Widener Associate Dean Juliet Moringiello to Receive PBA Sell Award Recognizing Extraordinary Contributions in Business Law

HARRISBURG (Nov. 3, 2021) — Juliet M. Moringiello, associate dean for academic affairs, Widener University Commonwealth Law School, Harrisburg, is the recipient of the 10th annual Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) W. Edward Sell Business Lawyer Award, which will be presented virtually during the opening session of the 2021 Business Law Institute, Nov. 9.

The late W. Edward Sell, the award’s namesake, was a driving force behind the enactment of business corporation law in Pennsylvania. Sell served as chair of the Title 15 Task Force of the PBA Corporation, Banking and Business Law Section. From 1966 to 1977, he served as dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he was later appointed Distinguished Service Professor of Law.

Presented by the PBA Business Law Section, the W. Edward Sell Business Lawyer Award honors the contributions to the practice of business law at the highest level, either through the practice of law or through teaching. Recipients must have contributed to the statutory development of business law in Pennsylvania and to PBA by working in leadership roles in the Business Law Section.

In her role at Widener Law Commonwealth, Moringiello teaches courses in bankruptcy, property, sales and secured transactions. She also teaches a seminar on business law and emerging technologies. In addition to conducting research on a variety of legal issues, Moringiello has written several law review articles about electronic contracts and the bankruptcy and commercial law treatment of electronic assets. Recently, she authored “Automating Repossession” for the Nevada Law Journal; and co-authored “The Property Law of Tokens” for the Florida Law Review. Previously, she wrote articles for various journals about the relationship of state and federal law in bankruptcy.

Professionally, Moringiello’s accolades include being a three-time recipient of Widener’s Douglas E. Ray Excellence in Faculty Scholarship Award and a two-time recipient of Widener’s Outstanding Faculty Award.

Active in the PBA Business Law Section for more than two decades, Moringiello served as the group’s 2017-18 chair, and she played a key role in helping the section revise Pennsylvania’s Uniform Commercial Code and the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act.

Civically, she serves on the board of directors for the Nativity School of Harrisburg and as regional liaison for the Georgetown Scholars Program, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Moringiello earned her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, New York, and her B.S.F.S. from Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Washington, D.C. In addition, she holds an LL.M. from Temple University, Philadelphia, where she served as an Abraham Freedman Teaching Fellow.

The PBA Business Law Section consists of approximately 850 licensed Pennsylvania lawyers supporting the advancement of business practice through practical legal education, legislative drafting, and communication and networking within the bar. 

Founded in 1895, the Pennsylvania Bar Association strives to promote justice, professional excellence and respect for the law; improve public understanding of the legal system; facilitate access of legal services; and serve the lawyer members of the state’s largest organized bar association.