By Jaime Bochet
Of the Legal Staff
This is the third in a three-part series of blog posts intended to introduce you to the Legal's editorial team. Today's post focuses on our reporters, so that you can learn a bit about what each of them covers (their "beat" in journalism-jargon) and how to get in touch with them.
Amaris Elliott-Engel covers the first and third largest county court systems in the state, the Philadelphia court system and the Montgomery County courts, as well as the Philadelphia Bar Association, the state court system's finances and the interaction of the state judiciary with the other branches of government.
Amaris joined the company in August 2007. Prior to joining the Legal staff, she was a staff reporter covering a police and courts beat, as well as the Native American land claims beat, for The Citizen newspaper in Auburn, N.Y. She earned her bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., and is currently am attending Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law's evening law program.
To contact Amaris, e-mail [email protected] or call 215-557-2354. Follow her on Twitter at @AmarisTLI.
Zack Needles covers business of law stories regarding small and midsized firms. He also covers law firm news and court opinions out of the surrounding counties, including Chester, Bucks and Delaware counties.
Zack joined the company in 2008. Prior to joining the Legal staff, he was a freelance reporter with the Times of Trenton in Trenton, N.J. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Rider University in 2007.
To contact Zack, e-mail [email protected] or call 215-557-2493. Follow him on Twitter at ZNeedlesTLI.
Gina Passarella is our senior reporter, covering the business of law, focusing on the largest law firms in Pennsylvania. She also writes about corporate counsel and litigation.
Gina joined the Legal in 2005. She received an undergraduate degree in public communications from American University in 2004 and a master's in broadcast journalism and public affairs from American in 2005.
To contact Gina, e-mail [email protected] or call 215-557-2494. Follow her on Twitter at @GPassarellaTLI.
Leo Strupczewski covers Pennsylvania's judiciary, developments in the law and emerging trends. His beat also includes the courts' interaction with the other two branches of government and investigative work.
In the last year, Leo has covered the federal corruption trial of former Luzerne County Common Pleas Court Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., changes to the state's Judicial Conduct Board and juvenile justice system and allegations of corruption in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Leo joined the company in 2008. Prior to joining the Legal staff, he was a reporter with the Courier-Post newspaper in Cherry Hill, N.J. He received a B.A. in English from Saint Joseph's University in 2006.
To contact Leo, e-mail [email protected] or call 215-557-2315. Follow him on Twitter at @StrupczewskiTLI.
Shannon P. Duffy is the U.S. Courthouse Correspondent for the Legal. Shannon has served as our eyes and ears at the Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia since 1988, covering the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and 3rd Circuit courts.
To contact Shannon, e-mail [email protected] or call 215-880-3700.
Our reporters always welcome submissions from attorneys on their recent verdicts and settlements. They’ll generally ask for pretrial documents that outline the factual background and key legal issues in the case. Make sure they include your key arguments, as well. Though we cover many of the submissions we receive, we cannot cover any results that include confidentiality agreements.
We hope that you’ve enjoyed getting to meet us this week, and we hope that you’ll get in touch with us, either to send over a verdict or settlement, to offer feedback on our coverage, or to pitch us a story!
Please note that the phrase "The Business of Law" is a registered mark that I have owned since 1995. Please use this phrase only with appropriate attribution and the designated (r) symbol.
As a side note, I will be doing a national tour in our Airstream trailer, speaking to bar associations and law schools about practice management issues. I'd welcome the opportunity to talk with you about the issues impacting the business operations of a law practice, at your convenience.
Posted by: Ed Poll | Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 01:15 PM