W. Thomas Berriman, 81, law partner

W. Thomas Berriman, 81, of Chesterbrook, who retired in 1997 as a partner with the former Wolf Block law firm in Philadelphia, died Tuesday, Jan. 10, at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, N.J., after a stroke.

In 1985, The Inquirer reported that Wolf Block had acquired Berriman & Schwartz, founded by Mr. Berriman in the 1970s, which had grown to "an eight-member law firm in King of Prussia that specializes in health law."

The addition of the Berriman lawyers allowed Wolf Block to form a 12-member health-law group within its 185-lawyer firm.

"Berriman pioneered the health-law field in the Philadelphia region, when he left his post as vice president and general counsel of American Medicorp Inc., Bala Cynwyd, in 1975," the story reported. He had joined American Medicorp in 1969.

Mr. Berriman told the reporter that "when we went from one lawyer in a sublet office with a part-time secretary to an 11-member firm, people began to see us as unique."

"Health-care providers are getting into antitrust questions, joint ventures, bond issues - any number of new ventures and competitive, entrepreneurial areas."

Mr. Berriman stated that his firm's clients had included 300 health-care providers and medical professional groups.

In 1988, he and three other Wolf Block partners opened an office for the Center City firm in the Great Valley Corporate Center near Malvern.

In 1989, he was elected president of the newly formed Great Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce, and he served into 1991. A son, Thomas J., said he was a founder of the group.

In 1993, he was named secretary of the Chester Valley Transportation Management Association, described as a group of private and public officials seeking to improve transit in Chester County.

Born in Johnstown, Pa., Mr. Berriman earned a bachelor's degree in accounting at the University of Pittsburgh in 1952 and graduated in 1955 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was a law review editor and a member of the Order of the Coif.

A year-end 1966 newspaper report stated that he was president of Mental Health Clinics Inc. in Norristown, an agency supported by private, county, and state funding.

In that year, the report stated, it had treated 1,135 children, their parents, and other adults.

A spokesman for the American Academy of Hospital Attorneys said Mr. Berriman was the 1977 president of its predecessor, the American Society of Hospital Attorneys.

Dennis J. Purtell, a Milwaukee lawyer and former president of the national society, wrote in a recent e-mail that as president and board member Mr. Berriman was "very well spoken, polite beyond comparison, and yet a constant source of gentle humor."

Mr. Berriman was a director and president of the Tri-County Concerts Association and a charter member of the Rotary Club of Chesterbrook, his son said.

Besides his son, Mr. Berriman is survived by daughters Sarah and Ann Berriman and Susan Bova; six grandchildren; and his former wife, Nancy.

A life celebration was set for 1 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Waynesborough Country Club, 440 Darby-Paoli Rd., Paoli.

His son said that contributions may be sent to the Johnstown High School Scholarship Fund of the Community Foundation of the Alleghenies, 116 Market St., Suite 4, Johnstown, Pa. 15901.