A Message From Our Board of Directors

It is with great pleasure and pride that I write to update you regarding the developments in our Health Care Liability Practice Group at Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin. Over the past five years, our attorney "bench," historically strong and talented, has grown significantly.

For example, in our Orlando, Florida, office, Janice Merrill has joined Brad Blystone. Both Janice and Brad have extensive medical malpractice trial experience.

Frank Leanza joined our firm in 2006 in Roseland, New Jersey. Frank brought 25 years of experience defending medical malpractice claims to our firm. One year later, Bob Evers and Justin Johnson joined as shareholders, also in our Roseland office. Shortly thereafter, Scott Eichhorn joined the Roseland office as a shareholder. Frank, Bob, Justin and Scott are each talented trial lawyers and bring experience, depth and significant growth to our health care practice in North Jersey. Their practice is complimented by experienced shareholders Lynne Nahmani and Sharon Campbell in our Cherry Hill, New Jersey, office.

Brad Goewert, assisted by Lori Wolhar and Tom Marcoz, has developed a strong health care liability presence in Delaware. Clearly, we have you covered with talented health care attorneys in Florida, New Jersey and Delaware.

Now on to Pennsylvania. As of January 1, 2011, our medical group in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will have five of the strongest trial attorneys in western Pennsylvania. Terry Cavanaugh and Steve Forry, formerly of White & Williams, will join Ron Puntil and Tony Williott to form, with Thom Lent in Erie, what I believe to be the strongest medical defense team in the western part of the state.

Moving to central Pennsylvania, Craig Stone, with the able assistance of Mike Mongiello, brings 30 years of medical malpractice experience to the defense of claims there. In northeastern Pennsylvania, John Aponick, Robin Snyder and Matt Keris, from our Scranton office, bring their talent and knowledge to the defense of health care providers in Lackawanna, Luzerne and the surrounding counties.

Just south of our Scranton office, Candy Heimbach, Paul Laughlin and Michelle Wilson of our Bethlehem office provide their veteran experience to the defense of claims in the Lehigh Valley area.

Rounding out the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we clearly have the strongest defense bench in southeastern Pennsylvania: Joan Ford in Doylestown; William Banton, Jack Farrell, Kate Kramer, Fred Roller, Jeff Bates, Rasheen Davis and Jon Weiss in Philadelphia; Dan Sherry (the Dean of our group), Steve Ryan, Chan Hosmer, Kevin FitzPatrick, Donna Modestine, Ed Galang, Wendy Bracaglia, Jackie Reynolds, Carolyn DiGiovanni and I, combine for over 250 years of medical malpractice experience in our King of Prussia office.

Each of the shareholders in these offices dedicate their practices to the defense of health care providers. Of course, energetic and talented associates and paralegals support their work. In our Pittsburgh office, we have the benefit of the knowledge and insight of Jo Simkins, M.D., a medical legal analyst, who helps all of us with her advanced knowledge.

In addition to the defense of health care liability claims, our health care liability attorneys have partnered with Ted Kobus, Chair of our Technology, Media & Intellectual Property Practice Group, to represent institutions in many states with complicated data breach problems. Jack Gruenstein joined our firm in September as a white collar defense lawyer. In the ever changing and thorny world of health care compliance, we are prepared to keep our clients informed and to defend them from governmental challenges.

As we begin 2011, our firm thanks all of our clients who have had confidence in us to continually handle their health care matters. We appreciate the wonderful relationships that we have developed, and we look forward to protecting your interests throughout the years ahead. Thank you for your support.

*Kate is the Director of our Health care Liability Department. She works in our King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, office and can be reached at (610) 354-8255 or ksmcgrath@mdwcg.com.

Defense Digest, Vol. 17, No. 1, March 2011