About Wally Zimolong
Wally has dedicated his entire legal career to representing developers and contractors in disputes between themselves, unions, and the government. He is a veteran trial lawyer with vast trial experience having acted as lead plaintiff or defense counsel in nearly 500 cases in federal and state court, private arbitration, and before government administrative law judges. He has tried numerous cases to verdict and and boasts an undefeated jury trial record.
As a life-long conservative, he has been called the “go-to” lawyer in Pennsylvania for conservative causes and candidates. In 2022, City and State Pennsylvania magazine ranked him as one of the Top 100 lawyers in the state influencing state and national policy. As a staunch believer in the Constitution and free enterprise, he has ferociously defended contractors and developers that are threatened, coerced, and bullied by the federal, state, and local government and unions. He has represented clients in countless matters before administrative agencies, in particular, the National Labor Relations Board and OSHA. He counsels client on dealing with, avoiding, and de-certifying unions. His counsel includes obtaining injunctive relief preventing unions from disrupting his clients’ businesses. Journalists frequently seek out Wally to comment on labor law related stories and his commentary has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Philadelphia Business Journal.
His constitutional and public policy litigation has resulted in numerous landmark decisions.
In 2021, he was lead trial counsel to an election board official and obtained landmark ruling that declared Pennsylvania’s mailed voting law unconstitutional. https://rumble.com/vtidav-40-of-pennsylvania-ballots-in-the-2020-election-were-unconstitutional.html
In 2017, he was lead counsel to a group of graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania who opposed unionization of graduate students. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/business/labor_and_unions/penn-grad-students-ratchet-up-the-union-fight-20170624.html
In 2016, he obtained a landmark jury verdict against a sitting member of Philadelphia City Council for violating his client’s First Amendment Right to free speech. The case received wide spread media attention and news of the verdict appeared on the front page of Philadelphia’s largest newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer. https://www.phillymag.com/citified/2016/05/11/ori-feibush-kenyatta-johnson-verdict/
In 2015, he spearheaded an investigation into the Regional Director of the National Labor Relations Board that resulted in an Inspector General investigation and ultimate suspension of the director for illegal conflicts of interest. https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2016/03/28/nlrb-philadelphia-regional-director-was-suspended.html
In 2012, he was asked to represent a high school student who was forcibly removed from class for wearing a t-shirt supporting the campaign of Mitt Romney. Wally successful sued the Philadelphia School District and the teacher for violating his client’s first amendment rights. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2252473/Charles-Carroll-High-School-Philadelphia-teenager-sues-teacher-compared-Romney-t-shirt-KKK-outfit.html
In 2010, he obtained a judgment in federal court against the City of Philadelphia for unlawfully seizing his real estate developer client’s property without due process of law with his client receiving significant monetary damages and an award of attorney’s fees.
Wally was named one of Super Lawyers Magazine’s “Super Lawyers” in the areas of construction litigation, construction law, and labor law. Previously, before turning 40, Super Lawyers Magazine named him a “rising star” for 5 consecutive years. He is a Construction Lawyers Society of America (CLSA) Fellow. The CLSA is an invitation-only international honorary association composed of preeminent lawyers specializing in construction law and related fields. Fellowship is limited and selective, with lawyers being invited into Fellowship upon a proven record of excellence and accomplishment in construction law at both the trial and appellate levels. He regularly assists clients with investigations brought by the Department of Justice, Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses & Inspections (L&I).
He has also successfully defended and stopped numerous illegal picketing campaigns by building trade unions.