Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, L.L.P.

Mark Longenecker Joins Cincinnati Office
Porter Wright is pleased to announce that Mark H. Longenecker has joined the firm as a partner in its Cincinnati office. Longenecker's practice includes representation of public and private companies in mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, directors'/officers' duties, corporate/business law, and contracts. He has represented Cincinnati businesses for more than 25 years. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, and the Cincinnati Bar Association. "We are very pleased that Mark has decided to move his practice to Porter Wright. Our long-term plan for our Cincinnati office includes growth through the addition of highly regarded, talented corporate and trial lawyers. Mark's addition to the firm is another significant step in that plan," said Dave Croall, Partner-in-Charge of Porter Wright's Cincinnati office.

11-09-2006

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Pennington, Moore, Wilkinson, Bell & Dunbar P.A.

Pennington Lobbyist Addresses Commercial Real Estate Issues
Pennington partner Gene Adams was quoted in the October issue of Florida Real Estate Journal as saying "I think in Florida, actually, we have some of the best growth management in the country." He goes on to say that the state's worsening insurance crisis could cripple not only commercial real estate but have a ripple effect, adding the problem of getting affordabe coverage is currently the biggest future threat to commercial development in the state.

11-09-2006

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Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz, P.A.

Collaborative Law – A Different Approach to Divorce and Family Conflict
The end of a marriage or a relationship is usually tragic, and the process of divorcing only adds to the pain. Divorce can be especially costly, financially and emotionally to all involved. While many family law attorneys seek to reach amicable resolutions to divorcing couples, the truth of the matter is most people see the attorneys as the only winners in divorce.

Divorcing spouses often come to see each other as adversaries and the process afforded by the court system a battleground in which to wage all out war. Large sums of money are spent by both sides in the war of divorce, fighting for custody and dividing the spoils of property accumulated during the marriage. Children see and hear things about their parents that should be kept private and all too often become messengers between parents who cannot communicate with each other. The court battle rarely brings a sense of justice to either party. Instead spouses and children often feel confused and angry with decisions made by someone who simply does not know all the facts or have all the history of the family before them. The end of the court process rarely brings a resolution to the family crisis much less a feeling of hope for the future, and attorneys often wonder why their clients are still so angry even when they have achieved a "legal" victory.

It doesn’t have to be this way. A growing number of parting couples, along with professionals such as lawyers, social workers, child psychologists and financial consultants are being trained in a more constructive alternative. These professionals have developed the collaborative process model. Collaborative law is a reasonable approach to divorce based on three principles:

A pledge not to go to court
An honest exchange of information by both spouses
A solution that takes into account the highest priorities of both spouses and their children.
The collaborative model is designed to protect the interests of children and to help protect the privacy of the parties. The focus in the collaborative process is to find solutions that are workable for the parties by building on areas of mutual agreement. Divorce ends a marriage but need not sever family ties or relationships. Especially when children are involved, lifelong responsibilities remain. By preserving respect and encouraging cooperation, collaborative law can assist parents and children keep family bonds while embracing new lives.

Collaborative law consists of two clients and two attorneys who have been trained in the collaborative process, working together with other professionals, as needed, toward the sole goal of reaching an efficient, fair and comprehensive settlement that focuses on the future without going to court. The parties retain control of the decisions that will affect them and their future with or without children.

The collaborative practice offers a supportive team approach with trained professionals ready to assist the couple. Social workers, financial planners, child psychologists and mediators, all trained in the collaborative process are brought into the process as needed to facilitate and work with both parties to seek a resolution. More social workers are needed to meet the demand for working collaboratively with parties going through divorce. Trained in the collaborative process, these professionals understand the importance of their participation in helping construct solutions that deal with divorce’s wide-ranging issues and assist the parties in establishing goals for the future. If the parties fail to reach an agreement through the process, the collaborative lawyers and other professionals involved are disqualified from further representation in the matter.

In collaborative practice, all agree to keep the lines of communication open as difficult and strained as that may be. The parties meet together with their attorneys in sessions that are intended to produce an honest exchange of information and expression of needs and expectations. Collaborative practice requires basic honesty, self-respect and some respect for the other party. For the process to work both parties must value integrity, civility, and a mutually fair outcome more than getting the biggest share of the pie above all else. They must be able to prioritize needs and to take ultimate responsibility for creating and accepting their own terms for settlement. The attorneys, also, must be able to undo instinctive behavior to see opposing counsel as an adversary and avoid jumping into the role of pit bull.

Collaborative law is not for everyone. Nothing is. It is inconsistent with domestic violence and with certain kinds of mental illness or character disorders. Some cases must be decided by a judge. However, as more professionals are trained in the collaborative model, it is an exciting and healthy alternative to the usual court process. Ask your colleagues whether they have been trained.

11-09-2006

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Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin

Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin’s Ashely M. Chan Receives Homeless Advocacy Project Outstanding Service Award
Ashely M. Chan, a bankruptcy shareholder at the law firm of Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin, recently received an award from the Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) in recognition of Outstanding Service as Coordinator of HAP's Adopt-A-Shelter program. Through the Adopt-a-Shelter project, a firm or corporate legal department agrees to staff a HAP legal clinic on a monthly or bimonthly basis.

The Homeless Advocacy Project is a legal aid project of the Philadelphia Bar Association. HAP exists to meet the legal and advocacy needs of homeless individuals and families in Philadelphia. With a legal staff of five and a corps of 300 volunteer lawyers, paralegals, and law students, HAP engages in direct outreach to homeless individuals in need of legal services.

Ms. Chan concentrates her practice in the areas of bankruptcy and corporate restructuring. She is a 1996 graduate of Rutgers Law School-Camden, where she received Tax Honors With Distinction. Ms. Chan received her B.A. in Mathematics from Douglass College, Rutgers University in 1993.

11-09-2006

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Hancock, Rothert & Bunshoft, L.L.P.

Bankruptcy Attorney John Weiss Joins Duane Morris in Chicago
Duane Morris LLP is pleased to welcome John R. Weiss, formerly of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, as a partner in its Chicago office. John joins the firm's Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group.

John focuses his practice on corporate restructurings and recapitalizations, loan defaults, workouts and bankruptcies. His practice on behalf of creditors focuses on representing banks, institutional investors, indenture trustees, and holders of publicly and privately placed debt securities in complex corporate and municipal situations. John has worked for traditional bank and finance company clients in straight loan and asset-based lending facilities; institutional investor clients in negotiated secured and unsecured private placement transactions; indenture trustees for and holders of debt securities issued by multinational corporations and municipalities; and committees of creditors formed either before or after a bankruptcy case is filed. He has extensive experience in representation of commercial mortgage lenders in foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings. John also has practiced in workouts involving investor-owned electric utilities and sponsors/suppliers of asset securitization transactions. His practice on behalf of debtors includes companies in the golf, entertainment, hospitality, wire and cable, steel, trucking, aluminum smelting, and sampling businesses.

John is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Illinois, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts of Illinois, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh and Eighth Circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the Turnaround Management Association.

A 1982 graduate of Northwestern University, John earned his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 1985.

11-09-2006

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Hancock, Rothert & Bunshoft, L.L.P.

Prominent Construction Lawyer Charles B. Lewis Joins Duane Morris in Chicago
Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce the arrival of Charles B. Lewis, formerly a partner at Jenkens & Gilchrist, as a partner in its Chicago office. Charlie joins the firm's Construction, Government Contracts and Surety Law Practice Group. Joining Charlie will be senior associate Jeffrey L. Hamera and paralegal Judy Coniglio.

Charlie has extensive experience in construction litigation and represents general contractors, construction managers, owners, architects, engineers, design builders, subcontractors and material suppliers in a wide array of business matters. He counsels clients on construction contracts, including claims for breach of contract, extras, delay, disruption, loss of productivity, excessive change orders, out-of-scope work and mechanic's liens. In addition, he is an arbitrator and mediator for the American Arbitration Association, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, and a mediator for the Court Annexed Major Case Civil Mediation Program for Circuit Court of Cook County. Charlie is an active member of the Society of Illinois Construction Attorneys, a fellow of the College of Commercial Arbitrators, and a member of the Design/Build Task Force of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association. He has written articles for the Constructor Executive, President & CEO Magazine, Chicago Building Congress, Edifice, Chicago Bar Journal, Construction Law News and Illinois Law Journal.

He earned his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1976 and his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1972.

11-09-2006

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Hancock, Rothert & Bunshoft, L.L.P.

Duane Morris Partner Sheila Hollis Named Finalist for Platts Global Energy Lifetime Achievement Award
Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that Sheila Slocum Hollis, a partner and leader in the Energy, Environment and Resources Practice Group in the firm's Washington, D.C. office, has been named a Lifetime Achievement Award finalist for the 2006 Platts Global Energy Awards. The organization will announce the winner at a ceremony to be held in New York on November 30. Sheila is the only attorney in private practice to be ever named a finalist for this honor.

The Platts Global Energy Awards recognize outstanding vision and achievement in the global energy industry. A leading provider of energy market news and information, Platts established the awards in 1999 to highlight the contributions to the energy world of individuals, community supporters and corporations. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to individuals "whose achievements are the product of a long and varied career of service, creativity, and insight, and who have gained widespread recognition and respect on the global stage," according to the Platts Web site. The finalists were chosen from more than 200 entrants by an impartial panel consisting of energy experts, regulators, corporate executives, academics and legislators.

Sheila is chair of the Washington, D.C. office and serves on the firm's Executive Committee and Partners' Board. She practices in the areas of energy transactional and regulatory law, and international and administrative law before government agencies, Congress and other entities. Sheila focuses on domestic and international energy, water and environmental matters, and represents governmental bodies and the power and natural gas industries. She has extensive energy policy and regulatory experience, having served as director of the Office of Enforcement of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and as a trial attorney for the Federal Power Commission. A fellow of the American Bar Association, she has held numerous leadership positions and serves in the ABA's House of Delegates. She also served on the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, among others. Sheila was recently named Chair of the Council of the ABA Fund for Justice and Education. She has played a central role in screening a U.S. Supreme Court candidate, and has received numerous awards and honors in recent years. The National Law Journal named Sheila among the nation's top 20 energy lawyers, and she has been honored as one of the "50 Key Women in Energy Worldwide" and the "Key Women in Energy - Americas." In 2003, Sheila was named "Woman of the Year" by the Women's Council on Energy and the Environment. She is listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law, the International Who's Who of Oil & Gas Lawyers and other biographical directories, and is a frequent speaker and writer on issues of energy law. She served as a professorial lecturer in energy law at The George Washington University Law School for twenty years.

11-09-2006

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