William Lamb

Little more than a year after graduating from law school, William Lamb was getting restless. He was chafing at life as a young associate at the then-old-line Philadelphia law firm Dechert L.L.P., where newly minted lawyers would slave away for years at menial tasks before having any chance of making partner. He yearned to practice law in the quiet country towns of rural Chester County, where he had been raised. So he marched into the office of the firm's chairman and said he wanted out. "He [the chairman]

Murder defendant John E. du Pont has dismissed his two lead defense lawyers, saying he believes they have joined with the prosecution, the judge and the CIA to conspire against him. The attorneys, Richard Sprague and William Lamb, disclosed du Pont's action yesterday by filing a petition with Delaware County Court Judge Patricia Jenkins to withdraw from the case. Their removal has to be approved by Jenkins, who has overseen the case from the beginning. She is expected to make a decision Monday.

Madeline Hartsell Lamb, 71, a Chester County lawyer for 34 years, died Sunday, July 8, of glioblastoma, a brain tumor, at the Cary, N.C., home of her daughter, Amanda Lamb Griffin. After graduating from law school in 1978, Mrs. Lamb was in a West Chester law practice with her husband, William Lamb, who later became Chester County district attorney and a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice. Mrs. Lamb then conducted a solo practice of family law in West Chester from 1985 to 2012, her daughter said.

Republican Party complaints against five members of the East Whiteland Township Committee have been dismissed, William Lamb, Chester County GOP chairman, said last week. The five had been accused by another Republican of improperly working for the re-election of Supervisor Jack Finn instead of for the party's official nominee, Glenn Cockerham. "There was a procedural technicality, and thus the complaints were dismissed," Lamb said. He did not specify the nature of the technicality.

The state Supreme Court has denied bail for murder suspect John E. du Pont. However, the court granted the defense's request to review the question of what constitutes whether a defendant is competent to stand trial. Both the defense and the prosecution were pleased with the Supreme Court's order, which was issued late Thursday. Delaware County Judge Patricia Jenkins had denied du Pont's bail request April 30. An appeal hearing in front of the state Superior Court is set for June 4. "We're gratified that once again the courts have denied to grant bail to [du Pont]

Relax, Newtown Square. The village eccentric will remain in jail for now. A Delaware County judge yesterday rejected a plea by accused killer John E. du Pont to temporarily return from jail to his sprawling Foxcatcher Farms estate to help prepare for his defense. Lawyers for the tank-driving chemicals heir said they needed his help to sift through hundreds of thousands of pages of personal papers du Pont has stored inside a sealed 1,500-square-foot library. "We need access to that room with our client," attorney William Lamb testified during a hearing before Judge Patricia Jenkins.

After nine weeks in a jail cell, millionaire accused killer John E. du Pont is losing his grip, and his lawyers want him out. The attorneys yesterday asked a Delaware County judge to set bail for the chemicals heir, claiming his "physical condition and overall well-being has deteriorated" since he was locked up on Super Bowl Sunday, Jan. 28. "We didn't think we could wait any longer," said defense attorney William Lamb. He said a court-ordered mental competency examination likely will not be held till mid-May.

The Delaware County District Attorney's Office asked the state Supreme Court yesterday to lift its order halting all competency proceedings in the John E. du Pont case. Prosecutors also asked the court for an expedited ruling on the state's legal standard for determining competency. Du Pont is charged with the Jan. 26 slaying of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. A pivotal issue is the millionaire's competency to stand trial. In the motion to the state Supreme Court, prosecutors wrote that a new Pennsylvania law, signed July 2, settled the issue of a legal competency standard.

He believes his jail cell is wiretapped. He is frightened of invisible insects. He drives an armored personnel carrier for fun. Maybe he's eccentric or just plain crazy, but is John E. du Pont mentally competent to stand trial for first-degree murder? The millionaire accused-killer is to be examined next week to determine just that. Yesterday, though, his lawyers sought to delay the testing, charging that the state's competency law is unconstitutional. They asked the state Supreme Court to bar all Common Pleas judges - including Delaware County Judge Patricia H. Jenkins - from holding any hearings or examinations involving competency issues.

The two sides in the John E. du Pont murder case are scheduled to argue in court next week about whether an order directing du Pont to undergo a competency examination should be withdrawn. Delaware County Judge Patricia Jenkins yesterday ordered the hearing for Thursday after du Pont's lawyers filed a motion opposing a prosecution request that the judge withdraw her order. Du Pont's arraignment - already postponed twice - is scheduled for the same day. The issue of competency has been a subplot of the case since February when Jenkins first ordered a competency exam for du Pont, who is charged in the Jan. 26 murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz.

Madeline Hartsell Lamb, 71, a Chester County lawyer for 34 years, died Sunday, July 8, of glioblastoma, a brain tumor, at the Cary, N.C., home of her daughter, Amanda Lamb Griffin. After graduating from law school in 1978, Mrs. Lamb was in a West Chester law practice with her husband, William Lamb, who later became Chester County district attorney and a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice. Mrs. Lamb then conducted a solo practice of family law in West Chester from 1985 to 2012, her daughter said.

William Arthur Lamb, 85, of Malvern, a retired civil engineer for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, died Monday, Oct. 4, of dementia at home. After his appointment in 1967 as assistant engineer for the Philadelphia district of the Pennsylvania Highway Department, now PennDot, he oversaw the design, construction, and improvements of major roadways in the city and its suburbs. His projects included construction of I-95 exit and entrance ramps through Philadelphia and the Vine Street Expressway.

Little more than a year after graduating from law school, William Lamb was getting restless. He was chafing at life as a young associate at the then-old-line Philadelphia law firm Dechert L.L.P., where newly minted lawyers would slave away for years at menial tasks before having any chance of making partner. He yearned to practice law in the quiet country towns of rural Chester County, where he had been raised. So he marched into the office of the firm's chairman and said he wanted out. "He [the chairman]

Accused of raiding the county of some of its top legal talent, new state Supreme Court Justice William H. Lamb has a ready admission: guilty. Lamb, 62, of Devon, a partner in Chester County's largest law firm was sworn in Friday to fill out the term of Stephen A. Zappala, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. Because he agreed not to run for reelection, Lamb had to jump on the fast track when it came to assembling a legal team....

For the last 37 years, West Chester lawyer William H. Lamb has specialized in resisting a law specialty - a decision that makes him an ideal candidate for the state's highest court, supporters say. Lamb's nomination by outgoing Gov. Schweiker Wednesday to fill a vacancy on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court caps a career that includes two terms as Chester County's district attorney, a nine-year tenure as local Republican Party chairman, and partnership...

Despite her promise to stick around, Jefferson Bank's founder, Betsy Z. Cohen, has cashed in all of her stock and quit the board of the New Jersey company that bought her Philadelphia-based bank last year. Cohen sold her $23 million holding in Hudson United Bancorp on July 17, according to Securities and Exchange Commission records. William Lamb, a cofounder of Jefferson Bank, sold his $13 million stake in Hudson the same day. Asked about the stock sales yesterday, bank chairman Kenneth Neilson said the two had quit the Hudson board the day they sold the stock.

In the video, millionaire John du Pont, clean shaven and neat, flatly tells off-camera psychiatrists that Buddhists had brainwashed him and erased his memory. Matter-of-factly, du Pont explained how a double of himself, the result of a Hollywood-CIA conspiracy, gunned down world-class wrestler David Schultz. Recorded six months ago, the tape was played during a hearing yesterday to determine his competency to stand trial in Schultz's murder and a frail, scruffy du Pont in baggy prison clothes, cracked a thin smile.

Two of John E. du Pont's top lawyers pulled out of the murder case yesterday, after the trial judge issued an order saying they did not need her permission to withdraw. The departure of Richard Sprague and William Lamb from the high-profile case was confirmed by their offices yesterday and came just days before a critical court session. Du Pont faces a hearing on Friday to determine whether he is competent to stand trial in the Jan. 26 shooting death of Olympic gold-medal wrestler David Schultz.

Murder defendant John E. du Pont has dismissed his two lead defense lawyers, saying he believes they have joined with the prosecution, the judge and the CIA to conspire against him. The attorneys, Richard Sprague and William Lamb, disclosed du Pont's action yesterday by filing a petition with Delaware County Court Judge Patricia Jenkins to withdraw from the case. Their removal has to be approved by Jenkins, who has overseen the case from the beginning. She is expected to make a decision Monday.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court put the murder trial of John E. du Pont back on track yesterday when it issued a decision on standards for determining a defendant's competency to stand trial. Du Pont, who is charged in the Jan. 26 shooting death of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz, has a trial date of Sept. 30. Du Pont might yet undergo a court-ordered psychological examination and, subsequently, face a competency hearing. Yesterday's ruling paved the way for those things to happen.