IN THE HEADLINES

► Kline & Specter: Thomas R. Kline (commercial litigation; medical malpractice law – plaintiffs; personal injury litigation – plaintiffs; product liability litigation – plaintiffs; professional malpractice law – plaintiffs, 1995) and Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky’s Robert J. Mongeluzzi (personal injury litigation – plaintiffs, 2009) called for an installation of positive train control (PTC) across the country in the aftermath of a Miami-bound Amtrak train accident. Close to 70 passengers were injured and two crew members were killed.

► Kline & Specter: Shanin Specter (commercial litigation; mass tort litigation/class actions – plaintiffs; medical malpractice law – plaintiffs; personal injury litigation – plaintiffs; product liability litigation – plaintiffs, 1995) represented the American Beverage Association regarding the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s rule on Philadelphia’s soda tax.

► Offit Kurman: Neil A. Morris (litigation – labor and employment, 2012) defended Barry Joseph Friel of New Holland, who had been charged with two driving under the influence counts after he was stopped at a traffic stop. Friel is the police chief of a Chester County township and has been on sick leave since the day after the traffic stop.

► Robert J. Donatoni & Associates: Robert J. Donatoni (criminal defense: general practice; criminal defense: white-collar, 2006) defended Arthur Phillips, a former Conestoga High School aid, who was found dead in his jail cell at the end of January. Phillips had been serving a 10- to 20-year sentence for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a minor under 16, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors, and institutional sexual assault.

► Stanton D. Levenson: Stanton D. Levenson (criminal defense: general practice; criminal defense: white-collar, 1995) represented Jason Orion Cirocco of Finleyville, Washington County. Cirocco was arraigned “on felony counts of possession with intent to deliver and misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance, drug paraphernalia, and a small amount of marijuana,” according to The Indiana Gazette.

HONORABLE MENTION

► Rhoads & Sinon: Drake D. Nicholas (employment benefits [ERISA] law, 1995) became a business finance partner; Stanley A. Smith (non-profit/charities law; trusts and estates, 2006) became a personal planning and business group partner; Thomas Anthony French (commercial litigation, 2013) became partner in the litigation group; and Robert J. Tribeck (litigation – intellectual property, 2018) became of counsel, all with Barley Snyder.

ITN FEATURE

►Bill Cosby’s Attorney Withdraws from Defense Team

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis: Samuel W. Silver (commercial litigation, 2009) has withdrawn from defending Bill Cosby in his upcoming trial.

Cosby’s defense team is comprised of Las Vegas attorneys Kathleen Bliss and Jason Hicks and California attorneys Thomas A. Mesereau, Jr., (criminal defense: general practice) of Mesereau Law Group and Becky S. James of Greenberg Gross. The team will now need to replace Silver, who gave no reason for his sudden leave, because the Pennsylvania Bar Association requires that out-of-town lawyers that are working in Pennsylvania have a sponsoring attorney who is accredited in the state.

This change in legal team came shortly after the defense asked that the judge dismiss the case due to findings that the Montgomery County DA’s office may have intentionally withheld or destroyed evidence that would have otherwise aided the defense against Andrea Constand, the former Temple University employee that accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her. California-based attorney Gloria Allred (employment law – individuals, 2011) of Allred, Maroko & Goldberg is representing 33 Cosby accusers and had recently requested that the testimonies of 19 additional women be considered as well.

A civil case against Cosby is expected to proceed later this year in Los Angeles, and the Philadelphia trial will also commence this year in a different courthouse from last year’s trial. Almost 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct over the past 50 years. 

 

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