NEW PARTNERS
Rawle & Henderson LLP is pleased to announce that Craig D. Baron have joined the firm as a partner.
Craig Baron is a partner in our New York City office. Craig focuses his law practice on aviation litigation and environmental, mass and toxic tort litigation. He has served as National and Local Counsel to several Fortune 500 companies regarding asbestos and other toxic tort liability. He has handled all aspects of the defense of these claims from discovery through trial. Mr. Baron has counseled and defended insurers regarding pollution, health hazard and asbestos-related matters. He has negotiated coverage-in-place-agreements, policy commutations and structured settlements and has defended clients in coverage litigation. Craig earned his J.D. from Fordham University School of Law in 2001 and his B.A. from Brandeis University in 1998. He was selected as a New York Rising Star by Super Lawyers and Law & Politics Magazine in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York, and also the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He is a member of the American Bar Association and New York County Lawyers Association. Prior to joining Rawle & Henderson LLP, Craig was a partner with an international insurance litigation firm based in Manhattan.
Craig can be reached directly at (212) 323-7073 • cbaron@rawle.com
NEW YORK CASE LAW SEMINAR
Robert A. Fitch and Anthony D. Luis presented a seminar to insurance claims professionals at XL Catlin in February 2018. Their presentation was titled “Updates in New York Case Law and Trends.”
Robert A. Fitch is the resident partner in our New York City office. He concentrates his practice on 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. Bob 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 was named a New York Metro Super Lawyer in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 by the publishers of Law & Politics. He has a peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell of AV (the highest).
Bob can be reached directly at (212) 323-7070 • rfitch@rawle.com
Anthony D. Luis is a partner in our New York City office. He concentrates his practice on the defense of clients involving architects & engineers malpractice, casualty & premises liability, commercial motor vehicle litigation, medical malpractice, oral surgery & dental malpractice, construction defect cases, workers’ compensation and commercial litigation. He served as an Assistant District Attorney in Queens as a prosecutor in the Homicide Investigation Unit, Domestic Violence Unit, and the Felony Trial Bureau where he tried numerous cases to verdict including jury trials. He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. Anthony received his J.D. at Western New England University School of Law in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1999. He earned a B.A. in Political Science and English in 1996 from State University of New York at Geneseo. He is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, as well as 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 can be reached directly at (212) 323-7063 • aluis@rawle.com
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION SEMINAR
Zachary M. Rubinich, a partner in our Philadelphia office, presented a seminar to insurance industry professionals in Pennsauken, New Jersey, in March 2017. The “Evolving Issues” seminar focused on Pennsylvania workers’ compensation topics, developments and recent case law, including: analysis of the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (Act 16 of 2016) and implementation; compound creams and pharmacy ownership issues; opioid use, abuse and Utilization Reviews; defending workplace harassment claims; and Compromise & Release Agreement language updates.
Zach 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-Elect of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice (TIPS) Workers’ Compensation and Employers’ Liability Law Committee for 2018-2019. In addition, Zach has been 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 sixth consecutive year in 2018. 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
CHILD ADVOCACY PRACTICE GROUP
Brett A. Wolfson was recently selected by the Philadelphia Support Center for Child Advocates to chair Rawle & Henderson LLP’s Child Advocacy Practice Group. Rawle & Henderson LLP organized the practice group in 2013 to improve coordination of individual attorneys’ pro bono efforts for the Center. Brett has been dedicated to representing clients pro bono for the Support Center since 2010 and has been actively involved in efforts to raise funds for the Support Center.
Rawle & Henderson has assisted the Support Center since the program’s inception in 1977 as an advocate for victims of child abuse and neglect in the city. The Support Center provides legal assistance and social service advocacy for abused and neglected children in Philadelphia County. Child Advocates is one of the most successful volunteer agencies serving children in the country.
Brett A. Wolfson is a partner in our Philadelphia office. He focuses his practice on catastrophic injury and/or death cases involving products, construction/industrial/workplace, commercial motor vehicle, medical professional and premises liability. He serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Dispute Resolution Center of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. He 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 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 is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.
Brett can be reached directly at: (215) 575-4255 • bwolfson@rawle.com
ABA LAW STUDENT COMPETITION
Fred B. Buck, a partner in our Philadelphia office, sat as a judge for an American Bar Association Regional Trial Competition held at the Philadelphia Center for Criminal Justice in February 2018. The regional competition included Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Law schools in the region sent teams who tried case exercises with witnesses. Judges presided over the trial, scored the participants and offered verbal critiques after the trial was concluded. Every year the organizers request Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers to sit as judges. This year, Fred and about thirty other Fellows served as judges during the four-day competition.
Fred Buck has been an active litigator and trial lawyer for over 30 years. He is Chair of the firm’s Casualty and Professional Liability Practice Groups. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Fred 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 has tried many jury and nonjury cases in the Courts of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, Berks, Bucks, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Pike and York Counties as well as in the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania. He has argued appeals in the Pennsylvania appellate courts and in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He has taught as an adjunct professor of law at the Villanova University School of Law. He has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer from 2004 through 2018.
Fred can be reached directly at: (215) 575-4317 • fbuck@rawle.com
ABA TOXIC TORTS &
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CLE MEETING
Julie Nord Friedman spoke at the ABA Toxic Torts & Environmental Law 27th Annual Spring CLE Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona in April 2018. She participated in a panel session titled “Ethics Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them.” This session highlighted some of the latest court rulings and ethics opinions that address the rules of professional conduct and ethics governing lawyers. Julie and other panelists discussed ethical issues practitioners confront in protecting privileges, discovery, depositions, settlement and law firm management.
Julie is a partner in our Pittsburgh office. She concentrates her practice on the defense of manufacturers, suppliers and contractors in mass and toxic tort litigation, with an emphasis on asbestos litigation. Her clients range from Fortune 500 companies to regional contractors and suppliers. She is a National Coordinating Counsel for one client and she also acts as trial counsel in the defense of claims in mass tort and toxic tort litigation and regularly handles matters for multiple clients in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Julie is active in the Defense Research Institute and is a member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. Julie has been rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. She earned her J.D. in 1995 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and her B.A. in 1992 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 can be reached directly at: (412) 261-5709 • jfriedman@rawle.com
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