CLM ANNUAL CONFERENCE

John C. McMeekin II will speak at the 2019 Claims and Litigation Management (CLM) Annual Conference. The CLM Conference is being held in Orlando, Florida, from March 13-15, 2019. John will be a panelist in a session titled “Is There Jurisdiction? The Evolution of Personal Jurisdiction under Daimler and Its Progeny.” The session will focus on the application of the recent Supreme Court cases of Daimler, BNSF Railway, and Bristol-Myers Squibb by appellate and trial courts and examine the “new” factors to consider when a defendant is considering challenging jurisdiction. The panel will also cover the current battleground litigation that includes consent jurisdiction and consent by waiver as well as due process considerations. Panelists will also discuss cases on the horizon and why these cases are important.

John C. McMeekin II is a partner in our Philadelphia office and a member of our Executive Committee.  He represents clients as local, national and trial counsel in environmental, toxic and mass torts product and related class actions, products liability, insurance coverage and aviation litigation. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law. John is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland and related U.S. District Courts. John is a former firefighter and emergency medical technician, and is Hazmat certified. He has been published in professional and law review journals on a variety of topics related to toxic tort and environmental litigation. He was recently elected Vice Chair of the American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section. He is currently serving as Section Secretary of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section.  He also served as the Section Revenue Officer, Chair of the Toxic Tort & Environmental Law Committee, Chair of the International Law Committee, Chair of the CLE Board and is currently co-Chairing the Corporate Counsel Initiative Task Force.  In addition to his service with the ABA, John chaired the Philadelphia Bar Association Environmental and Toxic Tort Law Committee and has been a member of the Delaware Valley Environmental Inn of Court. His significant cases can be found in the BNA Law Reports and Law 360. He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and has been selected as a 2019 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer.

John can be reached directly at (215) 575-4324 • jmcmeekin@rawle.com

R&H RANKS AMONG TOP PA FIRMS IN SIZE & DIVERSITY

Rawle & Henderson LLP has been ranked 32nd in size among the top 100 firms in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for 2018, according to the PaLaw Annual Report on the Legal Profession, a supplement to The Legal Intelligencer. This ranking is based on total number of attorneys in Pennsylvania. Rawle & Henderson LLP is ranked 22nd largest in the City of Philadelphia in the PaLaw Annual Report. The Report was published in December 2018.  In addition, the firm ranked 10th in Pennsylvania by percentage of female attorneys (39.24%) and 21st in Pennsylvania by percentage of minority attorneys (7.59%).  Rawle & Henderson LLP is committed to diversity in the workplace at all levels, including partners, associates, paralegals and staff. The firm has participated and sponsored diversity-promoting events with the American Bar Association, Philadelphia Bar Association and local universities and colleges. As the nation’s oldest law firm, established in 1783, Rawle & Henderson LLP remains committed to increasing its diversity.

ABA TIPS WORKERS’ COMP SEMINAR

Zachary M. Rubinich, a partner in our Philadelphia office, will speak at the 2019 ABA Workers’ Compensation Midwinter Seminar and Conference. The Conference, co-sponsored by the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law and Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section, is being held March 14-16 in Coral Gables, Florida. Zach will be the Lead Moderator for a panel on “Ethical Considerations, Dilemmas and Obligations in Workers’ Compensation Law.” The panel, composed of attorneys, an insurance professional and a workers’ compensation judge, will examine the ethics and professionalism of employers, attorneys and adjusters in the workers’ compensation claims system and how claims can be disputed without sacrificing civility. Panelists will discuss identification of the client, scope of representation, basic duties owed to the client, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, the role of the lawyer as an advocate, advertising and solicitation of clients, and managing fees and billing.

In addition, Zach will present a Lorman Education Services workers’ compensation webinar on February 26 on “Work-Related Stress Claims: Overview, the Law and Strategies for Defense.” He will discuss how you can protect yourself from workplace stress claims, one of the fastest growing segments of the workers’ compensation system. He will address many of the difficult issues that arise when handling a work-related stress claim, including legal burdens of proof, various types of stress claims and available benefits. He will also discuss how to handle the defense of these claims to reduce or eliminate costs.

Zachary M. Rubinich focuses his practice on the defense of insurance carriers, self-insured entities and third-party administrators against workers’ compensation claims in Pennsylvania. Based on his extensive experience, the Pennsylvania Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Law Section has certified him as Specialist in the practice of workers’ compensation law. Zach has handled all aspects of litigation before workers’ compensation judges, the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, the Commonwealth Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.  He routinely counsels employers, insurance carriers and third party administrators on claims management, workplace safety, return-to-work programs, employment practices and risk management. Zach has been appointed the Chair of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice (TIPS) Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Law Committee for 2018-2019. He served as Vice-Chair of the ABA TIPS Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Law Committee for 2015-2016, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018.  In addition, Zach was appointed as Vice-Chair of the 2017-2018 American Bar Association Standing Committee for Diversity and Inclusion. Zach has been rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell for the seventh consecutive year in 2019. He has been selected as a 2019 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers. He was selected as a Pennsylvania Rising Star by Super Lawyers from 2010 to 2014.

Zach can be reached directly at (215) 575-4340 • zrubinich@rawle.com

PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL

The Philadelphia Business Journal has ranked Rawle & Henderson LLP in the top 25 Philadelphia law firms in its 2019 Book of Lists. The firm placed 24th among the top 100 firms named by the Business Journal. The results were based on number of area attorneys. Rawle & Henderson has a total of 76 attorneys in its three Delaware Valley offices (Philadelphia, PA, Marlton, NJ, and Wilmington, DE).  In addition, the firm was ranked 8th among the oldest area businesses. Rawle & Henderson LLP was founded in 1783. The seven older businesses are Saint-Gobain Corp. (1665), Christ Church and Burial Ground (1695), The Carpenters Company of City and County of Philadelphia (1724), The Library Company of Philadelphia (1731), The Rowland Company (1732), Penn Medicine (1751), and The Philadelphia Contributionship (1752).

PENNSYLVANIA BAR INSTITUTE SEMINAR

Nigel A. Greene, a partner in our Philadelphia office, will be on the faculty for a Pennsylvania Bar Institute seminar on “Truck Accident Litigation” on February 22, 2019. The seminar will be held at the CLE Conference Center in the Wanamaker Building in Philadelphia. Nigel will sit on and moderate a panel of experienced litigators who will discuss commercial vehicle federal regulations, available truck technology, handling document requests, state police investigations, deposing truck company representatives, and liability of lessors, brokers, shippers and others. The course will include practice pointers on specific case types and a panel discussion on topics of particular interest to trucking and truck litigation.

Nigel Greene focuses his practice on the defense of commercial motor vehicle companies and their insurers, municipalities, commercial general liability, and premises liability matters. In addition, he serves as an arbitrator in Philadelphia County. He is admitted to practice in the state courts of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994 and his B.A. from the Virginia Polytechnic and State University in 1989. He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Commercial Transportation Litigation General Committee.  This is the third one-year term that Nigel has served in this position.  He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Trucking Industry Defense Association.

Nigel can be reached directly at (215) 575-4278 • ngreene@rawle.com

SUPPORT CENTER FOR CHILD ADVOCATES

Brett A. Wolfson, a partner in our Philadelphia office, participated in the Philadelphia Support Center for Child Advocates’ Toy Drive on December 22, 2018. He was a volunteer driver and helped deliver toys and gifts to local children in North Philadelphia, Kensington and Southwest Philadelphia. This year’s campaign delivered toys and gifts to nearly 1,500 children. 

Rawle & Henderson has provided pro bono representation for the Support Center since the program’s inception in 1977 as an advocate for victims of child abuse and neglect in and around Philadelphia. Brett has represented clients pro bono for the Support Center since 2010 and is Chair of Rawle & Henderson’s Child Advocacy Practice Group. 

Brett focuses his practice on catastrophic injury and/or death cases involving products, construction/industrial/workplace, commercial motor vehicle, medical professional liability and premises liability.  He serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Dispute Resolution Center of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. He earned his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law and his B.A. in Philosophy from West Chester University.  He has also served under two Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judges, as a law clerk to the Honorable Joseph D. O’Keefe while he was Supervising Judge of the Complex Litigation Center and the Honorable Sandra Mazer Moss as a Team Leader for a major jury program.

Brett can be reached directly at (215) 575-4255 • bwolfson@rawle.com

PITTSBURGH/WEST VIRGINIA

Robert L. Hogan has joined our Pittsburgh office as Of Counsel to the Firm. Robert has over 20 years of experience in complex litigation. He focuses his law practice on mass and toxic torts, professional liability, product liability, environmental, insurance coverage, construction and appellate matters. Robert earned his J.D. from the College of William & Mary in 1992. He earned a B.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering from Virginia Tech in 1989.

He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and also the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of West Virginia.

Before joining Rawle & Henderson LLP, Robert was a Deputy Attorney General and Director of the Appellate Division for the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office from 2016 to 2018. He formerly practiced with a corporate defense law firm in Charleston, West Virginia from 2008 to 2016 and a boutique defense litigation firm in Huntington, West Virginia from 1997 through 2007. Robert has considerable class action litigation experience and has represented a variety of clients including prominent entities in the chemical, pharmaceutical, mining, manufacturing and insurance industries as well as members of the health care, engineering and legal professions.

From 2007 through 2018, Robert served as an adjunct instructor at Marshall University, teaching a graduate-level engineering management course in Engineering Law addressing the American legal system, professional liability and ethics, general tort liability, contracts, agency relationships, intellectual property and other legal issues.

Robert can be reached directly at (412) 261-5753 • rhogan@rawle.com

PHILADELPHIA

Jason B. Rojas has joined our Philadelphia office as an associate. He concentrates his law practice in the areas of insurance coverage, premises liability and product liability.

Jason earned his J.D. from the Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2014. While attending law school, he participated in the Intensive Trial Advocacy Program. He was President of the Latin American Law School Association and Corresponding Secretary for the Student Bar Association. He was a judicial intern for the Honorable Robert P. Coleman in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas and an intern with the Federal Public Defender’s office in the U.S. District Court for the District of  Delaware. Jason also provided legal representation to victims of domestic violence for the Delaware Civil Clinic as a certified legal intern.

He earned a Master of Science degree in Justice Studies from Southern New Hampshire University in 2011. He earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Arizona in 2008.

Jason is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and also the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Prior to joining Rawle & Henderson LLP, Jason was an attorney with a personal injury law firm in northern New Jersey.

Jason can be reached directly at (215) 575-4218 • jrojas@rawle.com

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