AV PREEMINENT LAWYERS

Rawle & Henderson LLP is pleased to announce that 21 attorneys were named 2017 AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Preeminent® rating, the highest rating given by Martindale-Hubbell’s® Peer Review Ratings™ system. An AV Preeminent® rating demonstrates that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence. The rating is the result of evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the U.S. and Canada. AV Preeminent attorneys have achieved a very high general ethical standards rating and a legal ability numerical rating.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Timothy J. Abeel is Chair of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Section and has defended transportation companies in the state and federal courts of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware for more than 30 years. Tim graduated, magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Albany and received his J.D. from the Temple University School of Law. He was one of the founders of the Trucking Industry Defense Association (TIDA) and he served as President of TIDA in 2000-2001. From 1994 to 2003, he was a member of the TIDA Board of Directors. He is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. Tim has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for 13 consecutive years and as AV Preeminent from 1998 to 2017.

Carl D. Buchholz, III, is Chair of the Maritime, Insurance Coverage and Appellate Sections. His federal appellate practice includes an argument before the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. His state appellate practice includes seven arguments before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and oral arguments before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, the Pennsylvania Superior Court, and the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division. From 2006–2012, Carl served as a member of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, including a term as Board Chair. Carl has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for the last 13 years and has been rated AV Preeminent every year since 1985.

Fred B. Buck has been a litigator and trial lawyer for over 30 years. He is Chair of the firm’s Casualty and Professional Liability Sections. Fred earned an A.B., cum laude, from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Temple University School of Law. He has represented clients in high exposure cases in many diverse areas of the law, including general negligence, civil rights, product liability, professional liability, commercial motor vehicle, and construction site accidents. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He has been rated AV Preeminent from 2001 to 2017.

Evan S. Eisner focuses his practice on defending catastrophic loss claims, products liability claims, commercial and toxic tort claims. He earned his B.A., cum laude, from Kenyon College, and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and California, as well as U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Evan has been rated AV Preeminent from 2001 to 2017.

Charles A. Fitzpatrick, III, has extensive experience defending medical malpractice, nursing home liability, pharmaceutical and catastrophic injury cases. He is a member of the bar of Pennsylvania, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Charles has lectured extensively to attorneys and physicians on the law of medical malpractice. He has been chosen as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for 13 consecutive years and has been rated AV Preeminent for the last 34 years.

Kathlyn C. Gorman is Of Counsel to the firm in our Philadelphia and New York City offices. She concentrates her practice in the areas of workers’ compensation, insurance coverage, commercial motor vehicle matters and employment relations. Kate earned her J.D. from Widener University in 1991 and her B.A. from the University of New Hampshire in 1983. Kate is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and North Carolina, as well as the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina. She has been rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.

Thomas A. Kuzmick is Chair of the Product Liability Section. His practice has concentrated on product liability and catastrophic injury litigation for 35 years. He has tried in excess of 50 cases to verdict in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, most of which included damages of seven and eight figures. Clients regularly retain Tom shortly before trial to defend catastrophic injury cases. He is frequently invited by legal and manufacturing organizations to lecture on product liability litigation. Tom was a member of the firm’s Executive Committee for 22 years, from 1994-2016. He has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for 13 consecutive years and has been ranked AV Preeminent for 22 consecutive years.

John H. McCarthy has more than 25 years of litigation experience and focuses his practice on the defense of premises liability and construction accident claims. John is a cum laude graduate of the Villanova University School of Law where he served as an Editor of the Villanova Law Review. He has published numerous articles on developments in premises liability and construction law. John has repeatedly been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since the program’s inception in 2004. He has been rated AV Preeminent by the Martindale-Hubbell Rating from 1997 to 2017.

William C. McGovern focuses his practice on defending medical malpractice, nursing home liability, pharmaceutical and catastrophic injury cases in the state and federal courts of Pennsylvania, as well as appellate arguments in the courts of review of the same jurisdictions. He is a member of the Pennsylvania bar, as well as the bar of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He earned an A.B. degree from St. Joseph’s College and he received his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law. Bill has been rated AV Preeminent from 2011 to 2017.

John C. McMeekin II is a partner 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 as well as the Supreme Court of the United States. He has been published in professional and law review journals on a variety of topics related to toxic tort and environmental litigation. His significant cases can be found in the BNA Law Reports and Law360. He has been elected Section Secretary of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association. John has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer and has been rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.

Peter J. Neeson is Chair of the Environmental Law and Toxic Torts Sections. He has been involved in numerous toxic tort matters in multi-district litigation and class action cases in both state and federal courts, including formaldehyde, multiple chemical sensitivity, sick building, latex glove, benzene, underground storage tank, silica, orthopedic bone screw, asbestos litigation and CERCLA Superfund cases. Peter has been selected as National Coordinating Counsel in the FRT, asbestos, latex glove and PPA drug litigation. In 2007 he served as Chair of the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association. In 2012 Peter received the prestigious TIPS James K. Carroll Leadership Award. Since 2009 he has been a member of the National Judicial College’s Board of Trustees and has served as the Board’s Chair and Treasurer. Peter has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer and has been rated AV Preeminent from 1995 to 2017.

David Ira Rosenbaum is Chair of the Commercial Litigation and Commercial Transactions Sections. As a litigator, David represents corporate clients in a wide variety of complex commercial matters. He also has an active Product Liability and Personal Injury defense practice. As a transactional attorney, David has handled complex, multi-million-dollar asset purchase agreements, employment contracts, physician contracts, real property leases and purchase agreements, joint ventures and vendor agreements. David graduated cum laude from Temple University School of Law and earned an A.B. in Political Economy from Vassar College. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, the District of New Jersey, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. David has been rated AV Preeminent from 2001 to 2017.

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 was recently appointed as a Vice-Chair for the ABA TIPS Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Law Committee for 2016-2017 and is also a member of the ABA’s Diversity Committee. Zach has been rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell for the last five years. He was also selected as a Pennsylvania Rising Star by Super Lawyers from 2010 to 2014. Zach regularly speaks on workers’ compensation, practice and procedure and appellate advocacy topics at legal education seminars for attorneys, employers, insurance companies and claims industry groups.

Jack Snyder, Chair of the Catastrophic Loss and Medical Professional Liability Sections, focuses on the defense of catastrophic losses, with emphasis on construction, industrial, pharmaceutical, medical malpractice and product liability matters. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. For six years, Jack was a Hearing Committee member of the Disciplinary Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He was also liaison counsel to the Medical Care Availability & Reduction of Error Fund (M-Care), formerly CAT Fund, on behalf of physicians in the Philadelphia Phen-Fen litigation. Jack is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. He has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for the last 13 years and AV Preeminent for the last 15 years.

Dennis J. Valenza concentrates his practice in the areas of mass tort and environmental litigation. He has handled a variety of complex litigation matters, including asbestos, product liability, toxic tort, insurance coverage and workplace violence cases in state and federal courts in jurisdictions throughout the country. He received his J.D. from Temple University School of Law and B.A. from Binghamton University. Dennis is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He is a member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bar Associations. He has been rated AV Preeminent for the last 17 years.

Brett A. Wolfson has been with Rawle & Henderson LLP since 2003 and is rated AV Preeminent. Brett’s practice focuses on defense litigation and trial of catastrophic injury cases involving products, commercial motor vehicle, medical malpractice, construction/industrial/workplace, and premises liability. Brett serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Dispute Resolution Center of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. He represents clients pro bono through the Support Center for Child Advocates and is a major fund raiser for the National MS Society, for which he also serves on the New Jersey Government Relations Committee Advisory Committee. Brett earned his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law in 1999 and his B.A. in Philosophy from West Chester University in 1993.

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

Eric K. Falk focuses his practice on defending companies in toxic tort litigation. He is a member of the national trial team for a Fortune 100 company and has been admitted pro hac vice in numerous jurisdictions across the country to handle trials for clients. Eric is currently a Vice Chair of the ABA Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Committee. He is a member of the DRI Toxic Tort Committee and is a former chair of the DRI Industrywide Litigation Committee. Eric 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 has been rated AV Preeminent by his peers for 14 consecutive years.

Julie Nord Friedman concentrates her practice on the defense of manufacturers, suppliers and contractors in mass and toxic tort litigation, with an emphasis on asbestos litigation. She is a member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. Julie earned her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and her B.A. from the American University in Washington, D.C. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of West Virginia. Julie has been rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell for the last four years.

NEW YORK CITY

Robert A. Fitch is the resident partner in our New York City office. Bob concentrates his practice in the defense of architects and engineers, construction, medical and oral surgery malpractice claims, and commercial motor vehicle litigation. He received his undergraduate degree from Syracuse University and his J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law. He is admitted to practice in New York since 1974, as well as in federal courts in Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He has tried over 100 cases to verdict and is a member of the Defense Research Institute, Federal Bar Council, PIAA and Trucking Industry Defense Association. Bob has been selected as a New York Metro Super Lawyer and has been rated AV Preeminent for the last 33 years.

Anthony D. Luis focuses his practice on the defense of clients involving commercial motor vehicle litigation, medical malpractice, oral surgery and dental malpractice, architectural and engineering malpractice, construction litigation, workers’ compensation and commercial litigation. Anthony earned his J.D. from Western New England University School of Law and his B.A. in Political Science and English from State University of New York at Geneseo. He is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, and before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Anthony has been rated AV Preeminent for the last two years.

LONG ISLAND

Paul E. Blutman, the resident partner in our Long Island office, concentrates his practice on the defense of medical and dental professionals, hospitals, nursing homes, products manufacturers’ liability, premises liability, toxic torts, auto liability, and commercial and business litigation. He earned both his J.D. and B.A. degrees from Hofstra University. He is a recipient of the Hofstra University School of Law Distinguished Alumni Award, OMSNIC Rising Star Award and the Hofstra Law Distinguished Faculty Award. He is admitted to practice in the courts of the State of New York, as well as the Federal Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He has been listed in New York Magazine’s Leaders in the Law for metropolitan New York City in the fields of litigation and medical malpractice; he has been selected as a Legal Eagle in medical malpractice in Nassau and Suffolk Counties by Long Island Pulse Magazine. In addition, he was listed as a “Top Rated Lawyer” by American Lawyer and The New York Law Journal in 2016. He has been rated AV Preeminent from 1990 to 2017.

  RRV21N3.pdf