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.