James W. Cushing of the Law Office of Faye Riva Cohen.

Speakers

On April 1, James W. Cushing is scheduled to lead the 19th annual American Judicial System seminar at Bucks County Technical High School to give social studies students an inside look at the judicial branch of government.

Cushing is senior associate at The Law Office of Faye Riva Cohen and managing attorney for Legal Research Inc. and sits on the executive committee of the family section of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

He practices family law, unemployment compensation, real estate and contract law.

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Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young partner Michael J. Engle co-presented with Brotman Law attorney Ellen Brotman at the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' DUI and Motor Vehicle Law Summit in Hershey.

Their presentation, titled “Stay in Your Lane: Ethics Hypos for the Criminal Defense Lawyer,” focused on a variety of timely hypothetical situations implicating several key professional conduct issues including the duty of confidentiality, third party payment arrangements and advice on how to effectively handle issues arising from joint defense agreements.

Engle, a member of Stradley Ronon's education practice group and the chair of the firm's white-collar defense group, has more than 18 years of experience in federal criminal cases, complex white-collar defense matters and internal or parallel investigations on behalf of corporations and other entities.

He represents white-collar defendants in complex, high-stakes federal and state prosecutions and guides corporations and other organizations through the intricacies of government investigations.

Engle defended individuals and businesses in connection with grand jury subpoenas and in numerous jury trials.

In recent years, Engle developed a niche practice of defending against civil and/or criminal allegations relating to hazing conduct.

Elected and Appointed

Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads announced that Stephanie K. Benecchi, Ethan Hougah, Erin A. Novak and Renee Nunley Smith were elected to the firm's partnership.

Benecchi, located in the firm's Philadelphia office, and Hougah, located in the firm's Cherry Hill office, were previously associates. Novak and Smith, both located in the firm's Philadelphia office, were of counsel.

Benecchi is a member the firm's litigation department. Her practice focuses on commercial litigation as well as white-collar defense and government investigations.

Benecchi has experience with litigation matters at all stages. Her class action defense work focuses on defending consumer fraud litigation based on product label statements. She represented senior executives in the health care industry in conjunction with government investigations and has experience with investigations focusing on labeling and monitoring of medical devices as well as pharmaceutical sales practices.

Hougah is a member of the firm's litigation department, where he concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation. Hougah regularly represents domestic and foreign companies in products liability, maritime and a wide variety of commercial disputes pending in federal and state courts. He also represents private individuals and entities in white-collar and government investigations, as well as fiduciary litigation.

Novak is a member of the firm's litigation department. She focuses her practice on consumer litigation. Novak was counsel of record in more than three hundred cases involving Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claims.

Smith is co-chair of the firm's diversity committee and a member of Montgomery McCracken's labor and employment practice. She represents national, regional and local employers in employment litigation involving claims under federal and state law. Smith's practice also focuses on counseling employers on a wide range of employment issues and conducting workplace investigations.

She frequently represents employers before federal and state courts and before administrative agencies on matters involving harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour, breach of contract and wrongful termination claims.

Smith also has experience in counseling clients on a variety of workplace issues, including employee hiring, performance management and termination, reductions in force, creating and implementing policies, and drafting various employment agreements. She counsels public and private clients on traditional labor issues and represents employers in labor negotiations and arbitrations.