Skip to Content

Overview

Overview

Chimdi G. Tuffs helps organizations navigate difficult employment, human risk, negligent security, insurance coverage, and litigation matters – particularly where situations are evolving quickly, facts are still developing, and leadership needs decisions that hold up under scrutiny.

Clients often involve her when something does not sit right: a claim that raises broader concerns, an employee issue that may signal deeper exposure, a sensitive incident becoming more visible, or a situation where judgment matters as much as legal analysis.

Chimdi advises employers and other organizations across complex litigation matters in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York state and federal courts, including employer, professional, executive, premises, trucking, and product liability claims. Her insurance coverage practice includes first- and third-party coverage advice, coverage disputes, and defense of bad faith claims.

Drawing on experience as a trial lawyer and former prosecutor in Philadelphia – including work as a felony sexual assault and domestic violence prosecutor in New York City – Chimdi brings a practical understanding of how difficult situations are interpreted under pressure and how outcomes are often shaped long before they become visible. She has particular experience investigating and defending negligent security matters involving sexual assault allegations, where human behavior, institutional response, public perception, and legal exposure often intersect. She has tried civil and criminal matters to jury verdict and has experience presenting before grand juries.

Her approach is disciplined, practical, and grounded in helping clients recognize early signals, preserve judgment and options, and respond in ways that still make sense when the full story emerges.

.

Experience

Experience

Representative Experience

  • Prevailed in plaintiff’s appeal of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County’s, entry of summary judgment in defense of an e-bicycle versus motor vehicle accident where the defenses presented on summary judgment included effective use of video surveillance footage of the accident showing defendants did not breach any duty owed to plaintiff and that plaintiff’s own actions caused the accident. The Appellate Division’s opinion affirming entry of summary judgment for the defendants created favorable precedent for the use of video evidence to prove the lack of issues of fact in summary judgment proceedings.
  • Defended employer against employee sexual assault allegations relating to the actions of a customer including preparing a nationally recognized psychological expert in the area of sexual assault for trial.
  • Successfully defended corporate client obtaining a defense verdict after a bench trial against a Plaintiff in a motor vehicle warranty claim in Pennsylvania.
  • Successfully obtained dismissal of a corporation after a motion to dismiss was granted in their favor against plaintiff’s personal injury claim in New Jersey using public records documents to confirm a lack of ownership and control by the corporation as falsely alleged by Plaintiff’s complaint.
  • Obtained voluntary dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims against a corporate defendant after discovery revealed Plaintiff’s claims were barred by the New Jersey Worker’s Compensation Act.

Honors

  • Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® Rising Star 2019 – 2022

Professional Affiliations

  • American Bar Association, Section of Litigation – Judicial Internship Opportunity Program Co-Chair, Philadelphia
  • Barrister’s Association of Philadelphia
  • Temple Law Alumni Association
  • Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel
  • Philadelphia Bar Association, Large Firm Management Committee
  • Philadelphia Bar Association, Campaign for Qualified Judges, Vice-Chair
  • Philadelphia Bar Association, Judicial Commission on Judicial Selection
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association, Large Firm Management Committee

Civic Activities

  • The Monkey and the Elephant, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors
  • The Wright Legacy, Speaker

Publications

  • “Defending Claims Where Extreme Weather Is to Blame: Our Changing Climate’s Impact on Civil Litigation,” The Legal Intelligencer, July 18, 2024.

Speaking Engagements

  • “Micro-Bias, Macro Impact: Rewriting the Culture of Leadership,” Centerforce Women in Law & Leadership Conference, Washington D.C., May 2026.
  • “What Happens Underwater? Exploring the Impact of Water Damage Losses on General Liability and Builders Risk Policies,” CLM 2023 Construction Conference, Austin, TX.
  • “Breaking the Mold: Empowering Legal Talents Across Socioeconomic Lines,” Centerforce Driving Diversity in Law & Leadership Conference, Washington D.C., June 2024.

Credentials

Credentials

Admitted to Practice

  • New York
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of New York
  • United States District Court, Southern District of New York
  • New Jersey
  • United States District Court, District of New Jersey
  • Pennsylvania
  • United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Education

  • Columbia University, Columbia College
  • Temple University, Beasley School of Law

Back to Top