Firm News

Since July of 2009, Michele R. Punturi, Esq. has been part of the team that is developing the UTBMS Workers' Compensation Code, an adaptation of the Uniform Task Based Management System Litigation Code that more accurately captures Workers' Compensation (WC) litigation.  In an interview given to Litigation Management Report, Michele said, "Since Workers' Compensation is a specialized practice, many of our clients' billing codes don't provide us easily adaptable, user-friendly reporting mechanisms.  We are continually trying to find ways to address this problem and one solution has been that client codes are now improving and are beginning to recognize the special services associated with WC cases."  (6/10) 

Rob Smith (Scranton, PA), Brigid Alford (Harrisburg, PA), and Jason Banonis (Bethlehem, PA) recently presented a comprehensive seminar on Pennsylvania UM/UIM law to claims managers and adjusters from Safeco Insurance, at the MDWCG offices in Scranton.  Brigid and Rob then made a similar presentation to other Safeco managers and adjusters at the company's offices in Syracuse, New York.  Topics covered included coverage, preparation and presentation of the UM/UIM hearing, post-Koken issues, and bad faith concerns.  (8/10)

David J. Shannon (Philadelphia, PA) recently had an article entitled Starbucks v. Charbucks, Substantial Similarity is not Required to Prove Dilution by Blurring, in the Pennsylvania Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section Summer Newsletter. David's article dealt with a recent 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision that held proof of "substantial similarity" between two trademarks is not required to establish dilution by blurring.  This decision is likely to lead to more infringement litigation sine large corporations with a famous trademark may be more inclined to pursue small business owners then to simply abandon their rights when they do not need to prove "substantial similarity."  (8/10)

Christopher Boyle (King of Prussia, PA) presented a seminar Legal Updates for Law Enforcement Executives at the yearly meeting of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  The seminar was attended by 120 Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs from departments throughout the state.  (8/10)

Liz Brown (Philadelphia, PA) recently published an article in The Legal Intelligencer entitled, Five Steps to Increasing Cash Flow Using SharePoint.  (8/10)

Jeffrey G. Rapattoni (Cherry Hill, NJ) and James H. Cole (Doylestown, PA) presented at a National Insurance Crime Bureau sponsored event that hosted approximately 200 people from various backgrounds including various insurance carriers and law enforcement agencies on the topic of Hail Storm and Property Damage Fraud.  Jeff and Jim presented on the topic of civil litigation strategies related to fraudulent claims in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and offered advice as to how to effectively litigate same.  At the conclusion of the seminar, Jeff and Jim were presented with awards from the National Insurance Crime Bureau for their continued education to the fight against insurance fraud.  (8/10).

Mary Wagner and Ronda O'Donnell (Philadelphia, PA) spoke to the Workers' Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association on issues involving the interplay between the Family Medical Leave Act/workers' compensation and the ADA.  (8/10)

Jessica Julian (Wilmington, DE) just completed her one year term as the chairperson of the Workers' Compensation Section of the Delaware State Bar Association.  (8/10).

Katherine Keefe (King of Prussia, PA) and Ted Kobus (Philadelphia, PA) spoke at the New Jersey Health Information Management Association's annual meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  Their presentation was entitled, HIPAA/HITECH Disclosures and Regulatory Enforcement and covered the "do's and don'ts" when responding to data security and privacy breaches.  (8/10)

Angela Y. DeMary (Cherry Hill, NJ) recently instructed a seminar on behalf of the Insurance Society of Philadelphia on Overview and Updates in NJ Workers' Compensation for a group of brokers of Glenn Insurance, Absecon, New Jersey.  (8/10)

James Pocius (Scranton, PA) spoke at the 14th Annual Northeastern Rehabilitation Symposium at the Woodlands Inn and Resort in Wilkes-Barre, PA. His topic covered Clinical Methodology for Medicare Set-Asides. (8/10)

Andrew Schwartz (Philadelphia, PA) spoke at the MAP 14th Annual Legal Education Conference in Washington, DC regarding Technology and the Law.  (8/10)

James E. Pocius (Scranton, PA) and Michele Punturi (Philadelphia, PA) spoke at the Workers' Compensation Roundtable at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey, Harrisburg, PA. Jim spoke regarding Understanding WC Benefits and Update on Medicare as it Relates to WC and Michele spoke regarding Understanding the WC Claims Process - 4-Phase Checklist for Managing Your WC Claims. (7/10)

Dan McDermott (New York--Wall Street) was selected by the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Marine Underwriters (AIMU) to participate in its strategic planning conference held at the premises of Swiss Re Insurance Companies in Armonk, New York.  AIMU has over 100 years of service as the trade association representing the United States Ocean Marine industry as an advocate, educator and information center.  Representatives from 30 U.S. marine insurers were in attendance.  Dan was selected as the sole representative of the 22 maritime law firm members to represent the issues and interests of the Maritime Bar and is the first attorney to be invited to attend.  (http://www.aimu.org/) (6/10)

Ted Kobus (Philadelphia) was a speaker at the NetDiligence Cyber Risk and Privacy Liability Forum on the topic of Data Breach Liability: An Unstable Legal Environment.  The conference was attended by all of the major insurance carriers and brokers from the U.S. and London.  (6/10)

Michael Packer (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) spoke at the Chinese Drywall Litigation & Coverage Conference at the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans. He spoke regarding On The Rise-Coverage Cases and the Claims Asserted.  (6/10)

Brad Remick (Philadelphia, PA) participated in a panel discussion at the DRI Annual Products Liability Conference and spoke as one of a three member team discussing the topic of Avoiding the Obvious During Trial. (6/10) 

William Scott (Bethlehem, PA) recently took office as one for four new regional zone governors for the PBA representing the interests of minority lawyers. He is one of 12 zone governors serving on the Pennsylvania Bar Association Board of Governors.  He represents Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill county lawyers. He will serve a three-year term ending in 2013. (6/10)

Brad Remick and John Hare (Philadelphia, PA) recently served as a faculty members at a seminar for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute entitled Winning (or Not Losing) Your Case on Appeal. Brad and John spoke about the transition between trial and appellate counsel when a case is appealed and also discussed the effective use of appellate counsel prior to and during trial. The other speakers were appellate judges from the Pennsylvania Supreme, Superior, and Commonwealth Courts. (6/10) 

Bob Fitzgerald and Estelle McGrath (Pittsburgh, PA) were invited guest speakers at the Wells Fargo/SRS Annual Partnership Meeting in Las Vegas, which was attended by adjusters and supervisors from across the country. Bob and Estelle presented on several topics including: Psych Injuries and How They Relate to Banks, How and When to Settle a Case, and Dissecting Medical Records. (6/10) 

Robin Snyder (Scranton, PA) participated in a panel discussion at the Lehigh University Special Education Conference. She spoke about the differences between Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA").  (6/10)

Danielle M. Vugrinovich (Pittsburgh, PA) recently participated as a faculty member for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's continuing legal education course entitled FDCPA: Jerman v. Carlisle and the Impact on the Bona Fide Error Defense.  (6/10)

Katherine Keefe (King of Prussia, PA) participated on a panel presenting 10 Things You Need to Know About Health Care Reform: Providers, Plans and Patients at the PBI Health Law Institute which took place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.  Katherine also presented to area hospitals and physicians on Data Breaches: It's Not If, It's When at our client Cassatt RRG's annual Risk Management & Captive Insurance Symposium at Penn State Great Valley.  (6/10) 

Matthew P. Keris (Scranton, PA) was a speaker at the annual clinical assembly of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Society (POMA) at the Valley Forge Convention Exhibit Center in King of Prussia, PA.  His presentation was titled Electronic Health Records and focused on minimizing medical professional liability risks associated with the selection/implementation of Electronic Health Records legislation.  (6/10) 

William R. Connor, III (New York, NY) was elected treasurer of the Maritime Law Association of the United States at its annual meeting.  (6/10) 

Ted Kobus (Philadelphia, PA) and Katherine Keefe (King of Prussia, PA) recently presented a webinar, which was produced by Chubb Specialty Insurance, Health Care Division.  Their topic was titled It's a Whole New Post HITECH World: Best Practices for Health Care Organizations to Keep the Cyber Liability Genie in the Bottle.  (6/10) 

Jeffrey G. Rapattoni (Cherry Hill, NJ) was asked to serve as the keynote speaker for Ohio's IASIU General Convention on Insurance Fraud that took place in Columbus, Ohio.  Jeffrey spoke on contemporary insurance fraud issues and pre-litigation strategies to an audience of insurance claim professionals and SIU investigators.  (6/10) 

Brad Remick (Philadelphia, PA) recently spoke at the 2010 DRI Products Liability Conference at the Hand and Power Tool Special Litigation Group on trial strategy in a power tool case.  (6/10) 

James Cole (Doylestown, PA) presented at the 2010 Pennsylvania Fraud Conference hosted by the Delaware Valley and Pittsburgh Chapters of the International Association of Special Investigative Units jointly with the Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority.  His one and a half hour presentation was titled Public Adjusters - an SIU Perspective.  The seminar was attended by approximately 350 representatives of the insurance and law enforcement communities.  (6/10) 

Laurianne Falcone (Philadelphia, PA) presented the defense perspective on slip, trip and fall cases at the Pennsylvania Association for Justice CLE Proving the Premises Liability Case at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Philadelphia.  Scott Gemberling (Philadelphia, PA) also presented on recent developments in Dram Shop Litigation.  (6/10) 

Sam Cohen and Jeff Chomko (Philadelphia, PA) recently presented a Web Conference for the Financial Services Institute titled "Legislative Update on Issues of Concern to Financial Advisors and Independent Broker Dealers."  The Financial Services Institute is an independent broker-dealer and independent financial advisor lobbying group.  (6/10) 

Firm Welcomes Aboard Maritime Attorneys and Expands New York Practice
Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin is pleased to announce the addition of the maritime litigation attorneys Daniel McDermott and Edward Radzik, as well as seven of their colleagues. This dedicated group of admiralty attorneys...(more)

Newly Formed Practice Group Defending Defective Drywall Matters
Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin has formed this Florida-based practice group in response to the significant emergence of claims and suits brought against condominium and homeowners' associations, developers, home builders, general contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, and distributors/sellers of defective Chinese drywall....more