Defense Digest

On the Pulse ... Other Notable Achievements 

Michael Orr (Jacksonville, FL) recently attended the Florida Bar Conference in Boca Raton, Florida, where he was sworn in as a Governor on the Florida Bar Board of Governors, Young Lawyers Division, by Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Barbara Pariente.  For the next two years, Mr. Orr will represent Duval, Clay and Nassau Counties on the statewide board.

On Friday, June 16th, the promotion/retirement ceremony for Charles Dorman, our Jacksonville, Florida managing attorney, was held at the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. Charlie was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Marine Corps following 33 years of distinguished service to our country. In addition to his promotion, it is significant that Charlie was awarded his fifth Legion of Merit, which is second only to the Distinguished Service Medal as a noncombat military service award. The firm is proud to have Charlie as a part of our team.

David Shannon (Philadelphia, PA) was recently named Chair-Elect of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Intellectual Property Law Section.

Howard Dwoskin (Philadelphia, PA) recently spoke at the 2006 Mealey's LexisNexis National Retail and Hospitality Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Chuck Craven (Philadelphia, PA) was honored by the Pennsylvania Bar Association at its recent Annual Meeting.  Chuck, who founded and was the first manager of our firm's Post-Trial and Appellate Advocacy practice group, was presented a plaque which was given "In Recognition and Appreciation of Exemplary Service as Founder and Co-Chair" of the PBA's Appellate Advocacy Committee for the past three years.

Congratulations to Jeff Albinson (Tampa, FL) on being selected for inclusion in the newest of the Lawdragon 500 elite leading attorney categories, "Lawdragon 500 New Stars."  He was named in the summer issue of New Stars New Worlds. 

Steve Day (King of Prussia, PA) recently served as a moderator and spoke at the Crittenden National Medical Insurance Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.  The conference was attended by over 350 medical insurance professionals from around the country.  Steve's topic was Risk Management by Apology - Can it Really Be as Simple as Saying "I'm Sorry."

Michael McGirney (Tampa, FL) recently spoke at the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Lawyers Professional Liability Spring 2006 National Legal Malpractice Conference in New York City.  Mike spoke on a panel titled Breach of Fiduciary Duty-A Limitless Concept?

Andy Davitt, Denis Dice (Philadelphia, PA) and Chet Herbert of The Compliance Department presented a web conference entitled Mutual Fund Sales Practices which was hosted by the Financial Services Institute.  More than 150 members of the securities industry were registered attendees.

Sam Casolari (Akron, OH) was recently appointed to the Executive Committee by the Chair of the Grove City College Board of Trustees. 

The Jacksonville, Florida office is proud to announce that Construction Specialist, Lenny Angulo, has recently been inducted into the International Construction Honor Society, University of North Florida Chapter.  Lenny, a Florida State graduate, is working full time for MDWC&G while pursuing his requirements for a masters degree in Construction Management.

Steve Polansky (Cherry Hill, NJ) recently participated in a workshop titled Quality Claim File Notes at the Property Loss Research Bureau (PLRB) conference in Nashville, Tennessee. Steve's presentation was entitled The Claim File - Your Best Friend or Worst Enemy.

Colleen Bannon (Philadelphia), together with Jennifer Liebman of Applied Discovery, were co-speakers at the PLRB Claims Conference.  Their topic was Electronic Data: When Delete Does Not Mean Goodbye.

Jeff Albinson (Tampa, FL) has been appointed to serve a four-year term on the State of Florida, Statewide Nominating Committee for Judges of Compensation Claims.  The Committee makes recommendations to the Governor for appointments to the workers' compensation bench across Florida.  This will be his second four-year term on the Committee.  Also, Jeff was elected by the other committee members to serve as Vice-Chair of the Committee and has been assigned the task of promulgating operational rules for the Committee.

Jason Banonis (Bethlehem, PA) has been appointed to a five-year term on the Building Code Board of Appeals for Lower Saucon Township.  His responsibilities will include hearing appeals of violations under the Uniform Building Code.

Congratulations to Ralph Bocchino (Philadelphia, PA) in receiving an award from the Pennsylvania Bar Institute in appreciation for his outstanding academic contribution as a continuing legal education faculty member and presenter.