A Tale of Two Practices

The young Joel Frank was constantly in motion, playing lacrosse, running track and competing in pickup football games and street hockey with his buddies. So when he noticed a couple of martial arts studios near the University of Delaware during his junior year there, he decided to try his hand. Gravitating toward Chinese Kenpo—”It suited my build and my interests,” says the 6-foot-1 litigator—he went on to earn a third-degree black belt over the next 12 years. 

“I’m not the most flexible guy, so what I liked about the Chinese Kenpo class was it was about 50% hands and 50% feet,” says Frank, 63, managing partner at Lamb McErlane in West Chester. “With Taekwondo there’s a lot of kicking to the head, and I could never kick above the waist, quite honestly. I just thought Kenpo was a real practical kind of style.”

Today, Frank practices Haganah, an aggressive Israeli self-defense style that uses “a lot of knees and elbows and locks.” He is also serving his third appointed term on the three-person Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission (PSAC), which oversees mixed martial arts, kickboxing and professional boxing and wrestling. 

Martial arts and the law are both competitive, demand complete concentration, and encourage respect for one’s rival. “They require you to enhance your own skills while you’re anticipating what your opponent will do and taking action to combat or counter that,” Frank says. “Especially in the martial arts, you have to read when you think someone is going to make a move so you’ll know how to parry that or counter it.”

His strong work ethic was cultivated in his hometown of Newtown Square, Pa., where, starting at age 14, he worked for blacktop, paving and concrete companies. “The jackhammer probably weighed more than I did,” he recalls. “Even now, when I smell freshly-minted blacktop—most people don’t prefer that smell, but it brings back positive memories for me.”

Driven by a “law enforcement mindset,” Frank dreamed of joining the FBI. At the time, only accountants and attorneys were eligible, and following in his dad’s footsteps as a CPA didn’t appeal to him. “So,” he says, “an attorney it was.”

But after getting married while completing his studies at Widener University School of Law, his thoughts turned to supporting his new family. In 1986, he joined Dilworth Paxson, a large Philadelphia firm known for its litigation department, and quickly found himself handling depositions before he’d even passed the bar. “Being in the library is really not my forte,” Frank says. “But they threw me right into the mix.”

That seat-of-the-pants training was invaluable, he says, as was the exposure to different types of business clients and their unique stories. After 10 years with Dilworth, Frank joined Lamb McErlane, where he primarily handles commercial and civil litigation in state and federal courts, along with ethics matters involving attorneys and judges. Despite his managerial role, he maintains an active caseload. “I still like the competitive nature of the litigation,” he says.

One “out of the norm” case for him involved his representation of a mother from a high-profile U.S. family who abducted her two children and hid with them in Switzerland. Frank helped facilitate her voluntary surrender to authorities. In another matter, he represented a large international trucking company in a wrongful death suit after a flange broke off one of its trucks when it hit an overpass, killing a woman who was on her way back from a marriage preparation class with her fiance. Frank negotiated an undisclosed settlement with the woman’s family.

“You have to read when someone is going to make a move so you’ll know how to parry or counter it.” —Joel Frank

Litigating for both plaintiffs and defendants helps him maintain a well-rounded perspective, he says. It also enables him to better assess the strengths and weaknesses of a case. “You have these attorneys who are always flamethrowers, and [you have] some who are meek. But I think I can assess when it’s time to be aggressive and when it’s time to be more conciliatory.”

The same could be said for his 22 years of practicing Haganah, which draws from Krav Maga and other Israeli combat techniques. “You’re not going out there starting trouble,” he explains, “but it’s more of an aggressive system once someone else starts trouble with you. Thankfully, I’ve never had to use it, but it teaches you to be aware of your surroundings and just be prepared.”

During his time as general counsel for the state Republican party, Frank shared his interest in the martial arts with Gov. Tom Corbett. When one of the PSAC commissioners, former Eagles linebacker Chuck Bednarik, announced plans to retire in 2013, Frank threw his hat in the ring.

 The financially self-sustaining PSAC—one of the most active sports commissions in the country—licenses over 300 boxers and more than 450 professional and amateur MMA fighters, and regulates professional wrestling.

“It’s a pretty highly sought-after position,” Frank says. “You wouldn’t necessarily think so, but there are multiple people that have tried to get in. Even once you’re nominated, it requires Senate confirmation.”

Former Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf reappointed him twice for the position, “even though I was involved in suing him as a lawyer on several occasions.” 

Frank is the only lawyer among the commissioners; the other two are former boxing referees. Together, they handle issues ranging from fighter safety, which includes concussion protocols, drug testing and weight loss, to an increasing number of name, image and likeness issues. “Some of the folks in the NIL [business] are approaching kids in middle school,” Frank says. “So we’re keeping our eye on that. There could be additional regulations coming down along those lines.”

His legal expertise makes him especially well suited for another PSAC responsibility: mediating disputes among managers, fighters, promoters and agents. “We try to guide the party as to what’s really relevant for our consideration and what’s not, try to keep the emotion out of it. We try to give people a fair shot, be open-minded to suggestions and concerns.”

To keep up his skills, he punches a speed bag at home, takes weekly classes at the studio, and teaches when needed. Martial arts, he says, “is great for kids. It teaches kids respect and how to defend yourself. There’s a certain confidence that comes along with that ability.”

The intensity of Haganah clears his mind of the work-related issues that “generally consume my thought process,” he says. “The physical component also serves as a release from whatever aggravation or frustration you may encounter during the course of the day.”