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Honored

The law firm of Tucker Arensberg announced that retired Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald is the recipient of the Bankruptcy American Inns of Court Alliance Distinguished Service Award for 2020.

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes the ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession, the rule of law and the demonstration of personal ethics and integrity, and is specifically dedicated to a judge or attorney who practices in the field of bankruptcy law.

Fitzgerald has more than 25 years of experience as a bankruptcy judge, having presided over matters in the Western District of Pennsylvania (where she was chief judge for five years) as well as in the District of Delaware (20 years), the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (eight years) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (nine years).

Fitzgerald has experience in mass tort bankruptcies, and she adjudicated more cases involving section 524(g) asbestos trusts than any other bankruptcy judge in the country.

She has a trial background and frequently served as a settlement judge and mediator.

She was the sole judge hearing all chapter 13 cases in the Western District of Pennsylvania and Delaware for several years.

She also serves as a mediator and arbitrator in addition to her services as an expert witness and consultant.

She is a member of FedArb, an association of former federal judges who provide expert witness, consultation, mediation and arbitration services.

Fitzgerald received her Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

She is a member of the American Law Institute; a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy; former president and founder of the Next Generation Program for the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges; former board member and co-chair of the mass tort committee for the American Bankruptcy Institute; member and past chair of the bankruptcy judges' advisory committee of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; and former chair and member of the education committee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Elected and Appointed

Capehart Scatchard announced that Cameron R. Morgan was elected for a two-year term as trustee for the North-Central District of the New Jersey Association of School Attorneys, and Lauren E. Tedesco was reelected as trustee for the Southern District.

A Collingswood, New Jersey, resident, Morgan serves public school districts and charter schools throughout New Jersey in the specialized area of school law, with a focus on general counsel services, civil litigation, special education, administrative law, collective negotiations, labor and employment, and appellate practice.

He serves as board solicitor to school districts, guiding district administrators through a range of issues affecting the public schools, from personnel matters, tenure cases, and issues that arise at public board meetings; to student disciplinary matters, residency disputes and homelessness issues; to matters involving the budgetary process or First Amendment rights.

Morgan's practice also focuses on counseling school districts in the area of special education.

He serves as special education counsel to school districts and handles special education matters, including due process hearings and grievance complaint investigations, involving children with a variety of special needs.

Tedesco, a Gladwyne resident, concentrates her practice on the representation of boards of education and charter schools in all areas of school law, including labor and employment, special education, Section 504, student discipline, FERPA, the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act, student residency, civil rights, tenure, OPRA, OPMA and teaching staff tenure matters under TEACHNJ and ACHIEVENJ.

Tedesco conducts workplace investigations, training and seminars, drafts policies and manuals, and provides strategic advice to school administrators regarding school law issues.

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