Announcements

For 15 years, Blank Rome has collected toys, gift cards and monetary donations for the Support Center for Child Advocates' annual holiday toy drive.

This year, the firm's Philadelphia office collected more than 400 toys and $800 in donations to benefit numerous children and families of all ages served by the organization.

Additions

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis added four associates to its Philadelphia office.

Daniel Gross is a member of the firm's litigation services department and previously served as a judicial intern for U.S. District Judge L. Felipe Restrepo of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Meghan A. Higgins is a member of the firm's litigation services department, working primarily with the labor and employment practices group.

David Robert Struwe is a member of the firm's litigation services department, who works primarily with the practice groups for aviation and criminal defense and internal investigations.

Brittany C. Wakim is a member of the firm's litigation services department and prior to joining Schnader Harrison, she worked as a trial lawyer for a regional law firm where she was involved in all areas of case management and phases of litigation focusing on professional liability matters with particular emphasis on the defense of health care providers, hospitals and physicians in complex medical malpractice actions.

Speakers

Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry attorneys Jennifer Weidler Karpchuk and Adam Koelsch presented at the 2017 Current Issues in State and Local Taxation seminar hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of the Tax Executives Institute Inc.

The event was a full-day seminar covering various topics related to state and local taxation.
Karpchuk and Koelsch presented “Pennsylvania State and Local Tax Update.”

Both attorneys focus their law practice on state and local tax topics.

As senior counsel at Chamberlain Hrdlicka, Karpchuk advises clients who are challenging audit determinations and real estate assessment decisions, seeking refunds from state and local governments, handling administrative appeals, litigating unresolved disputes in state and local courts, and handling post-trial appeals.

Koelsch is a state and local tax controversy and planning attorney, representing clients in administrative appeals, collection actions in trial-level courts and appeals in the state courts.

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Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young insurance financial and regulatory specialist Stephen J. Johnson presented the webinar, “Corporate Governance—The Basics” for Pennsylvania Association of Mutual Insurance Companies on Dec. 13.

Johnson and co-presenter Lisa Cosentino of Marcum discussed the corporate governance annual disclosure requirements and its importance, including the role of the board in developing a CGAD and best practices for CGADs.

Johnson, who previously served as deputy insurance commissioner of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, advises on insurance and insurer-related financial transactions with a focus on identifying and addressing insurance regulatory issues.

He works with clients on the insurance regulatory implications of mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures; implementation of new regulatory requirements; reviewing transactional documents for insurance regulatory issues and possible alternatives; designing and developing presentations to regulators; and creating and assessing workout options for troubled companies.