PBA Awards Luncheon

Thursday, May 20, 12:45 – 2:00 p.m.

Welcome Remarks — PBA President Kathleen D. Wilkinson

2020-2021 President’s Awards

Honorable Thomas I. Vanaskie (ret.)
In recognition of his dedication and outstanding leadership as chair of the PBA Joint Task Force on the Continuity of the Delivery of Legal Services, which resulted in a report that identifies practices to assure legal services continue so that citizens have access to justice for the duration of the pandemic and future emergencies.
Nancy Conrad
In recognition of her dedication and outstanding leadership of the PBA Diversity Team and for spearheading the Diversity and Inclusion Best Practices Series, which brought attention to important topics in a meaningful way throughout the past year.
Honorable D. Michael Fisher
In recognition of his dedication and outstanding leadership of the PBA Federal Practice Committee and for his commitment to spearheading the Federal Practice Institutes.
James R. Antoniono
In recognition of his dedication and outstanding leadership in shepherding the development of the updated PBA Strategic Plan.
Jesse G. Hereda
In recognition of his commitment to the unprecedented partnership with the PBA and the promotion of PBA initiatives among all lawyers in Pennsylvania.
William J. Cluck
In recognition of his dedication and leadership in developing the PBA Environmental & Energy Law Section Minority Scholarship Fund of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation which is used to help law students who pursue an interest in environmental and energy law.
Kim Denise Morton
In recognition of her dedication, commitment and outstanding leadership of the PBA House of Delegates through such unprecedented times.

2020-2021 Special Achievement Awards

Michael B. Jones
In recognition of his tireless service and dedication to the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and the PBA during this past year as he took on many different roles in both organizations. His steadfast and pragmatic leadership of the PBF Development Committee and the PBF Strategic Planning Task Force, in addition to chairing the PBA COVID-19 Task Force and serving on the PBA Bylaws Committee is to be commended.
Eric R. Strauss
In recognition of his many years of extensive work and assistance to the PBA Legislative Department by providing his expertise in the area of real property, probate and trust law. His extraordinary contributions were instrumental in the passage of the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act and he is to be commended for his exemplary service.
Daniel Q. Harrington
In recognition of his longtime service and dedication on behalf of the PBA Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee serving as co-vice chair and then chair of the committee. He is to be commended for his steadfast leadership and commitment to furthering the mission of the committee.
Robert P. Coyne
In recognition of his tireless efforts and dedication as a Pro Bono volunteer for the PBA Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. He generously volunteers his time for numerous veterans’ legal needs clinics and is to be commended for his exemplary service and support of legal aid services.
Hannah R. Suhr
In recognition of her long-time contributions and tireless dedication as a Wills for Heroes volunteer. In addition to her WFH service, she also devotes a great deal of time and energy to serving veterans and handling pro bono cases for her law firm. She should be commended for her exemplary service and support of legal aid services.
Tobey Oxholm
In recognition of his steadfast dedication and efforts promoting pardons across the commonwealth. He has conducted numerous trainings and helped many clients directly while advocating for changes in the pardon process that have effectively opened up what was once a fairly closed system. He is to be commended for his unwavering commitment and support of legal aid services, including serving on the original PBA Task Force for Legal Services to the Needy.
Marshal Granor
In recognition of his tireless enthusiasm and exemplary leadership of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section. He has initiated outreach to all new section members to encourage their involvement and also established new committees to focus on section work. He is to be commended for his dedication to the section.
Jennifer L. Ellis
In recognition of her dedication, leadership and tireless efforts on behalf of the PBA Solo and Small Firm Section, serving most recently as its chair. The past year presented many challenges due to the pandemic, but she embraced the challenge and worked to develop a series of Lunchtime Learning non-CLE zoom presentations for PBA members. She is to be commended for her enthusiasm and passionate dedication.

PBA YLD Statewide High School Mock Trial Committee

Committee Members:

Jonathan D. Koltash
Jonathan A. Grode
Paul W. Kaufman
Jennifer Menichini
Jane E. Meyer
David T. Trevaskis
In recognition of their extraordinary work to convert the annual Young Lawyers Division Statewide High School Mock Trial competition to a virtual format as a result of the pandemic. Committee members had to establish a specific virtual trial format, along with a rewrite of many competition rules and procedures. This first-time virtual competition was a tremendous success in large part due to the hard work, long hours and dedication of the members of this committee.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee: “Sir Francis Bacon Dispute Resolution Award
The award is given for making a significant impact on bringing mediation and other forms of dispute resolution to Pennsylvania.

Selina J. Shultz.
A conflict and organizational consultant for more than 20 years, she is founder and executive director at Conflict Lab, where she developed a mediation, training and facilitation space that works with independent collaborators across the country to provide conflict consulting and organizational development services. In 2020, she worked with the City of Pittsburgh and other funding sources to establish Just Mediation Pittsburgh that provides free mediation services to qualified individuals whose housing is at risk because of a landlord-tenant dispute. She coordinated the Prisoner Civil Rights Mediation Program in the Federal Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania. For 13 years, she mediated custody cases and trained mediators on ethics, mediation skills and substantive law issues for Allegheny County’s mandatory family court program. She also is an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University School of Law.

Business Law Section: Professor Louis Del Duca Memorial Award in Business Law
The award honors the memory of Louis Del Duca, an active member and officer of the section who was an attorney, teacher, mentor, colleague and long-standing editor of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly, a scholarly publication for PBA members.

Awards are presented to law school students from Pennsylvania’s ABA-accredited law schools who demonstrate academic excellence, especially in courses related to business law, and intend to practice law in Pennsylvania. The awards also recognize students who have published in business law or have participated in business law- related seminars or conferences. Award nominees are selected by the law school deans and those nominees are reviewed and confirmed by the PBA Business Law Section.

These are the 2021 honorees:

Jillian Brennan, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
Janel Clause, Widener University Commonwealth Law School
Arlia Duarte, Duquesne University School of Law
Henry Greco, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Andrew LeDonne, Temple University Beasley School of Law
Cody McGraw, Penn State Law
Jeffrey Popoviz, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Alexis Shovel, Penn State Dickinson Law
Jordan Williams, Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law

Civil & Equal Rights Committee: Civil & Equal Rights Champion Award
An annual award that honors an individual who champions for civil rights for all Pennsylvanians.

Riley H. Ross III
With nearly 20 years of trial and litigation experience, he has been a champion for advancing the cause of civil rights through various leadership positions in the PBA and other organizations. He is a PBA Civil and Equal Rights Committee member and served as the committee’s chair from 2018 to2020. He is a current member of the PBA House of Delegates, the Federal Practice Committee, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee and Minority Bar Committee. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, No Longer Bound and Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, among others. He serves on the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Hearing Committee. He is a previous vice president of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project Board of Directors and the U.S. Sentencing Commission Practitioner’s Advisory Group.

Diversity and Inclusion Award
The Diversity and Inclusion Award was established by the PBA Diversity Team to recognize a PBA entity for outstanding efforts, contributions or service that promotes diversity and inclusion in the association’s membership and that demonstrates commitment to and leadership in promoting full and equal participation in the legal profession.

This year’s recipient is the PBA Minority Bar Committee Diversity Summit Planning Team for its virtual program last October, “Practical Tips and Tools for Attorneys, Law Firms and Bar Leaders.” The PBA Minority Bar Committee and the Montgomery Bar Association worked together to plan and present the summit, making it the first summit to be presented in collaboration with a local bar association. As the summit was being planned, two significant events occurred. There was increased awareness of systemic racism resulting from several episodes of police violence. The pandemic forced planners to embrace a virtual platform that allowed the summit to reach all corners of the commonwealth. The summit set attendance records.

Planning Team Co-Chairs:

Sharon Barney
Anthony D. Cox Jr.
Andrea C. Farney
Jay N. Silberblatt
Patrice M. Turenne

Planning Team Members

Jimmy C. Chong
Evelyn Rodriguez Devine
Judge Stephanie A. Domitrovich
Antoinette D. Hubbard
Cristin R. Long
Sharon R. López
Nancy Walsh

LGBTQ+ Rights Committee: David M. Rosenblum LGBTQ+ Public Policy Award
The award honors individuals who have effected change resulting in a positive impact for the LGBTQ+ community and who has used his or her position of leadership to inspire others to act and promote civil rights and equality. The award honors the memory of David Rosenblum, an active committee member and a staunch proponent of civil rights.

Thomas U. Ude Jr.
Throughout his more than three-decades long legal career, he has advocated for the rights of LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV in employment, recognition of same-sex relationships and parent-child relationships, health insurance and access to care, obtaining legal name changes and accurate identification documents, and when interacting with government officials. He is co-chair of the PBA LGBTQ+ Rights Committee, and he is an integral member of the Transgender Name Change Task Force, both in its initial phase assisting with development of a report and recommendation presented to the PBA House of Delegates and now in development of the proposed civil procedural rules to protect the privacy of transgender persons petitioning for name changes that reflect their true identities.

Pennsylvania Bar Foundation Louis J. Goffman Awards
The Pennsylvania Bar Foundation, the charitable affiliate of the PBA, presents the Louis J. Goffman Award. The award is named for a late PBA president and recognizes individuals and organizations committed to outstanding pro bono service.

Donald F. Smith
Since stepping down as executive director of the Berks County Bar Association, he has focused his energy on starting the Eviction Prevention Pilot Program at MidPenn Legal Services' Reading Office as a volunteer attorney. Since September of 2020, he has provided legal counsel in more than 200 landlord-tenant cases. In addition, he has spent many hours studying landlord-tenant law, he has met with community stakeholders to secure funding and he has recruited volunteer attorneys to provide pro bono legal representation to tenants facing eviction. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a greater urgency emerged for providing tenants with a lifeline. Enough funding from the federal CARES Act and other pandemic-related relief programs was received to get the eviction prevention effort started. Since the program started, judgments against tenants have dropped about 78%.
Diana K. Ingersoll and her employer, MidPenn Legal Services
Since 1988, Diana has been a tireless advocate for the poor and disadvantaged residents of Blair County needing pro bono assistance, both in representation and in requesting funding for the county’s legal services program. The court regularly seeks Diana’s opinion in the scheduling and handling of protection from abuse cases. Until recently, she was the primary attorney representing PFA petitioners weekly in scheduled PFA court. She is well known and highly regarded by her PFA court colleagues for her candor, fairness and knowledge. Diana also routinely provides support to other attorneys who handle pro bono matters, providing guidance on available services or programs that may be of benefit to a client. Prior to its affiliation with MidPenn Legal Services, Ingersoll was the executive director of Blair County Legal Services.

Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section’s Trailblazer Award
The award annually recognizes young lawyers practicing in the real property and probate and trust areas of law. Honorees demonstrate excellence in the practice of law, professionalism through bar association activities and a commitment to pro bono legal services.

Jennifer DiVeterano Gayle
She focuses her legal practice on litigation involving trusts, estates, guardianships and powers of attorney, including all forms of estate and trust disputes, will contests, surcharge and removal actions, interpretation issue, and other fiduciary matters before the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas and the Register of Wills. She devotes 150 to 200 hours annually to pro bono matters. Currently, Gayle serves as a child advocate with the Montgomery Child Advocacy Project volunteering her time to advocate for child victims of abuse, neglect and trafficking in the courts and social services agencies. She also participates as a pro bono attorney and as a mentor to pro bono attorneys for the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program in trust and estate litigation matters.

2020 ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Law Committee Rising Star Award
This American Bar Association award recognizes members who exhibit professional excellence in the field of workers’ compensation service to the profession and the bar, service to the communities, a reputation for or advancement of legal ethics and professional responsibility and involvement and contribution in ABA activities.

Justin D. Beck
He has been making educational contributions to the profession since 2017 when he started writing for the PBA Workers’ Compensation Section quarterly newsletter. Now an assistant editor, he leads efforts of a Listserv for section members, offering daily reports on the latest case law and other developments in the field. He serves as a contributing editor of volumes 6, 7, 8 and 9 of West's Pennsylvania Practice, Workers’ Compensation: Law & Practice. He was a moderator at the section’s 2019 Fall Meeting and has frequently served on county- and state-level panels exploring emerging issues in workers’ compensation. In addition to his efforts for the PBA Workers’ Compensation Law Section, he is a member of ABA TIPS and the Allegheny County Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section.

50-Year Member Awards
This year, 148 PBA members reached the milestone of five decades of PBA membership. Each recipient has been mailed a small gift as a token of the PBA’s appreciation for her or his longstanding commitment to this association.

Adams County

Gary E. Hartman, Hartman & Yannetti Inc., Gettysburg

Allegheny County

Charles H. Alpern, Alpern Schubert PC, Pittsburgh
John F. Becker, Becker & Becker, Pittsburgh
Eugene K. Connors, Presto
Judge Michael A. Della Vecchia, Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Pittsburgh
John F. Dugan, K & L Gates LLP, Pittsburgh
M. Richard Dunlap, Attorney at Law, Allison Park
Bruce G. Gabler, Dentons Cohen & Grigsby PC, Pittsburgh
Charles B. Gibbons, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, Pittsburgh
James K. Goldberg, Clark Hill PLC, Pittsburgh
Howard Grossinger, Pittsburgh
Raymond F. Keisling, Carpenter McCadden & Lane LLP, Wexford
Terry Allen Lerman, First Capital Corporation, Pittsburgh
Robert S. Markovitz, Markovitz & Germinaro, Pittsburgh
Lawrence N. Paper, Pittsburgh
Anthony P. Picadio, Pittsburgh
Raymond J. Seals, Raymond J Seals Attorney At Law, Pittsburgh
John A. Tumolo, Attorney at Law, Pittsburgh
Robert F. Wagner, Oakmont

Beaver County

Russell A. Basinger, Midland
John Albert Miller, Beaver
Layden C. Sadecky, Law Offices Layden C Sadecky, Beaver
Robert J. Taylor, Ambridge

Berks County

Alfred W. Crump, Wyomissing
David S. Hope, American Crane & Equipment Company, Douglassville

Blair County

Allen E. Gibboney, Gibboney & Gibboney, Altoona

Butler County

James A. Taylor, West Sunbury

Cambria County

John J. Bagnato, Johnstown

Carbon County

Joseph John Velitsky, Velitsky & Frycklund, Summit Hill

Chester County

Ronald F. Brien, Attorney at Law, Spring City
David P. Brown, Kimberton
John T. Curtin, Philips Curtin & DiGiacomo, Berwyn
Judge Thomas G. Gavin, West Chester
Howard D. Venzie, Venzie Construction ADR Services LLC, Exton

Clarion County

Kent S. Pope, Clarion

Clearfield County

John Sughrue, Law Office of John Sughrue, Clearfield

Clinton County

Donald L. Faulkner, Snowiss Steinberg & Faulkner LLP, Lock Haven
Lee H. Roberts, Roberts Miceli LLP, Lock Haven

Columbia County

William S. Kreisher, Kreisher Marshall & Associates LLC, Bloomsburg

Cumberland County

Ronald D. Butler, Ronald D. Butler PC, Lemoyne

Dauphin County

William J. Peters, Peters & Wasilefski, Harrisburg
Mark S. Silver, Mette Evans & Woodside PC, Harrisburg
Jonathan Vipond, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, Harrisburg

Delaware County

Edward N. Flail, Attorney at Law, Wayne
Richard L. Hughey, Hughey Law, Media
Charles S. Katz, Charles S. Katz Jr & Associates, Glen Mills
Paul D. Nelson, Media
Phyllis M. Shea, Shea Law Offices LLP, Bryn Mawr
Michael J. Sheridan, Fox Differ Callahan Sheridan & McDevitt, Wayne
Lawrence G. Strohm, Law Office of Lawrence G Strohm Jr., Media

Erie County

James S. Bryan, Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett PC, North East
Alois Lubiejewski, Erie
Richard A. Vendetti, Vendetti & Vendetti, Erie

Fayette County

Donald J. McCue, Donald McCue Law Firm PC, Connellsville

Huntingdon County

Judge Stewart L. Kurtz, Huntingdon

Lackawanna County

Richard S. Bishop, Hourigan Kluger & Quinn PC, Scranton
James J. Powell, Powell Law, Scranton

Lancaster County

Richard G. Greiner, Nikolaus & Hohenadel LLP, Lancaster
William C. Haynes, Law Offices of William C. Haynes, Lancaster

Lebanon County

Thomas P. Harlan, Henry and Beaver LLP, Lebanon

Lehigh County

Lawrence Center, Lawrence Center Esq., Allentown
J. Jackson Eaton, Gross McGinley LLP, Allentown
Edward A. Fedok, Stevens & Lee PC, Allentown
Harold G. Nabhan, Allentown
Alan Penn, Attorney at Law, Orefield
Michael J. Piosa, Allentown
Joseph M. Reibman, Reibman & Reibman, Allentown
Adrian J. Wasko, Adrian J Wasko Attorney at Law, Allentown
Judge Leonard N. Zito, Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli Tipton & Taylor LLC, Bethlehem

Luzerne County

Richard G. Dudinyak, Freeland
C. Stephen Gurdin, Wilkes Barre
Martin J. Meyer. Fellerman & Ciarimboli Law PC, Kingston
Joseph J. Musto, Duryea

McKean County

Judge John H. Yoder, Smethport

Mercer County

Judge John C. Reed, Mercer County Court of Common Pleas, Sharpsville

Montgomery County

David L. Allebach, Yergey Daylor Allebach Scheffey Picardi, Pottstown
Charles J. Bloom, Stevens & Lee PC, King of Prussia
Robert G. Bricker, Landis Hunsberger Gingrich & Weik LLP, Souderton
Donald K. Joseph, Elkins Park
Judge Bernard A. Moore, Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Norristown
Ronald H. Sherr, Sherr Law Group LLP, Norristown
Jay Elliott Shor, Shor & Levin PC, Willow Grove
Stewart M. Weintraub, Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry, West Conshohocken

Northampton County

Paul C. Hensel, Nazareth
George K. Keenan, King Spry Herman Freund & Faul LLC, Bethlehem
Theodore R. Lewis, Lewis & Walters, Easton
Constantine M. Vasiliadis, Kolb Vasiliadis Florenz & Recchiuti LLC, Bethlehem

Philadelphia County