PaLaw 2015 Annual Report
Rawle & Henderson LLP ranked among top 30 PA law firms in size & diversity

Rawle & Henderson LLP has been ranked 28th among the top 100 firms in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for 2015, according to the PaLaw Annual Report on the Legal Profession, a supplement to The Legal Intelligencer. The firm’s ranking is based on total number of attorneys in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Rawle & Henderson LLP is ranked 22nd largest, based on total number of attorneys, in the City of Philadelphia in the PaLaw Annual Report. The Report was published in January 2016.

In addition, the firm ranked 21st in Pennsylvania by percentage of female attorneys (33.7%) and 22nd in Pennsylvania by percentage of minority attorneys (7.2%).

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.
 

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION SEMINARS

Claudio J. DiPaolo, chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section, presented a seminar on “Retaliatory Discharge Under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act” to claims professionals and risk managers in Phoenix, Arizona, on February 11, 2016.  His presentation examined the effect of employee termination on  workers’ compensation benefits.

Claudio DiPaolo has focused his practice in the area of workers’ compensation for over 15 years. He has defended workers’ compensation claims on behalf of self-insured corporations, insurance carriers, and various political entities. Claudio began his career with an appointment to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry as an opinion writer, during which he drafted administrative law decisions involving adjudicated workers’ compensation matters.  In this capacity, he also assisted in the editing of the treatise, Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation: Practice and Procedure.  He has given presentations to various groups and clients throughout the country in regard to establishing workplace safety programs, reducing workers’ compensation costs, compliance with federal and state employment laws, and effective claims handling.  Claudio studied Art History in Rome, Italy, and Political Science at Duquesne University.  He earned his J.D. degree from the Delaware campus of the Widener University School of Law in 1993.   He has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers and Law & Politics Magazine.

Claudio can be reached directly at: (215) 575-4343 • cdipaolo@rawle.com

Zachary M. Rubinich, a partner in the Workers’ Compensation Section, will speak at the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section’s Workers’ Compensation Midwinter Seminar and Conference on March 11, 2016, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Zach will be the moderator of a panel of insurance industry experts for the session “Loss Mitigation of High Value Workers’ Compensation Claims.” The panel will discuss strategies for employers, self-insureds, insurance companies and third party administrators to maximize loss-control strategies for high value claims. In addition, the panel will explain how to identify potential high value claims, cost drivers, ineffective prescription management, return to work programs, vocational rehabilitation, settlement strategy and hidden Medicare Set-Aside costs.

Zach is a Vice-Chair for the ABA TIPS Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Law Committee for 2015-2016. He 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 is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. He has been selected as a Pennsylvania Rising Star by Super Lawyers from 2010 to 2014. Rising Stars are the top 2.5 percent of attorneys in Pennsylvania who are 40 years old and younger or have been in practice for 10 years or less.

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

ABA TIPS CONFERENCE

Eric K. Falk, a partner in our Pittsburgh office, will speak at the 25th Annual ABA TIPS Toxic Torts & Environmental Law Committee Conference on April 8, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona.  Eric will be part of a panel for the session “Practice Pointer: Deal or No Deal — Negotiation Techniques in Toxic Tort and Environmental Cases.”  The session will focus on various techniques for increasing the odds that a negotiation, mediation, or arbitration in a case or claim will be a success.

The conference, titled “Trends in Toxic Torts and Environmental Law: Today, Tomorrow and Beyond,” is sponsored by the ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Toxic Torts & Environmental Law Committee.

Eric focuses his practice on defending companies in toxic tort litigation. He is currently a member of the DRI Toxic Tort Committee and is a former chair of the DRI Industrywide Litigation Committee. He received his J.D. in 1984 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and his B.S. with Honors in 1981 from the American University in Washington, D.C. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and West Virginia as well as the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of West Virginia, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was selected as a 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Mass Torts by Martindale-Hubbell, and he has been rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell from 2005 to 2016.

Eric can be reached directly at: (412) 261-5708 • efalk@rawle.com

  RRV20N3.pdf