The Legal Intelligencer Blog

Fresh Ink: Inside Today's Legal

Welcome to your Tuesday morning round-up of stories in today’s edition of The Legal Intelligencer, which also includes this week’s edition of Pennsylvania Law Weekly. All of the links below will take you directly to today’s stories, or you can head straight over to The Legal’s homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

Also inside today’s paper is the Pro Bono supplement, so be sure to give that a read.

The top story in today’s Legal is the opening of the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex-abuse trial. As reporter Amaris Elliott-Engel writes, prosecutors Monday said that one of the two remaining defendants, Monsignor William J. Lynn, had three responsibilities: protecting the church, children and privacy of priests, but chose to protect the church. “Unfortunately, all three of those roles are mutually exclusive,” said prosecutor Jacqueline Coelho in her opening argument.

Also above the fold on Page 1, reporter Saranac Hale Spencer writes that a lawsuit against LexisNexis over background checks has been allowed to proceed by a federal judge. The suit is a class action stemming from claims that LexisNexis deemed the plaintiffs “noncompetitive” during background checks and the prospective workers didn’t have a chance to respond.

Below the fold on Page 1, reporters Zack Needles and Ben Present write that Lackawanna County Common Pleas Court Judge Trish Corbett explained that she refused to remove Lackawanna County guardian ad litem Danielle M. Ross from a custody case after an attorney raised concerns about media reports of a federal investigation into the county’s guardian ad litem program because she felt to do so would have been “premature.”

In more Regional News on Page 3, reporter Gina Passarella writes that pharmacy records are governed by the Medical Records Act and pharmacists are considered health care providers for purposes of the act, according to a Superior Court ruling that overturned and Allegheny County Common Pleas Court judge who compared pharmacists to yoga instructors rather than medical providers.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sibling publications across the country make up the Page 4 National News section.

In a Commentary on Page 5, Walter M. Phillips Jr. and Doug Moak write that one way to deal with Philadelphia’s high fugitive rate (more than 30 percent of criminal defendants fail to appear in court) is to use trial in absentia.

In a Legal Marketing column on Page 7, Kimberly Alford Rice writes about the importance of following up when networking and trying to build business.

Today’s lead story in PLW is a look at the Marcellus Shale play, where small firms say that expertise is more important than size. As Zack Needles writes, some believe that the only way to handle the amount of work coming from major drillers is to have a huge staff, but the depth of knowledge of the area that some smaller firms offer can give them the advantage.

Below the fold on Page 1, Amaris Elliott-Engel writes that prosecutors are opposing a bill to expand innocence claims. The state Senate bill would expand chance for people who say they have been wrongfully convicted of crimes to raise their innocence claims, and backers say current law doesn’t always provide adequate means to do so. But the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association and Gov. Tom Corbett oppose it.

On Page 3, Ben Present writes that financial discovery was denied in the case of a collapsing sidewalk, but the judge left open the possibility of punitive damages if the injured man amends his complaint.

There’s much more inside this week’s PLW, including Samuel C. Stretton’s Ethics Forum, in which he discusses asking a witness if another witness is lying; Jeff Jubelirer’s column on Public Relations, in which he discusses how to utilize social media; a panel deciding that a builder’s deceptive statement makes him personally liable; Sean Connolly’s column on State Government and the double standard existing against conservatives; and Daniel E. Cummins’ Civil Practice column on UM/UIM rejection form language.

If you have questions or comments about any of today's stories, or our coverage as a whole, we invite you to e-mail any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal.

Volunteer Opportunities Around the Philadelphia Region

By James W. Cushing
Special to the Legal

I have been a volunteer attorney for the Christian Legal Clinics of Philadelphia (CLCP) since April 2007. The CLCP states that its volunteers are “Christian legal professionals and law students called by the Word of God to do justice among the poor ... [by] provid[ing] services to low-income clients in the name of Christ." The CLCP currently has three clinic locations, each of which meets twice per month. The clinics are located at the Salvation Army facility in West Philadelphia, Sweet Union Baptist Church in West Philadelphia and Spirit and Truth Reformed Church in North Philadelphia. At each clinic, clients from the local neighborhood meet with attorneys who volunteer their time at the clinic to discuss and help them resolve their problems and inquiries. Of course, as the CLCP is Christian in nature, the attorneys and clients often pray with and for one another and the Gospel message is shared with the client.

Over my five years of serving with the CLCP, I have had the privilege of helping hundreds of people with their legal issues. I have been approached with all manner of issues, including but not limited to landlord-tenant, custody, support, divorce, social security, unemployment compensation, disability, debt collection, criminal and estate cases. The experience has blessed both me and the client; the client receives free or greatly discounted legal assistance while I reap the benefits of knowing I am truly helping the less fortunate and living out my Christian faith in a practical way. I am confident in saying that virtually everyone who has served with the CLCP has had a similar experience.

Attorneys have received the great gift of knowing about the law, how to navigate it and how to help people with their legal issues, and they bear some responsibility for sharing it with others. Accordingly, the Pennsylvania Bar Association recommends that attorneys perform 50 pro bono hours per year and the CLCP is a wonderful place to volunteer. Aside from the CLCP, the Philadelphia area has many opportunities and organizations to assist people on a pro bono or low-fee basis. These include: 

• Community Legal Services of Philadelphia 
• The Philadelphia VIP program
• The Philadelphia Legal Assistance Center
• The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia 
• The Juvenile Law Center
• The Women Against Abuse Legal Center
• The Nationalities Service Center
• The SeniorLAW Center
• The Support Center for Child Advocates
• The Regional Housing Legal Services
• The Legal Clinic for the Disabled, and many others.

It is an extremely satisfying feeling knowing that one has given of oneself to help someone else in a profound way, not to mention the practical legal experience it can give an attorney simply because of the wide scope and breadth of the legal issues involved with the clients. Furthermore, the impact a volunteer attorney can have on someone’s life cannot be underestimated. If you are not involved in pro bono work, or with an organization as described above, I truly encourage you to become involved; you will be greatly rewarded. Indeed, the great irony of my volunteering experience is that the benefit I can provide to my clients is far less than the benefit I receive from them by the privilege of serving them.

James W. Cushing is an associate at the Law Office of Faye Riva Cohen and research attorney for Legal Research Inc. He is licensed to practice law in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

 

The Legal's Unsung Heroes

By Ben Seal
Of the Legal Staff

We at The Legal know that there are attorneys across Pennsylvania who contribute their time and energy to pro bono work. Too often, their hard work goes unrecognized, except, of course, by the people who gain so much from these attorneys’ efforts. We want to ensure that those who do so much for the underprivileged get the attention they deserve, so we asked law firms, public interest groups and bar associations from across the state to tell us about the attorneys they believe are “unsung heroes.”

We received dozens of nominations over the past month, all with stories of attorneys who give their time and expertise to pro bono causes. Many of these nominations contained heartfelt stories of attorneys making a significant impact on people’s lives. We’ve chosen a group that we consider to be the unsung heroes, but the important work being done by all those in the pro bono community around the commonwealth deserves recognition. The following list is in no particular order:

• Maura McInerney, Education Law Center
• Urmika Devi, Duane Morris
• Suzanne Root
• James P. DeAngelo, McNees Wallace & Nurick
• Ashely Chan, Hangley Aronchick
• Brian P. Gregg, McNees Wallace & Nurick
• Margaret A. Morris, Reger Rizzo & Darnall
• Michael V. Phillips, Obermayer
• Carl W. Hittinger, DLA Piper
• Stephen J. McConnell, Kevin M. Flannery, Michael J. Salimbene and Kenneth Holloway, Dechert
• Sam Silver and Bruce Merenstein, Schnader
• Megan E. Spitz, Blank Rome
• Chad Kurtz, Cozen O’Connor
• Carrie Rosen, Cozen O’Connor
• John Whitelaw and Jennifer Schultz, Community Legal Services
• Nichole E. Humes and Stephie-Anna Kapourales Ramaley, Burns White
• Jay M. Levin, Reed Smith
• Kathryn M. Kenyon, Pietragallo Gordon
• Wesley R. Payne, White and Williams
• Cheryl Jacobs
• David H. Denenberg, Abramson and Denenberg
• Marguerite Gualtieri, Support Center for Child Advocates

Profiles of each of the individuals will be in the upcoming Pro Bono supplement to The Legal, which is scheduled for publication on March 27. A breakfast honoring the winners will be held on April 12. Contact Diane McCollum by email at [email protected] or phone at 215-557-2335 for more information. Thank you to all those who nominated someone and congratulations to the winners.

Accepting Nominations for Pro Bono 'Unsung Heroes'

By Ben Seal
Of the Legal Staff

As you may know, we at The Legal Intelligencer are putting together our upcoming Pro Bono supplement. A big part of that is our “Unsung Heroes” section, in which we spotlight some of the great work being done by those who deserve some special recognition.

We would like each firm to nominate either one person or one group of persons for work done in the last two years (Jan. 1, 2010 to Dec. 31, 2011). Please highlight one matter or area of work that helped define the person’s or group’s contributions. There is no formal nomination form, but we will need the names of those involved, the case or issue at hand and a short summary of the work that was done. Please limit the summary to 300 words or less.

For example, the nomination could be for Bill Smith of Smith & Smith, who worked on the pro bono case of X v. Y, which settled on Feb. 15, 2011, followed by the summary. If a group is being nominated, each person’s name should be listed.

Please submit your nomination, along with a photo of the nominee(s), by close of business this Friday, Jan. 27. The editorial staff of The Legal will evaluate each nomination and select those to be named to the list of Unsung Heroes. The list will be published in the supplement on Tuesday, March 13.

Submit nominations to me at [email protected]. If you have any questions, please e-mail me or call me at 215-557-2368.

Fresh Ink - Inside Today's Legal

By Jaime Bochet
Of the Legal Staff

Happy Friday! Start the end of the week off right with your daily round-up of stories in today's edition of The Legal Intelligencer. Click the links below to access stories directly, or head to The Legal homepage. (Some stories may require registration or a paid subscription.)

Once again, U.S. Courthouse Correspondent Shannon P. Duffy leads the front page with a big story out of the Eastern District: In a huge victory for pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson, a federal judge has dismissed all claims in a massive consumer fraud and RICO suit that accused the company of trying to hide widespread manufacturing and quality control problems that led to recalls of a slew of popular over-the-counter drugs including Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec, Benadryl, Rolaids and Mylanta.

Below the fold on the front page, business of law reporter Gina Passarella reports that Duane Morris has filed preliminary objections in a legal malpractice case against the firm and two attorneys in which a prominent local couple claim they suffered "substantial losses" after the lawyers allegedly ignored their pleas for conservative investment strategies and their money ended up in the hands of Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff.

On Page 3, we have an article from our New Jersey affiliate the New Jersey Law Journal about a recent 3rd Circuit decision. The city of Newark, N.J., was ensnared last year when it settled a civil rights case by offering $55,000 to resolve a journalist's wrongful arrest claims. The plaintiff accepted the offer, but a district judge rejected his request for fees and costs. On Tuesday, the 3rd Circuit reversed in a precedential opinion, holding that because the offer was silent as to fees and costs, they were not part of it, and the district judge erred by looking at extrinsic evidence of what Newark intended.

As always, our People in the News section is on Page 2, and the top stories from our sister publications across the country are on our Page 4 National News page, including a story from our Georgia affiliate The Fulton County Daily Report, about the legacy of a case going back 15 years to the Atlanta Olympics bombing.

Our first contributed column, on Page 5, is "Franchise Law" by Craig R. Trachtenberg of Nixon Peabody, who writes about the need for franchise financing considering the new jobs the industry creates; 194,000 new jobs in 2011, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis.

The second contributed article is a commentary by Esther F. Lardent of the Pro Bono Institute, who writes that "doom and gloom" headlines should not overshadow important pro bono data. Although it is true that major firms contributed significantly fewer hours of pro bono service in 2010 than in the previous two years, it must be noted that 2010’s law firm pro bono hours were still the third highest in history.

As always, if you have questions or comments about today's issue, e-mail me or any of the reporters directly. We hope you'll enjoy today's Legal!

Jaime Bochet is the Magazines & Supplements Editor for The Legal. Follow her on Twitter at @JaimeBochetTLI or e-mail [email protected].

MontCo Pro Bono Opportunity Tomorrow: Wills For Heroes Needs Your Help!

By Jaime Bochet
Of the Legal Staff

We at the Legal know how important pro bono work is, both for attorneys and for the communities they serve. We devote an entire publication to it every other year, as well as a page in the paper each month, working in collaboration with  local public interest groups and bar associations.

If you've been thinking about getting involved but aren't sure how to begin, the Montogmery Bar Association has you covered. Wills for Heroes has scheduled an event this Saturday, March 26, for the Norristown Police Department at the Human Service Center in Norristown (1430 DeKalb St.). Several lawyers and paralegals are needed to help at this time.

Wills for Heroes is a pro bono program that provides free wills, living wills and financial powers of attorneys to first responders and their spouses/partners. At the conclusion of their one-hour appointments, first responders and their spouses/partners are able to leave with notarized, legal documents.

You do not need to practice trust and estate law to volunteer, and a mini-course will be offered from 9 to   11 a.m. that morning to familiarize you with all the information you'll need to know. Several lawyers well-versed in estate planning will also be on hand to answer questions that may arise. Following the training session for new volunteers, Wills for Heroes events typically run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Lisa Shearman, Esq. by calling 215-576-1730 or e-mailing [email protected].

Jaime Bochet is the Magazines & Supplements Editor for The Legal Intelligencer. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/JaimeBochetTLI or e-mail [email protected].

More Million-Plus Awards Out of Philly in 2010

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff
 
There were a few other cases involving awards over $1 million that The Legal couldn't fit into the print version of the story, "FJD's Million-Plus Awards Increase by One-Third." So here are the details, including three cases not yet reported in The Legal:

-- A jury awarded $1 million, including $250,000 for pain and suffering, $75,000 for loss of consortium, and $675,000 for future economic damages, in the case of Seving v. Chollak on Oct. 15 on its finding that plaintiff Carolyn Seving developed a foot drop because of a nerve injury that occurred after her total hip replacement. The plaintiff’s complaint said that Seving was placed into an exercise sling after her surgery, but her narcotic pain medication diminished hercapacity to feel pain in her right leg or any pressure that was exerted on her nerves because of the sling.

Dr. William Chollak, who conducted the hip replacement at Chestnut Hill Hospital, was voluntarily dismissed from the case after jury selection was commenced. Chollak also permitted the plaintiff to use Chollak's neurology expert to testify on the behalf of the plaintiff, which gave them a neurology expert when they had none before, Chestnut Hill Hospital's post-trial motion for relief said.

The hospital also said in its post-trial motion that Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Joseph Papalini spoke with the jury and reported to counsel that the jury members said they believed Chollak was at fault for Seving's injury, but that since Chollak, who was not on the verdict sheet, had worked for the hospital for many years, he “was essentially Chestnut Hill Hospital.”

The defense argued that Seving’s nerve injury occurred during surgery, while the plaintiff argued that her nerve injury occurred because she was placed in a sling post-surgery, court papers said. Plaintiffs attorney Laura Feldman, of Feldman & Pinto in Philadelphia, said that while the purpose of the sling was to exercise in bed, the nurses thought its purpose was to immobilize Seving. Defense attorney Fred J. Hughes, of McCumber Daniels Buntz Hartig & Puig in Eagleville, declined comment.

-- A jury awarded $1 million, including $750,000 and $250,000 in loss of consortium, in Brogin v. Sovereign Distributors on Nov. 22 on plaintiff Ira Brogin’s claim that a chair in a furniture retail store collapsed out from under him and caused Brogin to have neck and lower back pain that interferes with his daily life.

The plaintiffs said in their pretrial memorandum that the chair, purchased by Sovereign Distributors (doing business as Avalon Carpet, Tile and Flooring) from distributor Raymour & Flanigan, was defectively designed in the bracket attaching the chair legs to the chair seat. According to the docket, the jury found Sovereign Distributors 15 percent liable, Raymour & Flanigan 15 percent liable and chair designer Douglas Furniture of California 70 percent liable.

Plaintiffs attorney Samuel J. Pace Jr., of Dugan Birinkmann Maginnis & Pace in Philadelphia, said there was a confidential high-low agreement entered with at least one of the defendants. There will be no appeal, he said, unless Raymour & Flanigan appeals against the chair’s importer.

While the defense argued that Brogin’s pain was related to pre-existing problems, the jurors said they found Brogin and his experts credible, Pace said. The event itself was captured on surveillance, Pace said. Douglas Furniture of California defense counsel Elizabeth F. Walker, of Kennedy Campbell Lipski & Dochney in Philadelphia, and Raymour & Flanigan defense counsel Patrick J. Hasson, of Baginski Mezzanotte Hasson & Rubinate, did not respond to requests for comment.

-- In the largest judicial finding not yet reported in The Legal, Judge Arnold L. New awarded $1.5 million in Turnkey Construction Services Inc. v. Allied Preet Management on Oct. 29.

Turnkey Construction Services said in its complaint that defendants Gagandeep Lakhmna, Allied Preet Management and Creating Real Estate Solutions contracted with Turnkey to improve the defendants’ loft building located at 717 N. American St., Philadelphia. But Lakhmna had set up a “labyrinth of under capitalized companies ... to work in concert to secure loans and construction services and to avoid payment” to the plaintiff and other companies, the complaint said. In their answer, the defendants denied making misrepresentations to the detriment of the plaintiff.

Plaintiffs attorney John J. Delany III, of Delany & O'Brien in Philadephia, did not respond to a request for comment. Jeffrey S. Saltz, of the Law Office of Jeffrey S. Saltz in Philadelphia and originally defense counsel in the case, said he withdrew his appearance before the case went to trial and the award was entered via default judgment.

Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached by e-mailing [email protected].

Celebrating Pro Bono Efforts in Philadelphia and Beyond

By Gina F. Rubel

In Philadelphia, the Delivery of Legal Services Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Public Interest Section invites members of the Philadelphia legal community to participate in a range of pro bono recruitment events, legal clinics for low-income clients and continuing legal education programs from October 18-29 in honor of National Pro Bono Week.

The ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service is sponsoring their Annual Pro Bono Week Celebration from October 24-30. The celebration is a coordinated national effort to meet the ever-growing needs of this country's most vulnerable citizens by encouraging and supporting local efforts to expand the delivery of pro bono legal services, and by showcasing the great difference that pro bono lawyers make to the nation, its system of justice, its communities and, most of all, to the clients they serve.

The Philadelphia Bar Association’s website provides a list of pro bono celebration events scheduled this week in Philadelphia along with a Directory of Public Interest Legal Organizations including:

• AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania
• American Civil Liberties Union
• Center for Disability Law & Policy
• Community Legal Services (CLS)
• Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project
• Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania (formerly Disabilities Law Project)
• Education Law Center - PA
• The Elderly Law Project - Temple University Beasley School of Law
• Equality Advocates Pennsylvania (formerly the Center for Lesbian & Gay Civil Rights)
• Face to Face Legal Center
• Friends of Farmworkers
• Good Shepherd Mediation Program
• HIAS and Council Migration Service of Philadelphia
• Homeless Advocacy Project
• Juvenile Law Center
• Legal Clinic for the Disabled
• Mazzoni Center, Legal Services Department
• National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women
• Nationalities Service Center
• Pennsylvania Capital Representation Project of the Philadelphia Federal Defender
• Pennsylvania Health Law Project
• Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center
• Pennsylvania Innocence Project
• Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project
• Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts
• Philadelphia Legal Assistance
• Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
• Philadelphia Volunteer for the Indigent Program (VIP)
• Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia
• Regional Housing Legal Services
• SeniorLAW Center
• Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight
• Support Center for Child Advocates
• Temple Legal Aid Office
• University of Pennsylvania Law School - Gittis Center for Clinical Legal Studies
• Villanova University School of Law -Villanova Clinical Programs
• Widener University School of Law Clinical Programs
• Women's Law Project

With more than 30 public interest law agencies that serve Philadelphia's neediest citizens, our community is replete with options. It is our duty as lawyers to support them. Here’s to a successful Pro Bono Week.

Gina F. Rubel, Esq., is the owner of Furia Rubel Communications Inc., a public relations and marketing agency with a niche in legal communications. A former Philadelphia trial attorney and public relations expert, Gina is the author of Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers. Gina and her PR and marketing firm have won numerous awards for legal communications, public relations, media relations, strategic planning, corporate philanthropy and leadership. She maintains a blog at www.ThePRLawyer.com, is a regular contributor to The Legal Intelligencer Blog and blogs for The Huffington Post. You can find her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ginafuriarubel or follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ginarubel.  For more information, go to www.FuriaRubel.com.

Outside Counsel Training In-House Lawyers on Providing Pro Bono

By Jaime Bochet
Of the Legal Staff

It's not always easy for in-house counsel to provide pro bono services, but a program put on by a Philadelphia public interest group is allowing them to do just that.

For the last seven years, Philadelphia LawWorks, a project of Philadelphia VIP, has sponsored an annual Corporate Pro Bono Day, giving in-house counsel the opportunity to not only provide much-needed pro bono services, but also to earn CLE credits.

CPBD provides micro-entrepreneurs the opportunity to discuss immediate and ongoing legal matters with corporate counsel from various Philadelphia-area businesses at no cost. 

This year's event is taking place this evening at the Philadelphia offices of Drinker Biddle & Reath, Philadelphia VIP  is partnering with Women’s Business Development Center, a premier small business incubator that will be providing clients for this event from their FastTrac® program, a comprehensive how-to education program for starting and successfully managing a small business.

Prior to the counseling sessions, lawyers from Drinker Biddle will provide a continuing legal education seminar on the corporate formation of micro-entrepreneurs to the in-house counsel for one CLE credit.

In-house counsel who will be offering their pro bono advice are coming from Exelon Corp., Johnson Matthey, Coty Inc., Ink, Sunoco Inc., Radian, Verizon, Comcast Corp., Chartis, Johnson & Johnson, FMC Corp., Corporation Service Co., AETNA and G Powell Holdings.

The Pro Bono Solution

Recently, I have been stuck on thinking about the economy.  Lawyers seem to have been hit a bit harder now than in 1990 and 2001.  For unemployed and underemployed lawyers, particularly the younger ones, the silver lining may be the opportunity this hiatus presents to hone your legal skills through pro bono work.  Most of us consider pro bono as a lawyer's duty to give back to the community, and without a doubt this is the primary reason for volunteering legal time.  Pro bono work, however, also can provide professional contacts and experiences that are rarely available to young lawyers at law firms.  Many nonprofit and judicial programs truly need the assistance of lawyers, and there are more than enough programs to match any lawyer's area of interest.  In fact, some opportunities are what I call "semi-pro" bono -- that is, there is some payment of fees or funding, although the fees paid are below market rates.

Many of the Philadelphia area pro bono programs are well known.  The Support Center for Child Advocates, the Education Law Center, the Juvenile Law Center, the Public Interest Center of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Bar Association's VIP Program seem like they have been around forever.  These are really terrific programs, and all lawyers should be encouraged to participate, but there are countless other programs that also could use volunteer help.  One of the Web sites that list pro bono opportunities together with a wealth of other resources is www.PAProbono.net.  The American Bar Association also has a Web site that lists its pro bono programs at www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/.  The Philadelphia Bar Association has a public interest section, and the bar Web site also lists opportunities and resources.

On the federal side, the Criminal Justice Act, or CJA, panel work pays about $100 per hour.  This work typically involves representing defendants in matters where there are conflicts with the federal public defender.  I was on the panel for a short time, and I can affirm that the cases are interesting and the opportunities to argue in federal court unparalleled, but a background in criminal law is important.  The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has an appellate CJA panel, but if a panel attorney has been appointed for trial, usually that same attorney also appears at the appellate level.  Applications for the CJA panel should be directed to the Federal Community Defender for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 215-928-1100.

The 3rd Circuit needs attorneys to volunteer for prisoner civil rights and a range of other civil appeals, including bankruptcy, ERISA, employment and some immigration matters.   The 3rd Circuit’s policy is to grant oral argument to pro bono counsel whenever possible.  For litigators, it is a real thrill to have oral argument before the 3rd Circuit, and young lawyers may be able to get that opportunity early in their careers by volunteering.  If you are interested, contact Kelly Glaum at 267-299-4904 or [email protected], or Patricia Dodszuweit at 267-299-4903 at the 3rd Circuit.  District Court also has prisoner civil rights panel and employment pro bono panels.  The panel coordinators Stephen Brown 215-994-2240 and Sam Silver 215-751-2309 for prisoner civil rights and Laurie McKinley 610-436-6060 for employment cases.  I am told that contingent fee arrangements are available for some of the panel employment cases.

Lawyers also can participate in court arbitration programs.  All eligible young lawyers should become arbitrators in the Court of Common Pleas Arbitration Program.  There are some prerequisites (one year in practice, arbitration CLE, prior trial experience), but it is a great way to learn how to try cases from the perspective of the finder of fact.  You also can become a District Court arbitrator for cases that are valued at under $150,000 if you have been in practice for five years.  Some payment is available to arbitrators for both the federal and common pleas programs.

Charlotte E. Thomas
Wolf Block LLP
www.wolfblock.com
[email protected]