Our Firm mourns the loss of our former partner and long-time friend Joseph J. McGrory, Jr., who died suddenly August 16, 2022 while on vacation. Joe was a member of the Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin family for over 20 years, and was formerly Chair of the Firm’s Municipal Law Department and a member of the Real Estate Department.
Joe represented clients in all aspects of Municipal, and Zoning and Land Use Law complex zoning, subdivision, land development and municipal law matters for 34 years. He also served as Township Solicitor for Limerick Township, Douglass (Berks) Township, East Whiteland (Chester)Township, West Conshohocken Borough and Upper Merion Township, among many others. In the land use area, Joe handled cases involving power plants, quarries, mobile home parks, highrise complexes, a 2,000 unit complex, billboards, trash to energy plants. His colleagues watched in admiration as he tirelessly and passionately represented his clients for decades— attending over 2,000 diverse nighttime Municipal hearings. His track record for successful “win-win” outcomes – for both parties – was impressive.
A lifelong contributor to, and participant in, the state and local bar associations, Joe was a past member of the Board of Directors of the Montgomery Bar Association (MBA) and chair of its Real Estate Committee. He was the past Chair of the Municipal Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) and a voting member to the PBA’s House of Delegates. In 1998, Joe formed the Montgomery County Zoning Officers Association and served as its Solicitor for decades. In 2000, Joe received The Margaret Richardson Award from the MBA for furthering women’s rights in the bar.
For over 34 years, he served as a dedicated Mental Health Review Officer in Montgomery County. He advocated for improving the effectiveness of Pennsylvania’s mental health system. Joe was also a past member of the Board of Directors of the Norristown Rotary and NorristownJaycees and a life member of the West Norriton Ambulance Squad. A graduate of Delaware Law School, (J.D. 1983), Joe received his undergraduate degree from Villanova University (B.S. 1980).
Joe was beloved by clients, colleagues and friends who had the pleasure of enjoying his humor and great dry wit. They admired his compassion, intelligence, thoughtfulness and bottom-less love for his wife, Eileen and sons Joseph III, Daniel and Matthew.
Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin is one of the leading law firms in Eastern Pennsylvania providing legal counsel to businesses, municipalities, and individuals in such areas as business law, litigation, real estate matters, municipal law, cannabis and hemp law, environmental law, trusts and estates, family law, criminal law and personal injury matters. The firm’s singular focus is on achieving the best possible result for its clients. For more information, please go to www.hrmml.com.
