PBA Presents Awards for Outstanding Leadership, Extraordinary Service and Longstanding Membership

 

HARRISBURG (May 12, 2022) — The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) has presented awards that recognize outstanding leadership in the legal profession and extraordinary service and longstanding membership in the association.

PBA Special Achievement Awards recognize those lawyers and individuals who have provided time and resources to improve the association and the legal profession. The President’s Awards, presented by 2021-22 PBA President Kathleen D. Wilkinson, recognize extraordinary commitment to the association. PBA Fifty-Year Member Awards recognize lawyers who have been association members for five decades.

The awards were presented during a ceremony at the PBA Annual Meeting, May 11-13, in Hershey.  

Allegheny County

David Abrams, Abrams Law Firm, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Richard F. Andracki, Andracki Law Offices, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Daniel I. Booker, Reed Smith LLP, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Michael W. Burns, Burns White, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Jayme L. Butcher, Blank Rome LLP, Pittsburgh: PBA President’s Award – for outstanding commitment as co-chair of the PBA Large Law Firm Committee; for focusing on additional programming such as workplace issues tied to the pandemic and putting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts into practice; for supporting the PBA’s adoption of a Seven-Point Wellness Pledge that encourages law firms to implement work/life balance guidelines for staff members; and for expanding membership in the committee.

Frank J. Clements, Babst Calland Clements & Zomnir PC, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

James B. Cole, Cole & Hens-Greco PC, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Daniel J. Conway, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Sanford P. Gross, Sanford P. Gross PC, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Tara L. Hutchinson, Pittsburgh Family Law Services PC, Pittsburgh: PBA President’s Award – for leadership as co-chairs of the PBA Quality of Life/Balance Committee, which expanded programming to assist lawyers during the pandemic and for guiding the recommendation leading to the PBA’s adoption of a Seven-Point Wellness Pledge that encourages law firms to implement work/life balance guidelines for staff members.

Edward J. Krug, Law Office of Edward J. Krug, Moon Township: Fifty-Year Member Award

Bryan S. Neft, Spilman Thomas and Battle PLLC, Pittsburgh: PBA President’s Award – for dedicated service as co-chair of PBA Judicial Administration Committee that provided guidance to the PBA Board of Governors and House of Delegates on recently proposed legislative actions that could impact Pennsylvania’s judiciary.

Patrick R. Riley, Riley Hewitt Witte & Romano PC, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lawrence Shields III, Aspinwall: Fifty-Year Member Award

Alison Smith, PNC Bank NA, Pittsburgh: PBA Special Achievement Award –for dedication and leadership to the PBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section in establishing estate planning clinics for low-income clients and developing a model template that includes an orientation training, enabling PBA members to deliver a much-needed service for these individuals. 

Arthur H. Stroyd Jr., Del Sole Cavanaugh Stroyd LLC, Pittsburgh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Beaver County

Senior Judge John P. Dohanich, Beaver County Court of Common Pleas, Beaver: Fifty-Year Member Award

Senior Judge Harry E. Knafelc, Beaver County Court of Common Pleas, Beaver: Fifty-Year Member Award

Berks County

Terry D. Weiler, Huckabee, Weiler and Levengood PC, Shillington: PBA President’s Award – for long-standing commitment to the betterment of the PBA and its members, including his service as a zone governor, the association’s treasurer and chair of the PBA Strategic Planning Committee.

Bucks County

Brenden E. Brett, Pratt Brett & Luce PC, Doylestown: Fifty-Year Member Award

John W. Donaghy, Curtin & Heefner LLP, Yardley: Fifty-Year Member Award

Michael Alan Klimpl, Antheil Maslow & MaMinn LLP, Doylestown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Judge Daniel J. Lawler, Doylestown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Derek J. Reid, Eastburn and Gray PC Doylestown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Stephen A. Shelly, Quakertown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Manuel A. Spigler, Spigler & Gross LLP, Feasterville: Fifty-Year Member Award

Francis J. Sullivan, Hill Wallack LLP, Yardley: Fifty-Year Member Award

John A. VanLuvanee, Eastburn and Gray PC, Doylestown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Blair County

William J. Haberstroh, Haberstroh Sullivan & George LLP, Altoona: Fifty-Year Member Award

Cambria County

Russell J. Heiple, Johnstown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Judge Patrick T. Kiniry, Cambria County Court of Common Pleas, Ebensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Carbon County

Anthony Roberti, Roberti & Roberti LLC, Jim Thorpe: Fifty-Year Member Award

Chester County

Joan K. Agran, McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC, Devon: Fifty-Year Member Award

Eric S. Coates, Law Offices of Eric S. Coates, Oxford: Fifty-Year Member Award

Roger E. Legg, Roger E. Legg Law Offices, Coatesville: Fifty-Year Member Award

Robert S. Supplee, Robert S. Supplee PC, West Chester: Fifty-Year Member Award

Ross A. Unruh, Unruh, Turner Burke & Frees PC: Fifty-Year Member Award

Clearfield County

William C. Kriner, Clearfield: Fifty-Year Member Award

Cumberland County

Theodore A. Adler, Reager & Adler PC, Camp Hill: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lisa M. Grayson, Cumberland County Register of Wills, Carlisle: PBA Special Achievement Award – for her longtime service as chair and vice chair of the PBA Military and Veterans Affairs Committee and for expanding the service outreach of the committee through the development of legal needs and veterans discharge upgrade clinics that help veterans with legal advice and representation.

Dauphin County

Anthony D. Cox Jr., Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC, Harrisburg: PBA President’s Award – for outstanding commitment and dedication as co-chair of the PBA Minority Bar Committee to expand programming, including joint efforts with the PBA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team and the Commission on Women in the Profession; for engaging more members in the planning and implementation of committee activities; for developing programming about Harriet Tubman and Juneteenth; and for creating a proposed PBA presidential statement about Juneteenth.

Charles J. DeHart III, Caldwell & Kearns PC, Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Leon P. Haller, Purcell Krug & Haller, Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Sanford Alan Krevsky, Krevsky & Rosen PC, Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Stephanie F. Latimore, Legislative Reference Bureau, Harrisburg: PBA President’s Award – for outstanding leadership as co-chairs the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession, including development of programming addressing diversity, equity and inclusion and issues related to quality of work/life balance, and for helping to create the first International Women’s Day program. 

Renee Mattei Myers, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC, Harrisburg: PBA President’s Award – for outstanding commitment as co-chair of the PBA Large Law Firm Committee to focus on additional programming such as workplace issues tied to the pandemic and putting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts into practice, for supporting the PBA’s adoption of a Seven-Point Wellness Pledge that encourages law firms to implement work/life balance guidelines for staff members and for expanding membership in the Committee.

Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor (retired), Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Craig A. Stone, Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin PC., Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

James A. Ulsh, Mette, Evans & Woodside PC, Harrisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Delaware County

John J. Auritt, Law Offices of Jon J. Auritt, Wallingford: Fifty-Year Member Award

Senior Judge Michael F.X. Coll, Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, Media: Fifty-Year Member Award

Thomas L. Kelly, Kelly Grimes Pietrangelo & Vakil PC, Media: Fifty-Year Member Award

John W. Nilon Jr., Petrikin Wellman Damico Brown & Petrosa, Media: Fifty-Year Member Award

Judge Carl A. Solano, Haverford: PBA President’s Award – for dedicated service as co-chairs of PBA Judicial Administration Committee that provided guidance to the PBA Board of Governors and House of Delegates on recently proposed legislative actions that could impact Pennsylvania’s judiciary.

Erie County

John Dunn, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

Michael J. Fetzner, Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett PC, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

William T. Jorden, Williams & Jorden, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

James Elbert Marsh Jr., Marsh Spaeder Baur Spaeder & Schaaf, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

Chester J. Vendetti, Vendetti & Vendetti, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

Joseph A. Yochim, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

Richard H. Zamboldi, Know McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett PC, Erie: Fifty-Year Member Award

Fayette County

President Judge John F. Wagner Jr., Fayette County Court of Common Pleas, Uniontown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Judge Ralph C. Warman (retired), Uniontown, Fifty-Year Member Award

Franklin County

Robert C. Schollaert, Black & Davison, Chambersburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Edward I. Steckel, Chambersburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Senior Judge John R. Walker, Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Fayetteville: Fifty-Year Member Award

Martha Baum Walker, Walker Connor & Spang LLC, Chambersburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lackawanna County

Charles F. Wilson, Clarks Summit: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lancaster County

David T. Mountz, Columbia: Fifty-Year Member Award

Richard P. Nuffort, May, Herr & Grosh, Lancaster: Fifty-Year Member Award

Jeffrey Philip Paul, Law Offices of Jeffrey Philip Paul, Lancaster: Fifty-Year Member Award

John F. Pyfer Jr., Pyfer Reese Straub Gray & Farhat PC, Lancaster: Fifty-Year Member Award

Charles W. Sheidy, Charles W. Sheidy Law Office, Lititz: Fifty-Year Member Award

Jeffrey Sidebottom, Barley Snyder, Lancaster: Fifty-Year Member Award

Dennis J. Ward, Ephrata: Fifty-Year Member Award

Juniata County

Harold E. Powell Jr., Mifflintown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lebanon County

John E. Feather Jr., Feather & Feather PC, Annville: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lehigh County

Samuel F. Feldman, Allentown: Fifty-Year Member Award

William J. Honig, Macungie: Fifty-Year Member Award

William F. Kocher Jr., Allentown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Donald L. LaBarre Jr., Gross McGinley LLP, Allentown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Judge Henry S. Perkin, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Allentown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Richard J. Shiroff, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

Thomas J. Turczyn, Allentown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Luzerne County

Frank Bognet, Frank Bognet Law Office, Hazleton: Fifty-Year Member Award

Patrick E. Dougherty, Dougherty Leventhal & Price LLP, Kingston: Fifty-Year Member Award

Joseph P. Giovannini Jr., Kingston: Fifty-Year Member Award

Theodore R. Laputka Jr., Law Office of Edward McNelis, Hazleton: Fifty-Year Member Award

John P. Moses, Cozen O’Connor, Wilkes-Barre: Fifty-Year Member Award

Bruce C. Rosenthal, Rosenn Jenkins & Greenwald LLP, Wilkes-Barre: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lycoming County

Norman M. Lubin, Casale & Bonner, Williamsport: Fifty-Year Member Award

Monroe County

Daniel M. Corveleyn, Newman Williams Mishkin Corveleyn Wolfe & Fareri PC, Stroudsburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

William B. Cramer, Cramer Swetz McManus & Jordan PC, Stroudsburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Ronald J. Mishkin, Wolfe, Newman Williams Mishkin Corveleyn Wolfe & Fareri PC, Stroudsburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Montgomery County

Paul Baker Bartle, Flamm Walton Heimbach, Blue Bell: Fifty-Year Member Award

Mark B. Dischell, Dischell Bartle & Doeley PC, Lansdale: Fifty-Year Member Award

Robert J. Edelmayer, Law Offices of Robert J. Edelmayer PC, North Wales: Fifty-Year Member Award

Richard Mark Faulkner, North Wales: Fifty-Year Member Award

Ellen S. Fischer, Bloom Peters, Horsham: PBA Special Achievement Award – for dedication to a subcommittee of the PBA LGBTQ+ Rights Committee that explored the creation of a proposed procedural rule to promote safety, confidentiality and consistency in the name change process for transgender people in Pennsylvania; the subcommittee’s proposed rule was approved by the PBA House of Delegates and then forwarded to the Pennsylvania Civil Procedural Rules Committee for review.

Jay C. Glickman, Rubin Glickman Steinberg and Gifford PC, Lansdale: Fifty-Year Member Award

Paul E. Holl, Lansdale: Fifty-Year Member Award

Marc D. Jonas, Eastburn and Gray PC, Blue Bell: Fifty-Year Member Award

David S. Kaplan, O’Donnell Weiss & Mattei PC, Pottstown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Jeffrey L Katz, Dresher: Fifty-Year Member Award

Allen S. Kellerman, Wynnewood: Fifty-Year Member Award

Lawrence D. Levin, Shor & Levin, Willow Grove: Fifty-Year Member Award

Max L. Lieberman, Max L. Lieberman & Associations, Blue Bell; Fifty-Year Member Award

Richard P. McBride, Law Office of Richard P. McBride, Lower Gwynedd: Fifty-Year Member Award

James J. Oliver, Oliver & Caiola LLC, East Norriton: Fifty-Year Member Award

Paul A. Prince, Prince and Kurtas, Pottstown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Harvey A. Sernovitz, Harvey A. Sernovitz PC, Elkins Park: Fifty-Year Member Award

Retired Judge Joseph A. Smyth Jr., Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Norristown: Fifty-Year Member Award

Thomas E. Wiener, Bala Cynwyd: Fifty-Year Member Award

Arthur A. Zatz, Isdaner & Company LLC, Bala Cynwyd: Fifty-Year Member Award

Northampton County

Richard F. Boyer, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

George A. Heitczman, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

Richard J. Jacobs, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

Stephen Kreglow, Easton: Fifty-Year Member Award

Henry J. Newman, Harry Newman & Associates PC, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

Daniel P. Sabetti, Sabetti Law Offices, Bethlehem: Fifty-Year Member Award

Philadelphia County

Jennifer S. Coatsworth, Margolis Edelstein: PBA President’s Award – for outstanding leadership as co-chairs the PBA Commission on Women in the Profession, including development of programming addressing diversity, equity and inclusion and issues related to quality of work/life balance, and for helping to create the first International Women’s Day program. 

Roger F. Cox, Blank Rome LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award

Bruce M. Dolfman: Fifty-Year Member Award

Gary Green, Sidkoff Pincus & Green PC: Fifty-Year Member Award

David Gutin, Astor Weiss Kaplan & Mandel LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award

Ronald J. Harper, Harper & Paul: Fifty-Year Member Award

Wendy Castor Hess, Landau, Hess, Simon, Choi & Doebley: PBA President’s Award – for outstanding service as co-chair of the PBA Immigration Law Committee since 2012, for presenting many programs and initiatives assisting immigrants during the past decade, and for leading development of the well-attended April 2022 PBA program, “Overview of US Immigration Relief for Ukrainian Nationals.” 

Benjamin Leigh Jerner, Jerner Law Group PC: for dedication to a subcommittee of the PBA LGBTQ+ Rights Committee that explored the creation of a proposed procedural rule to promote safety, confidentiality and consistency in the name change process for transgender people in Pennsylvania; the subcommittee’s proposed rule was approved by the PBA House of Delegates and then forwarded to the Pennsylvania Civil Procedural Rules Committee for review.

Judge Mark A. Kearney, U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Pennsylvania: PBA President’s Award – for serving as vice chair of the PBA Federal Practice Committee and as chair of the committee’s Legal Education Subcommittee that planned continuing legal education programs for Villanova Law School’s Federal Practice Program as well as for the PBA and its educational arm, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI).  

Administrative Judge D. Webster Keogh, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Thomas A. Leonard, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel: Fifty-Year Member Award

Robert H. Louis, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award

Taylor E. Pacheco, Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity: PBA Special Achievement Award – for dedication in shepherding the successful recommendation of the Legal Services to the Public Committee in which the PBA urged the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons to rescind a policy deferring the scheduling of Merit Review hearings on applications for clemency when there were unpaid fines, fees or costs from underlying convictions, preserving equal access to justice for all.

Michael H. Reed, past PBA president, Troutman Pepper: Fifty-Year Member Award

Stephen C. Richman, Markowitz & Richman: Fifty-Year Member Award

Paul N. Sandler, Sandler & Marchesini PC: Fifty-Year Member Award

William R. Sasso, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP: Fifty-Year Member Award

Senior Judge Timothy J. Savage, U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania: Fifty-Year Member Award

Erin Siciliano, Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLC: PBA President’s Award – for leadership as co-chairs of the PBA Quality of Life/Balance Committee, which expanded programming to assist lawyers during the pandemic and for guiding the recommendation leading to the PBA’s adoption of a Seven-Point Wellness Pledge that encourages law firms to implement work/life balance guidelines for staff members.

Gerald A. Stein, Gerald A. Stein PC: Fifty-Year Member Award

Thomas W. Ude Jr., Mazzoni Center Legal Services: PBA Special Achievement Award – for dedication to a subcommittee of the PBA LGBTQ+ Rights Committee that explored the creation of a proposed procedural rule to promote safety, confidentiality and consistency in the name change process for transgender people in Pennsylvania; the subcommittee’s proposed rule was approved by the PBA House of Delegates and then forwarded to the Pennsylvania Civil Procedural Rules Committee for review.

Stanley A. Urh: Fifty-Year Member Award

Su Ming Yeh, Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, Philadelphia: PBA President’s Award – for outstanding commitment and dedication as co-chair of the PBA Minority Bar Committee to expand programming, including joint efforts with the PBA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team and the Commission on Women in the Profession, and for engaging more members in the planning and implementation of committee activities.

Phil H. Yoon, Superior Court of Pennsylvania: PBA President’s Award – for outstanding leadership as chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team; for facilitating development and delivery of additional continuing legal education programs for lawyers, including a program about Harriet Tubman, Juneteenth; and for the creation of a proposed PBA President statement about Juneteenth.

Somerset County

William R. Lloyd Jr., Somerset: Fifty-Year Member Award

Union County

Daniel J. Clement, Law Office of Daniel J. Clement, Lewisburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Washington County

Lynn DeHaven, Goldfarb, Posner, Beck, DeHaven & Drewitz, Washington: Fifty-Year Member Award

Clark A. Mitchell, Clark A. Mitchell PC, Washington: Fifty-Year Member Award

David S. Posner, Goldfarb, Posner, Beck, DeHaven & Drewitz, Washington: Fifty-Year Member Award

Wayne County

John F. Spall, Hawley: Fifty-Year Member Award

Westmoreland County

James Irwin, Lower Burrell: Fifty-Year Member Award

Daniel Joseph, George & Joseph, New Kensington: Fifty-Year Member Award

Richard E. Myers, Greensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

John N. Ward, Ward & Christner, Greensburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

York County

Lawrence G. Frank, Law Office of Lawrence G. Frank, Dillsburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

William D. Schrack III, Schrack Law Office, Dillsburg: Fifty-Year Member Award

Frederick S. Spangler, Barley Snyder, York: Fifty-Year Member Award

Out of State

Lawrence J. Fox, Yale Law School, New Haven, Conn.: Fifty-Year Member Award

Robert J. Johnson, Franklin, Tenn.: Fifty-Year Member Award

Joseph T. Kosek Jr., Law Office of Joe Kosek, Fort Worth, Texas: Fifty-Year Member Award

Frederic H. Lindeberg III, Palm City, Fla.: Fifty-Year Member Award

Theodore W. Mason, Englewood, Colo.: Fifty-Year Member Award

Ronald Lee Souders, Sanibel, Fla.: Fifty-Year Member Award

Maria Zulick Nucci, Sparks, Nev.: PBA Special Recognition Award – for dedication to a subcommittee of the PBA LGBTQ+ Rights Committee that explored the creation of a proposed procedural rule to promote safety, confidentiality and consistency in the name change process for transgender people in Pennsylvania; the subcommittee’s proposed rule was approved by the PBA House of Delegates and then forwarded to the Pennsylvania Civil Procedural Rules Committee for review.  

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.