Eric D. Gerst, Attorney & Author

• Has practiced law nationwide for more than 30 years, with a significant amount of his practice in Insurance and Transportation.

• Member of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC bars, as well as American Bar Association TIPS (Tort Trial and Insurance Practices Section); Admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Holds the highest peer review rating (AV) from legal publisher Martindale Hubbell

• Founding partner, Philadelphia law firm Anapol , Schwartz, Gerst and Weiss (now called Anapol Schwartz) Philadelphia PA; left to become Senior Partner at law firm, Gerst Heffner Carpenter and Podgorsky, with offices in Philadelphia, PA and Washington, D.C.(firm disbanded after many years, Gerst continuing as Eric D Gerst, P. C.)

• Served as the outside General Counsel to a national insurance brokerage company for almost 10 years; covered all aspects of the insurance industry, including regulatory and licensing matters with the various state governments, and the insurance laws of the states.

• Has represented different sides of the insurance equation, insurance entities and individuals inside the industry, as well as those outside of it.

• Instrumental in drafting and establishing a new national insurance program for a large sector of the transportation industry, at a time when the transportation industry was in crisis, facing increasing premiums and a lack of qualified insurers, similar to conditions in some insurance sectors today.

• Served on Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell's Insurance Transition Committee, prior to inauguration, and for several months thereafter, to make recommendations on the operations of the Pennsylvania insurance Department; and on insurance law issues facing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and has submitted recommendations to the Governor’s Medical Malpractice Insurance Task Force, as well as to the Governor, and Insurance Commissioner, on other insurance matters. A number of his suggestions have made their way into the insurance landscape.

• Submitted testimony to U.S. House and Senate congressional committees and subcommittees on the need for insurance reform, and for a national disaster insurance fund, with federal oversight, and has also negotiated extensively with agencies of the state and federal governments, and. assisted in formulating federal legislation

• Author of a best-selling book published May 2008 by AMACOM Books, NYC, the publishing arm of the American Management Association. The book, entitled ” Vulture Culture: Dirty Deals, Unpaid Claims, And The Coming Collapse Of The Insurance Industry “ has been listed on Amazon.com’s Best-Seller List For Business Insurance, as well as having been listed on its "Hot New Releases", and "Most Wished For" list. The book focuses on the crisis in the insurance industry highlighting and detailing many of the shocking problems, the options being recommended by others to correct them, and Mr. Gerst’s recommendation as to the best solution. The American Bar Association (ABA) Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) identified Mr.Gerst’s book topic -- the move toward federal regulation of the insurance industry -- as one of the list of Emerging Issues for 2005-2007. Advance excerpts from the book were published as multi-page Special Features in the ABA' s TIPS Insurance Regulation Committee Newsletter in 2006 and 2008.

• In June 2008, Pennsylvania Senate introduced and awarded a formal Senate Citation to Mr.Gerst , commending him for writing the book "Vulture Culture".

• Graduated with an AB degree from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. After graduating from college, served as an officer in the United States Army Adjutant General Corps during the Vietnam era, and was the Post Adjutant of Camp Drum (now Fort Drum), Watertown, New York. Thereafter, he earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Dickinson School of Law, Carlisle, Pennsylvania (now a part of Penn State University). At Rutgers, he was Managing Editor of the Rutgers Daily Targum, Cadet Captain in the Rutgers ROTC, Vice President of the Rutgers Inter-Fraternity Council, and was 1 of 12 students chosen to be a member of Cap And Skull, the senior honorary society, and was named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities. At Dickinson School of Law, he was chosen to be Administrative Chairman of the Dickinson Moot Court Board, and participated as a case note contributor to the Dickinson Law Review.

• Mr.Gerst works as a legal consultant. He maintains an active law license, and has done so since 1968. Mr. Gerst lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is married, with two adult children and one grandchild.