About Robert W.
Robert W. Small has spent more than four decades in and around the practice of law. He has moved between corporate counsel posts and private practice. The result is a career that touches both in-house work and law firm life.
He holds a J.D. (1971) from Temple University Beasley School of Law and a B.A. (1974) from Lafayette College. Those academic credentials prefaced an immediate start in a major Philadelphia firm and a career that would span litigation, corporate counsel roles and firm leadership.
His first listed position was at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in 1974, where he worked as a lawyer. He then spent time as corporate counsel at INA Corporation in 1977. A year later he moved into an in-house leadership post as Assistant General Counsel for Betz Laboratories, Inc. These roles gave him day-to-day exposure to corporate legal work and internal compliance matters.
In 1986 he became a founding partner of Berlinger & Small, marking a longer-term shift back to private practice. That firm role evolved over time. In 2012 he is recorded as a partner at Reger Rizzo & Darnall LLP, a position that reflects continued engagement in firm-based practice later in his career.
Small is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and is authorized to appear before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. He maintains membership in the Pennsylvania State Bar and the Montgomery County Bar Association. Those admissions and memberships have supported a practice that has navigated both trial and appellate forums.
Colleagues and clients have encountered him in different settings: in-house counsel advising on corporate matters, partner in a regional law firm handling client work, and a founder shaping a small firm’s direction. He has alternated between advising company executives and representing outside clients, which has shaped how he approaches disputes and transactions.
Today he continues his legal work at Reger Rizzo & Darnall LLP. His practice draws on decades of experience in corporate counsel roles and private practice, and it includes matters that arise at the intersection of corporate law and litigation.
