Message From the Executive Committee
Defense Digest, Vol. 25, No. 3, September 2019
By Howard P. Dwoskin, Esq.*
I have had the privilege of serving in a management role at Marshall Dennehey for over 20 years. Every day, I am proud to learn more about our talented colleagues. I have traveled to all of our 20 offices on many occasions, and with each visit, I learn more and more about our attorneys and their diverse and interesting talents and hobbies.
Of course, many of our lawyers engage in a significant amount of charitable activities, pro bono work and community services. Several are also involved in some unique hobbies.
To start, we have quite a few lawyers active in the world of sports. Mark Wellman of our New York City office is a marathon runner and has completed six marathons. Corey Setterlund of our Jacksonville office also runs marathons. In fact, Corey was recently recognized as the first female finisher in an ultramarathon. That’s a 50 mile race. Yes, you read that correctly—she ran 50 miles in just over 14 hours! Wow!
In our Pittsburgh office, Bill Walls is an expert skeet and trap shooter. In Wilmington, Josh Scheets is the vice president of the Barrington Soccer Club where he, in addition to being an avid soccer player himself, has implemented training and safety programs.
We have several hockey players, including Tom Lent in our Erie office and Nick Taylor in our Westchester office. Both are goalies in adult men’s ice hockey leagues. Brad Haas of our Pittsburgh office is a professional ice hockey referee. In fact, Brad has been refereeing hockey games since he was 15 years old and now referees about 150 games a year throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and Ohio up through the college level.
Sara Ward Mazzolla of our Roseland office was a top-ranked figure skater. Sara was part of the United States Figure Skating Team, winning several national medals in pairs skating, and also competed in the World Junior Team, Olympic Trials and the Grand Prix. Sara even had a brush with an interesting part of history. While walking down the hall at the National Junior Pair Short Competition in Detroit, she was a witness to the Nancy Kerrigan/Tanya Harding incident! Don’t believe me? Ask her to tell you the story–you won’t be disappointed.
Michelle Michael, also of our Roseland office, grew up with a love of horses. Starting at age two, Michelle grew up showing and competing in many equestrian competitions including the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) circuit. Not only does Michelle continue to ride today, she also owns a retired thoroughbred horse named “PJ” and a half thoroughbred/half quarter horse named “Bear.” You might say her passion is “unbridled.”
The interests of our lawyers extend beyond sports to all sorts of interesting hobbies. In our King of Prussia office, Doug Kent is a collector of all sorts of interesting objects, including an authentic George Washington signature. Tim Hartigan competes in swing dancing competitions. His specialty is West Coast Swing, and he competes in various “Jack and Jill” dance competitions throughout the year.
We have several pilots at the firm, including Bruce McKissock of our Doylestown office, Jim Connors of our Westchester office and Mark Riley of our King of Prussia office. In fact, Mark has built two of his own planes (the second one took him four years–talk about patience). Ed McGinn, also in King of Prussia, has an international certification of proficiency in sailing and pilots 40-foot sail boats.
We have several volunteer firefighters working with us, including Elizabeth Driscoll of our New York City office, Tom Gerard of our Wilmington office and Brad Remick of our Philadelphia office. They have had no shortage of incredible experiences. Elizabeth was part of a firefighting unit that saved a house from burning to the ground after a lighting strike. Tom, in addition to being a firefighter, is also an amateur radio operator (HAM). He works with local emergency operations centers to provide information for the National Hurricane Center and local and state Emergency Operating Centers. Brad helped to keep the Pope from harm (yes, the Pope) when a fire broke out at the seminary where he was staying during his trip to Philadelphia in 2015. In addition to firefighting, Brad is also a professional photographer whose photos grace the walls of our Philadelphia office.
Marshall Dennehey also has a number of attorneys who participate at amateur and professional levels in the arts, including the culinary arts. Amanda Podlucky in our Orlando office is a Certified BBQ Judge with the Florida BBQ Association and travels around the country judging and competing in BBQ competitions. In fact, in 2018, Amanda’s team, “Pig-Chicka-Cow-Cow,” finished in first place as Florida’s Team of the Year. “Pig-Chicka-Cow-Cow” is currently ranked second in the country and will be participating in a three-day tournament in New Orleans later this year.
Doug Suplee of our Mt. Laurel office, Mary Kate McGrath of our Philadelphia office, and Jeff Bates of our Philadelphia office are all well versed in music and theatre. Doug is a stage performer and has performed in plays and musicals including Annie, The Sound of Music, Dial M for Murder, Brighton Beach Memoirs, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Laramie Project. Mary Kate is also a stage performer and has appeared in professional musical productions at the Arden Theater, Walnut Street Theater and on Broadway. Jeff, on the other hand, leans toward classical music. He plays the French horn and performed with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra for six years before deciding to attend law school. Since coming to Marshall Dennehey, Jeff continues to play with The Abington Symphony, The Old York Road Symphony, and other local brass and woodwind quintets.
In addition, Patrick Reilly of our Pittsburgh office is part of a two-man acoustic band named “Weekend at Blarneys,” and they play Irish music throughout the City of Pittsburgh. Weekend at Blarneys is a house band for one of the most popular Irish Pubs in Pittsburgh and has been selected as the featured live entertainment in Pittsburgh’s Market Square during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Speaking of bands, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Marshall Dennehey has its own house rock band called “Class Action and the Marshall Dennehey Horns.” I am proud to play with this eleven-piece rock band, led by Steve Ryan and Frank Wickersham of our King of Prussia office. We have been playing together for many years and even competed in Fortune Magazine’s Battle of the Corporate Bands. During this event, Class Action won several rounds of competition, facing off against much larger companies, and actually made the top eight bands in the country. The finals took place at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland where Class Action was the only law firm band and performed well. Today, the band continues to perform at various charitable and bar-related functions, as well as firm events.
As you can see, our attorneys continue to step “outside the law,” participating in a wide range of charity work, hobbies and professional endeavors. I’ve just scratched the surface of what the talented employees of Marshall Dennehey have accomplished. I’m proud to work for an organization that fosters a great community of people who lead full, well-rounded lives with many different interests. There is a strong sense of teamwork and camaraderie here, and this ultimately leads to a culture of excellence that transcends to the legal services we provide for our clients.
*Howard works in our Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office. He can be reached at hpdwoskin@mdwcg.com or 215.575.2664.
Defense Digest, Vol. 25, No. 3, September 2019. Defense Digest is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent legal developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING pursuant to New York RPC 7.1. © 2019 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm. For reprints, contact tamontemuro@mdwcg.com.