Education

University of Virginia School of Law, J.D. (1994)

Amherst College, B.A., magna cum laude (1991)

Admissions

Pennsylvania

New Jersey

United States Supreme Court

United States Courts of Appeals for the Second and Third Circuits

United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey

“Letters of Intent: Be Careful What You Wish For,” accredited CLE seminar presented with Gregory Gosfield, November 18, 2014

“Brief Writing,” accredited CLE seminar, February 7, 2008

Representative Matters:

• obtained, on behalf of private equity partnership, its sponsor and its principal, dismissal of all claims, including conversion, unjust enrichment, fraudulent transfer, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy, rescission, fraudulent and negligent misrepresentations and violations of federal and state securities acts, by investors in partnership who asserted their investments were taken without proper authorization;
• conducted a forensic audit and co-authored a report for The Harrisburg Authority regarding accumulation of more than $300 million in debt related to the Harrisburg municipal incinerator;
• successfully defended an appeal in Pennsylvania Supreme Court of grant of gaming license to one of two successful applicants in Philadelphia and obtained order from Pennsylvania Supreme Court in original proceeding directing City to grant zoning approvals to gaming licensee;
• obtained multi-million dollar verdict for Fortune 50 company involving breach of retrospective equity adjustment agreement by client's co-equity sponsors in foreign power plant project;
• obtained order on appeal vacating summary judgment against client on issue of first impression in federal courts regarding application of overtime laws to employee benefits offered through Section 125 "cafeteria plan";
• obtained then-record damage award under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999, recovering the maximum amount of statutory damages available under the Act, plus all attorney's fees and costs and possession of the five domain names in question, then defended the verdict on appeal;
• obtained summary judgment for investor in convertible debentures requiring issuer to deliver common stock to the investor worth more than $1.2 million on the investor's $50,000 investment and to pay the investor's attorney's fees and costs;
• jointly obtained multi-million dollar trial verdict for equipment finance lender against borrower and guarantors, recovering all principal and accrued interest, plus attorney’s fees and costs, then defended the verdict on appeal;
• represented broker-dealers, issuers and other market participants in responding to subpoenas and other inquiries from the SEC, FINRA and Department of Justice;
• obtained a zero damages verdict in favor of a property owner after summary judgment was granted against owner for breach of a lease/purchase agreement;
• jointly obtained a defense verdict in federal jury trial of a retaliatory discharge claim by former employee;
• successfully defended beneficiary of a business trust in an action brought by the trustees of the trust for advancement of the trustees' litigation expenses incurred in a breach of fiduciary duty action against trustees;
• defeated preliminary injunction request by neighbors and local residents' groups seeking to enjoin permitted demolition of allegedly historically valuable buildings on behalf of developer seeking to build new construction on the site;
• obtained dismissal of action against attorney for defamation, tortious interference with contract, invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy brought by party who had contract with the attorney's client because of the attorney's conduct in representing his client;
• obtained reversal by United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit of 137 of 138 counts of conviction for violation of federal customs laws and vacation of sentence on plain error review by convincing court to adopt interpretation of statute contrary to that adopted by three other Courts of Appeals; and
• successfully defended on appeal summary judgment in favor of a bank against a claim by junior mortgagee that the bank had violated the junior mortgagee's rights by failing to give adequate notice of sheriff's sale of property in which both parties held interest.