Robert Graci,.

Additions

Robert A. Graci, former Pennsylvania Superior Court judge and retired chief counsel to the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania, joined Optimal Dispute Resolutions as a mediator and arbitrator in Harrisburg.

Graci is the second retired judge to join the alternative dispute resolutions company, which offers mediation, arbitration, consulting and specialty services.

This year, Optimal is expanding its ADR centers in Harrisburg, Lancaster and Malvern, which will include the addition of mock courtrooms in two locations equipped with the latest technology.

Graci announced his retirement in August 2018 as chief counsel to the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania.

In this role, Graci was chief legal adviser to the board and was responsible for supervision of the board’s staff, as well as investigations and prosecutions before the Court of Judicial Discipline.

He served in various capacities in leading and supporting investigations into incidents of misconduct and other activities.

Graci served on the Superior Court from 2002 to 2004 before becoming a member in the Harrisburg offices of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott.

There, he headed the firm’s appellate practice group, focusing his practice on appeals, white-collar criminal defense, general litigation, regulatory and administrative law and governmental relations.

Prior to his appointment to the bench in 2002, Graci was the assistant executive deputy attorney general for law and appeals of the criminal law division of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.

Honored

Moshe Z. Marvit, a labor and civil rights lawyer and Century Foundation fellow, received a 2019 Labor and Employment Relations Association Ken May Media Award.

LERA selected Marvit based on his reporting on labor and employment law, public policy, labor organizations, excluded workers and employment and civil rights.

His work was published in several law reviews and publications.

Marvit is a practicing attorney in Pittsburgh and an adjunct professor at the Duquesne University School of Law.

Elected and Appointed

Barley Snyder announced that attorney Elizabeth Melamed was named to the board of directors for the Lancaster division of the American Heart Association.

Nationwide, the association works to promote healthy living practices and opportunities in the community.

It provides community CPR training, significantly funds research and promotes workplace health.

Melamed is a member of Barley Snyder’s litigation practice group and its health law and cybersecurity industry groups.

In addition to her new role with the American Heart Association, Melamed is on the board of directors at A&E Hearing Connection and she volunteers with the Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster.