NATIONAL JUDICIAL COLLEGE
Peter J. Neeson, a partner in the Philadelphia office of Rawle & Henderson LLP, is now Chair of the Board of Trustees of the National Judicial College, as of June 2014. He was appointed Chair-elect at the Board’s June 2013 meeting and will succeed Mark Tratos of Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Peter has served on the College’s Board for five years and has also served as its Treasurer.
A practicing trial attorney for 35 years, Peter is chair of Rawle & Henderson’s Environmental Law and Toxic Tort section. Peter has been involved in numerous toxic tort matters in multi-district litigation and class action cases in both state and federal courts, including benzene, underground storage tank, silica, orthopedic bone screw and asbestos litigation among others. He has been selected as National Coordinating Counsel in the FRT, asbestos, latex glove and PPA drug litigation. In 2007, he served as Chair of TIPS (Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association). In 2012 Peter received the prestigious ABA/TIPS James K. Carroll Leadership Award in part for his efforts in founding the TIPS Trial and Leadership Academies. He has been rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer.
The National Judicial College was founded in 1963 and is the nation’s leading provider of judicial education. Judges from all areas of the judicial system, including those working in the limited and general jurisdiction fields, as well as administrative law, tribal, and military judges, participate in the judicial education programs offered at the College. The NJC presents an average of 90 courses/programs annually, with more than 4,000 judges attending from all 50 states, U.S. territories and more than 150 countries. The NJC is located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno.
Peter can be reached directly at: (215) 575-4320 • pneeson@rawle.com
ABA TIPS
Nigel A. Greene, a partner in the Philadelphia office of Rawle & Henderson LLP, has been appointed Vice-Chair of the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS) Commercial Transportation Litigation General Committee for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Nigel’s term will continue through August 4, 2015. His appointment is in recognition of his professional abilities and reputation among 25,000 TIPS members. This will be the second one-year term that Nigel has served in this position. Nigel focuses his practice on the defense of commercial motor vehicles, complex commercial litigation and casualty 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. Courts 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.
Nigel can be reached directly at: (215) 575-4278 • ngreene@rawle.com
Valerie Kellner, a partner in the Philadelphia office, was a panelist on the program “A Day in the Life of an Attorney Discussion” at American Heritage School in Delray Beach, Florida, in May 2014. The program was part of the ABA TIPS Education Awareness Project, which goes into high schools around the country to encourage students to enter the practice of law. She also participated in another presentation of this program at UIC College-Prep Charter School in Chicago, Illinois, in February 2014. Valerie concentrates her practice on product liability, catastrophic injury, premises liability and construction law matters. She graduated from Rutgers Law School in 1997 and is admitted to practice in the federal and state courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Valerie is active in ABA TIPS and was recently appointed as the Chair-Elect for the Public Relations Committee and a vice-chair for the Trial Techniques Committee of ABA TIPS. Valerie is currently a member of the ABA TIPS CLE Board as well as a member of the Long Range Planning Committee. She previously served as the Chairperson for the Products Liability Committee and is still actively involved. She also served as the Newsletter Editor for the Products Liability Committee.
Valerie can be reached directly at: (215) 575-4292 • vkellner@rawle.com
TIPS/ABOTA NATIONAL TRIAL ACADEMY
Cheng I. To, an associate in the Philadelphia office, attended the 2014 TIPS/ABOTA National Trial Academy at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, in April 2014. Cheng was one of 23 participants who graduated from this selective and intensive trial practice program. The week-long program has been recognized as the “Top Boot Camp for Lawyers” by the ABA Journal. Cheng was able to refine her courtroom presentation and jury assessment skills during this course, which culminated in a jury trial of a catastrophic brain injury before an actual Nevada jury. Cheng concentrates her practice on the defense of commercial motor vehicle companies, casualty and premises liability matters, and employment law matters. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 2004 with a B.A. in Philosophy and earned her J.D. from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law in 2007. She is admitted to practice in the state courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, respectively, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania and the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.
Cheng can be reached directly at: (215) 575-4295 • cto@rawle.com
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