Dean graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, receiving in 1988 his Juris Doctorate degree and graduating in the top third of his class. Dean received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1985 cum laude and as a Benjamin Franklin Scholar. Dean is admitted to practice in courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the State of New Jersey, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the District of New Jersey, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Pro Bono Work 

Dean handled hundreds of pro bono cases through the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program in Philadelphia and was awarded the prestigious William J. Brennan Award in 2016 for work on income-related cases at the organization’s 35th Anniversary Gala.