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Elected and Appointed

Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott announced the appointment of Sandra R. Mihok to the role of member-in-charge of its Pittsburgh office.

Mihok is chair of the firm's tax, estates and employee benefits practice group. She acts as outside benefits counsel for plan sponsors and fiduciaries, advising on matters involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Internal Revenue Code and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

She also serves as co-chair of the Women's Initiative at Eckert.

Through the Women's Initiative, Mihok advocates for the advancement of women within the legal profession, fostering an energetic and supportive atmosphere for women at the firm and providing a platform for her colleagues to market their professional skills and leadership competencies.

Mihok holds various professional affiliations, including adjunct professor of law at Duquesne University School of Law, speaker for Pittsburgh Business Group on Health, and member of the Women's Bar Association of Western Pennsylvania, the Worldwide Employee Benefits Network and the National Center for Employee Ownership.

Mihok also serves as an elementary school reading mentor for Reading is FUNdamental Pittsburgh and serves on the board of directors of a local animal rescue nonprofit organization.

Speakers

Curtin & Heefner partner Paul R. Cohen is set to present with other faculty members "The Probate Process From Start to Finish for Paralegals" on Nov. 18. The program will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Allentown West.

The seminar is a paralegal's guide to help simplify the probate process by developing superior probate skills.

Cohen is chair of the estates, trust and tax department and is a member of the real estate law, business and tax exempt financing and public sector law sections. Cohen represents individuals seeking estate planning.

He focuses on ensuring that clients have proper planning to effectuate their distribution goals and also advises on preservation of wealth through proper tax planning.

Cohen works with nontraditional families and members of the LGBT community, including specialized estate planning and life planning. He also advises clients through the process of administering trusts and estates.

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McNees Wallace & Nurick attorney Andrew Rusniak is teaching "Wills, Trusts, and Estates" this semester at Penn State Dickinson Law.

Rusniak's course provides second- and third-year law students with an understanding of the disposition of property at death by intestate succession and by will; the execution, revocation, construction and contest of wills; and limits on the power to dispose of property by will. The course also examines the creation, purposes and termination of trusts, including informal trusts and the interrelationship between trusts and wills.

Rusniak practices in the McNees estate planning and corporate and tax practice groups where he represents individuals, families, business owners, executives and professionals in all aspects of tax and estate planning, business succession planning, asset protection planning, charitable planning and estate and trust administration.