Defense Digest

On the Pulse ... Other Notable Achievements

We are pleased to announce that at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting held on December 6, 2005, the following attorneys were named as shareholders of the firm: Jeffrey P. Bates, Esquire; Carolyn Kelly Bogart, Esquire; Samuel E. Cohen, Esquire; and Daniel W. Deitrick, Esquire. Mr. Bates is a member of the firm's Health Care Liability Department and works in our Philadelphia office. Ms. Bogart is a member of the Casualty Department and works in the firm's Cherry Hill, NJ office. Mr. Cohen is a member of the Professional Liability Department and works in our Philadelphia, PA office. Mr. Deitrick is a member of the Workers' Compensation Department and works in the Pittsburgh, PA office.

Lary Zucker (Cherry Hill) recently participated in the first annual amusement industry legal symposium, which was held at the annual IAAPA (Amusement Park) Trade Show and Convention in Atlanta, GA.  This full-day legal symposium covered four "hot" topics in the amusement industry: state regulation of amusement rides; Americans with Disability Act regulations covering amusement rides and attractions; criminal liability for ride owners and inspectors; and electronic waivers and releases.  Lary's presentation was on state regulation of the amusement industry.  His co-presenter was Professor Chad Emerson of the Jones Law School, who authored an article on amusement ride regulation that was published in the Seton Hall Law Review.

Paul Krepps, (Pittsburgh) Megan Cinberg, John Gonzales and Chris Boyle (King of Prussia) taught the legal updates addressing 4th Amendment Search and Seizure issues and the application of Title II of the ADA to arrests as part of the "Train the Trainers" program for the Municipal Police Officer Education and Training Commission.

Steve Day (King of Prussia) recently presented a seminar at the Professional Liability Underwriting Society's (PLUS) International Conference in Boston, MA. The conference was attended by 2,800 insurance professionals from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Steve presented a seminar entitled "Defending the Practice of Medicine." He discussed risk management tools for physicians and hospitals, including recent research and case studies linking decreased claim activity to a physician's ability to communicate, establish rapport, and even apologize, if necessary, for an unanticipated or unexpected outcome.

Howard Dwoskin (Philadelphia), Edward F. Gagain (Tampa), and Scott Gemberling (Philadelphia) recently participated in Mealey's Retail & Hospitality Liability Conference in Las Vegas, NV.  Howard was the Chair of the General Liability Issues Track and moderator regarding "The Insider's Perspective on Claims Facing Today's Retail & Hospitality Industries."  Ed spoke regarding "Analysis of the Slip, Stumble and Fall Case," and Scott spoke regarding "Liability Issues Relating to Sale of Food and Beverage."

Frank Brennan (Cherry Hill) recently presented a seminar on Cooperative Investigations of Fraudulent Medical Mills with John Butchko of The Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor of New Jersey.  The presentation was for the International Association of Special Investigation Units (IASIU) at their 20th Annual Insurance Fraud Conference in Phoenix, AZ.  There were over 1,000 attendees from the U.S. and eight other countries.

Kimberly Boyer-Cohen (Philadelphia) was recently been appointed to serve on the Nominating Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

Steven Polansky  (Cherry Hill) was recently appointed co-chair of the Federal Bench-Bar Committee of the Camden County Bar Association for 2005-2006. 

Bradley Remick  (Philadelphia, PA) recently spoke at Temple University's Fox School of Business.  The lecture was for the students in the School of Tourism and Hotel Management and dealt with an overview of negligence and other tort principles.