2001 to 2002 in Atlantic City. He then worked for a small insurance defense firm in Philadelphia for two years where he took and defended hundreds of depositions and tried numerous cases at arbitration. Toward the end of his tenure at the firm he also served as an arbitrator in the Compulsory Arbitration Program for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Prior to joining Capozzi Adler, Mr. Gyandoh litigated breach of fiduciary duty class actions brought pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) for fifteen years at one of the largest plaintiffs’ class action firms in the country, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. While at Kessler Topaz, Mr. Gyandoh prosecuted dozens of ERISA breach of fiduciary duty cases against some of the biggest companies in America recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for victims of fiduciary breaches. He has substantial experience in all phases of litigating these cases from initial investigation, filing pleadings, mediations, settlements, settlement administration, trial and appeals. Mr. Gyandoh was one of the lead attorneys for plaintiffs in an ERISA case that resulted in a seminal U.S. Supreme Court decision, Fifth Third Bancorp, et al. v. Dudenhoeffer, et al., 134 S. Ct. 2459 (2014), that clarified the unwavering duties owed by fiduciaries to pension plan participants.
Education
Mr. Gyandoh earned his B.A. in history from Haverford College in 1996. He obtained both his J.D. (2001) and L.L.M. (2011) in trial advocacy from Temple University School of Law. While in law school, Mr. Gyandoh was Co-President of the Temple International Law Society. He also served as an intern for the Honorable Dolores K. Sloviter, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and extern for the Honorable Jerome B. Simandle, United States District Court for New Jersey. Mr. Gyandoh is also proud to have earned the title of Honorary Judge Advocate for his outstanding service as a legal intern for the United States Army South Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico during the summer of 2000.
Positions and Accomplishments
Named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers, Mr. Gyandoh is admitted to both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bars. He is also admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the following United States District Courts: Eastern District of Pennsylvania, District of New Jersey, District of Colorado, Eastern District of Michigan, Northern District of Illinois, Central District of Illinois, and Southern District of Illinois. Over the years, Mr. Gyandoh has contributed to academic scholarship in a variety of contexts reflecting his values and intellectual curiosity. While in law school, he received the Henry J. Richardson, III Award for his contribution of scholarship in the areas of international law and human rights. And in 2004, Mr. Gyandoh was invited to speak at a conference in Prague, Czech Republic where participants explored the role of ecology and environmental ideas in the context of contemporary society, international politics and global economics, to begin to assess the implications for our understanding of fairness, justice and global citizenship. His presentation was published as an article titled Incorporating the Principle of Co-Equal Branches into the European Constitution: Lessons to be Learned from the United States, in “Redefining Europe,” pp. 89-107 (2005). He also authored an article about overcoming legal hurdles in litigating cases outside the United States titled Foreign Evidence Gathering: What Stands in the Way of Justice? 15 Temp. Int’l & Comp. L.J. (2001). Currently, Mr. Gyandoh also serves as President of the U.S. Ghana Chamber of Commerce, a Philadelphia-based organization.