Category: Latest News

New Britain, PA – Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams LLP has announced the promotions of attorneys Maria B. Desautelle and Rose E. McHugh to senior associates. Desautelle represents school entities, primarily in special education. Prior to joining the firm, she served as a mediator and complaint investigator with the New Jersey Department of Education – Office of Special Education. She also worked as a deputy attorney general with the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. There she represented both the Department of Human Services and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. She is a graduate of Widener

High Swartz LLP is pleased to announce the addition of Kimberly J. Krzyzaniak, Esq., practicing in Wayne, PA, to its family law team. Kim is a dedicated family lawyer with a primary focus on divorce, custody, support, and mediation. Her experience extends to specialized areas, including gray divorce and grandparent custody. Kim serves clients in Delaware, Chester, and Montgomery counties along the Main Line. Kim approaches each case with an eye to the individual. She can assist clients with unique solutions such as pre and post marital agreements and mediation.  “I am excited to join High Swartz and look forward

High Swartz LLP is pleased to announce that Thomas E. Panzer, an equity partner specializing in zoning, municipal, and workers’ compensation law, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Bucks County Bar Association (BCBA) for a three year term, starting in the year 2024. This marks Tom’s third 3-year term serving on the Board over the past two decades. “The BCBA goes beyond the essential goal of upholding standards in the legal community. It’s a well-run organization. I am eager to collaborate with fellow members in the new year.” says Tom. Established in 1883 with just 40 charter members,

Partner and Family Law practitioner Jessica A. Pritchard of the law firm of Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP, was presented with the Harriet M. Mims Award by the Women Lawyers Division, as well as the President’s Award by the Buck County Bar Association at the association’s annual dinner this month. The Mims award is named after Harriet Mims, the first female judge in Bucks County and one of the first women to be admitted to the Bucks County Bar. The award is presented annually to a female attorney who exhibits the characteristics of strength, leadership and integrity and has also

H. JEFFREY BRAHIN presented a seminar at the PBI Real Estate institute entitled “Commercial Evictions and How to Avoid Them.” This seminar was a comprehensive overview of commercial evictions, including self-help, District Justice and Municipal Court actions, Common Pleas lawsuits (including ejectment actions) and Confessions of Judgment. The seminar covered procedural and substantive law considerations. Confessions of Judgment were discussed in detail, including the drafting and negotiating of the cognovit clause, as well as the filing and executing of the judgment, petitions to strike and open the judgment, and appeals. Practical strategies were reviewed regarding negotiations, notices, discovery, stays of

Blue Bell and Doylestown, PA – Eastburn and Gray, PC shareholders, Mark S. Cappuccio, Esq. and Joan Righter Price, Esq., participated in the 2023 PBI Real Estate Institute in Philadelphia on December 1, 2023. The seminar, entitled, “What is New in the World of Tax Assessment Appeals” provided an update on recent cases affecting real estate tax assessment appeals and a discussion on the state of the law regarding taxing district appeals. The seminar was geared to real estate professionals and attorneys practicing in the field. Mr. Cappuccio serves as the chair of the firm’s Tax Assessment Appeals practice group. 

Two attorneys have joined the staff of Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams LLP as associates: Megan D. Hazel and Kalani E. Linnell. Hazel is an experienced defense litigator who has worked across a number of business sectors. Her background spans in-house, government, and both small and large law firm experience. She defends school districts in all aspects of litigation involving claims of civil rights violations, general liability matters, and labor and employment issues, such as employment discrimination, retaliation, and violations of federal and state laws, including the Family Medical Leave Act and Fair Labor Standards Act. She holds a J.D.

Family Law practitioners Jessica Pritchard and Melanie Wender of the law firm of Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP were presenters at the National Business Institute’s Pennsylvania Advanced Divorce Law continuing legal education program on December 12, 2023. Jessica Pritchard and Melanie Wender both practice exclusively in Family Law with extensive experience focusing on all aspects of divorce and family law.   In addition, Ms. Wender handles adoption issues and has assisted many clients in making this life-changing process as seamless and smooth as possible.

High Swartz LLP attorney Donald Petrille, Jr. has earned certification as an IMI (International Mediation Institute) Qualified Mediator. Mr. Petrille is qualified to deliver alternative dispute resolution services in his practice areas of general commercial law and estates and trusts. The mediation training, accredited by the International Mediation Institute and the Civil Mediation Council, provides education and training to meet the requirements for various court programs in Pennsylvania. Throughout the course, Petrille delved into the intricacies of conflict psychology, communication strategies, and power dynamics inherent in the mediation process. The International Mediation Institute is renowned for setting rigorous global competency

Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker has announced the members of her mayoral Transition Team, with High Swartz LLP trial attorney John S. Han assuming a role in the Public Safety sub-committee. Under the leadership of former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, the Public Safety sub-committee includes Vice Chairs Reneé Chenault-Fattah, a journalist former news anchor, and Stanley Crawford, Executive Director of the BMCCP. John S. Han, has distinct ties to the Philadelphia community. He is a former Assistant DA with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, where he spent six years prosecuting jury and bench trials across cases involving public corruption, fraud,