Stephen J. Polaha

Media, Pennsylvania
Phone: 1-484-842-0363 x245
Email: spolaha@eckellsparks.com
Web: Contact Form
Fax: 1-610-565-1596

Steve began practicing law in 1973 in Chester, Pennsylvania as an associate in the law firm of Levy and Levy. Steve's practice for many years was a general practice touching many areas of the law such as civil litigation, domestic relations, real estate, wills and estates, municipal and school district law, and appellate practice.

Steve joined Eckell Sparks in 1984. Thereafter, he concentrated in the areas of real estate, zoning, subdivision and land development, commercial banking, municipal and school district law.

Having started as a general practitioner, Steve developed a broad background in the law which enables him to analyze and solve legal matters in a more skillful and proficient manner. Steve received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Villanova University in 1969. He graduated from Villanova University School of Law where he served as an associate editor of the Villanova Law Review for two years and president of Cardozo-Ives Law Club for two years. Steve published two articles in the Villanova Law Review. The first article involved the issue of a criminal's right to counsel during a photographic identification, and the second article involved an analysis of administrative and enforcement problems and proposals pertaining to housing codes and prevention of urban blight.

After graduating law school, Steve was privileged to serve as law clerk to the late Honorable Thomas J. Clary in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and later for the Honorable Melvin G. Levy in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County. As a member of the Villanova Law Review and as a clerk in the federal and state court systems, Steve was able to develop a writing style and a penchant for exactness which are valuable assets to him in his practice of law.

As part of Steve’s municipal/school district practice, he represents Chichester School District, Delaware County Housing Authority, Township of Chester, and Upper Providence Township Zoning Hearing Board and is alternate solicitor for Edgmont Township Zoning Hearing Board.

Steve and his wife, Val, reside in Upper Providence, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Val presently teaches mathematics at Benchmark School in Upper Providence, Pennsylvania.

Areas of Practice—

Real Estate
Zoning
Subdivision and Land Development
Municipal
School District
Commercial Banking

Admitted to Practice—

Pennsylvania
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Third Circuit Court of Appeals
Supreme Court of the United States of America

Education—

Villanova University School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1972
Villanova University, Bachelor of Arts – History, 1969

Professional Memberships—

Pennsylvania Bar Association
Delaware County Bar Association
Pennsylvania School Boards Association
Pennsylvania State Association of Township Solicitors

Publications—

Casenote – United States v. Zeiler, Villanova Law Review, Vol. 16
Comment – Housing Codes and the Prevention of Urban Blight, Villanova Law Review, Vol. 17