Civitas Spring 2016, vol. I, no. 2

CIVITAS Magazine of the Widener University Commonwealth Law School

The Law School and the City Students and Faculty Tackling Sustainability and Municipal Finance Issues in Harrisburg and Beyond

Spring 2016, vol. 1, no. 2

ON THE COVER

Widener Law Commonwealth has deep roots and far-reaching impact in Harrisburg, seen here from a downtown parking garage facing the northwest. Law students focusing on sustainability and municipalities in financial distress have worked intensely on key issues in the city that the school calls home. In this issue, articles by Distinguished Law Professor John C. Dernbach, director of the school’s Environmental Law and Sustainability Center, and Professor Juliet Moringiello, an international expert in municipal bankruptcies, explore issues that face Harrisburg and other cities and show how Widener Law Commonwealth students are both learning and contributing to the search for solutions.

ABOVE: A SUPREME DEBATE All eyes were upon Widener Law Commonwealth in October when the campus hosted the only major debate held between candidates for the historic 2015 election for Pennsylvania Supreme Court. All seven of the candidates vying for the three open seats on the highest court in the state answered questions on topics ranging from current and past scandals to campaign funding and ethics. Pictured, from left, are Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey, former Philadelphia County Court of Common Please Judge Kevin M. Dougherty, Adams County Court of

Common Pleas President Judge Michael George, Superior Court Judge Judith F. Olson, Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas Judge Paul P. Panepinto, former Superior Court Judge David Wecht, and former Superior Court Judge Christine Donohue. In the November election, Dougherty, Wecht, and Donohue—all Democrats—won the top three spots. They were sworn in as new justices in January, shifting the court’s balance to five Democrats and two Republicans.

Widener University Commonwealth Law School 3800 Vartan Way, P.O. Box 69380 Harrisburg, PA 17106-9380 Phone: 717-541-3900 commonwealthlaw.widener.edu Published by the Widener University Office of University Relations Executive Editor Lou Anne Bulik Editor Sam Starnes Art Director Melanie Franz Associate Editor Julie Massing Contributing Writers John C. Dernbach Natasha Lewis Julie Massing Juliet Moringiello Photographer Melanie Franz Magazine Advisory Board Lou Anne Bulik Christian A. Johnson Mary Kate Kearney Natasha Lewis Julie Massing

For comments or questions about the magazine, please contact Natasha Lewis, director of development and alumni engagement, at nclewis@widener.edu or 717-541-3974.

contents 3 DEAN’S MESSAGE 4

IN BRIEF

8 SUSTAINABILITY AND THE CITY Taking lessons learned on maintaining and improving quality of life from the classroom into the real world.

12 WRITING THE CITY FINANCIAL CRISIS PLAYBOOK How Harrisburg has influenced discussions about municipal insolvency nationwide.

18 WE WRITE THE LAWS Alumni prominent among staff at the state’s Legislative Reference Bureau.

22 FACULTY NOTES 23

CLASS NOTES

28 THE BACK PAGE A Widener Law love story.

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DEAN’S MESSAGE What does Widener Law Commonwealth share with law schools at Notre Dame, Emory University, George Washington University, and the University of Maryland?

We join these prominent institutions as being ranked nationally

by National Jurist as one of the top twenty law schools for students interested in government law. The list of exceptional schools for public service careers was published in the winter issue of preLaw magazine, a publication of the National Jurist read by prospective law students.

Widener Law Commonwealth is the only school in Pennsylvania to make the government list.

Our honors in the area of government law, while certainly welcome and appreciated, should come as no surprise. Since the Harrisburg campus opened in 1989, we have developed close relationships with governmental bodies at every level. All three of the feature stories in this magazine focus on how Widener Law Commonwealth students, faculty, and alumni connect with issues of public governance in Harrisburg and the state: • John C. Dernbach, a distinguished professor of law and director of our Environmental Law and Sustainability Center, teaches a class in which students draft model sustainability ordinances for Pennsylvania municipalities.

• Professor Juliet Moringiello designed an innovative Cities in Crisis seminar in which the students study the causes of and solutions to municipal financial distress. Students in the seminar learn from many of the lawyers and policymakers who were involved in addressing Harrisburg’s bankruptcy and recovery.

• At the state level, the great work of our alumni resonates through all branches. At the Legislative Reference Bureau, for example, alumni from three different decades work in the state agency that drafts all of the Commonwealth’s laws and the director of the bureau is an adjunct faculty member on our campus.

These are just three examples of the vast connections Widener Law Commonwealth has to governmental entities. We are proud to be the only law school to call the state capital home, and we are committed to continuing to be a leader in the field of government law.

Dean Christian A. Johnson

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IN BRIEF Prestigious ABA Diversity Clerkship Filled by Third-Year Student Zhao “Ruby” Liu, a third-year student at Widener Law Commonwealth, earned one of only nine highly-sought after spots for the Diversity Clerkship offered by the ABA Business Law Section. Liu, a student in the law school’s business advising certificate program, was selected to participate in the diversity clerkship program and worked in Delaware last summer under Vice Chancellor Donald Parsons in the Delaware Court of Chancery, the nation’s preeminent business court.

Participants receive mentoring and guidance in the business law field and exposure to all types of business law that they may not see in the classroom.

Liu said one of the most important things she learned from her clerkship was the amount of attention and detail that must be paid when writing and reading legal documents.

“It is important to know how much to write and how much Zhao “Ruby” Liu with Delaware Court of Chancery Vice detail to include,” she said. “You Chancellor Donald Parsons, left, and Paul "Chip" Lion III, need to be careful about every 2014-2015 chair of the ABA Business Law Section. word and look at it through the chancellor’s eyes. I learned to really look at the detail and how things are written.”

As a participant in the diversity clerkship program, Liu was invited to attend the ABA 2015 Business Law Section Annual Meeting held in Chicago.

Student Wins National Writing Contest A third-year Widener Law Commonwealth student from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, has earned the top honor in a national law writing contest.

Marc Prokopchak won the Texas A&M Journal of Property Law 2015 National Writing Contest Student Edition. His submission titled “Renewing Respect for Record Notice: Cleaning up the Pennsylvania Title Wash” was the winning entry and will be published in the Texas A&M Journal of Property Law. Prokopchak became interested in the title wash topic when he was interning at the U.S. Middle District Court for Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner. “The concept immediately grabbed my interest because it is so peculiar and also seems anathema to modern property law concepts,” Prokopchak said.

Spanish Law Professor Studying Stock Market Serves as Visiting Faculty Dr. Ana F. Muñoz Pérez, a professor at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, spent the fall semester on the Widener Law Commonwealth campus as a visiting professor. In addition to her teaching duties, Muñoz Pérez collaborates with law firms and provides opinions in the area of company law and the stock market. While in Harrisburg she researched and wrote two articles about stock market issues. Her research focused in 4

particular on REPO agreements, an area in which Dean Christian A. Johnson has recently published a book. She also took time to interact with faculty and students on campus in an attempt to learn more about the structure of American higher education institutions. “Because it is a smaller campus, it was a perfect opportunity to get in touch and to be involved,” she said.

Top 20 Ranking for Government Law When preLaw magazine “sought to identify law schools that do the best job of preparing students for careers in public service,” Widener Law Commonwealth was the only school from Pennsylvania making the list of the nation’s top 20 schools for government law.

The magazine, a publication of the National Jurist, a leading news source about issues in legal education, released the rankings in its winter issue. Widener Law Commonwealth placed 17th nationwide on the government list.

“It’s rewarding that our 27–year history of offering superb legal

education in the state capitol is being recognized,” said Jill Family, a professor and director of the school’s Law and Government Institute. “Our commitment to excellence in government law is a foundation of the legal education we provide.”

The list, which comes out every two years, is based on curriculum, employment placement, student debt, salary, and loan repayment assistance programs offered by the school.

Widener Law Commonwealth received an A grade from the magazine in the employment category, which is based on the percentage of alumni who have landed jobs in government.

Inaugural Leadership Award Bestowed During an Evening at the Capitol Each year Widener Law Commonwealth’s Evening at the Capitol event brings students, faculty, alumni, and friends together for a night of networking and conversation. The November 2015 gathering included an honor for Vince DeLiberato, director of the Legislative Reference Bureau. DeLiberato, who also serves as an adjunct faculty member for the law school, earned the Government Leadership Award for his dedication to students who wish to pursue a career in state government. This was the first time the award, which was presented by state Rep. Ron Marsico, has been given.

Dean Christian A. Johnson thanked DeLiberato for his dedication in helping Widener Law Commonwealth students study for the Bar, as well as for the excellent job he does when teaching the legislative drafting courses that are important for students seeking the law and government certificate. “He dedicates his own time and resources to helping our students succeed and we see the results of that by looking at our graduates who have gone on to successful jobs in government,” Johnson said.

State Rep. Ron Marisco, at right, presented Vince For more about the DeLiberato, director of the Legislative Reference Legislative Reference Bureau Bureau and an adjunct faculty member, with the that DeLiberato directs, see Government Leadership Award. They are pictured here the feature story on page 18. with Dean Christian A. Johnson and Professor Jill Family.

Jurist-in-Residence Lecture Judge Mary H. Leavitt gave her last of three lectures as Widener Law Commonwealth’s jurist-in-residence in January. Leavitt, a Commonwealth Court judge since 2001 who was recently elected as the court’s president judge, has served as the jurist-in-residence on the Harrisburg campus since January 2014. She will finish out the post in June.

Leavitt’s lecture focused on the unique aspects of appellate judging in Pennsylvania as compared to other states and the federal appellate system. She also spoke about her personal experience as an appellate judge.

“The cases are much closer than I realized,” she said.

“I have described the judicial conference after a panel argument as a group of dedicated, hardworking, intelligent people arguing over whether the color teal is really the color blue or the color green—and there is no exact right answer. And, you would be amazed at how fired up people can get about these questions.

Personally, I think teal is green.”

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IN BRIEF New Board of Advisors Takes Shape A new Board of Advisors has been established to guide the newly renamed Widener University Commonwealth Law School.

The nine-member board will meet periodically throughout the year to provide administrators and faculty with advice from the front lines of law practice. “This is the first board focusing strictly on advising the law education we provide on the Harrisburg campus,” said Dean Christian A. Johnson. “I’m thrilled about our potential for the future. We have an excellent roster of professionals to advise us on our curriculum and other programs.”

C. Grainger Bowman has been appointed to serve as chair for the Board of Advisors. Bowman currently serves as Of Counsel at K&L Gates, LLP, in Harrisburg. He concentrates his practice of law in the areas of construction litigation, administrative and governmental law, and public contract law. Bowman has been cited since 2008 on the “Pennsylvania Super Lawyers” list published by Philadelphia Magazine.

Above: Six of the nine new Board of Advisors members with Dean Christian A. Johnson. From left: Judge P. Kevin Brobson, Vincent L. Champion, Johnson, Ann E. Fruth, Douglas M. Wolfberg, Kathryn J. Peifer, and Bret Keisling.

At right: C. Grainger Bowman.

Other members of the board include: Scott E. Blissman ‘97, attorney with Eckert Seamans in Philadelphia. He and his wife, Tanya E. Colbert Blissman ‘97, established the George C. Blissman Sr. Endowed Scholarship Fund to provide support to an outstanding student interested in pursuing a career in tax law.

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania Judge P. Kevin Brobson ‘95. Prior to being elected to serve as Commonwealth Court Judge in 2009, Brobson worked with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney’s Harrisburg office beginning in 1996 as an associate, then as a shareholder from 2003 to 2009.

Vincent L. Champion ‘01, sole proprietor of Champion Law Offices in Carlisle. Champion also is a member of the law school’s Diversity Committee and is a dedicated supporter of the Jurist Academy program.

Ann E. Fruth ‘92, a graduate of Widener Commonwealth’s first class and an adjunct member of the faculty. She also serves on the board of the newly formed Alumni Association (see page 28 for more information about it).

Bret Keisling ‘05, sole proprietor of Keisling Law Office in Harrisburg. He is very active with coaching high school moot 6

court and plans to organize Widener Law Commonwealth’s first high school moot court competition in January 2017. Bret is also vice president of the Alumni Association.

Kathryn J. Peifer ‘02, executive director of the Pennsylvania Lawyers Fund for Client Security. She travels throughout Pennsylvania providing training for attorneys to preserve the integrity and protect the good name of the legal profession.

Douglas J. Steinhardt ‘94, former five-term mayor of Lopatcong, New Jersey, serving from January 2000 through December 2014.

He is a named partner at Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader, practicing through the mid-Atlantic region in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. He created the Douglas J. Steinhardt Endowed Scholarship to support outstanding students.

Douglas M. Wolfberg ‘96, a named partner at Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, a leading EMS law firm in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

He created the Douglas M. Wolfberg Endowed Scholarship to support outstanding students.

New University President Begins Dr. Julie Wollman, previously president of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, began her tenure as the 10th president of Widener University in January. She replaces President Emeritus James T. Harris III who left Widener after 13 years to become the president of the University of San Diego last summer. Wollman is the first woman to lead the university. Prior to Edinboro, Wollman served as vice president for academic affairs at Wheelock College in Boston; vice president for academic affairs at Worcester State University in Massachusetts; and dean of the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development at Rhode Island College.

A native of Philadelphia and a graduate of Harvard University where she majored in English and American literature and minored in French, Wollman earned her master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctor of philosophy in education from New York University.

New Faces Appointed to Associate Deanships, Communications officer at a large financial institution in Lancaster, as a newspaper reporter in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and as a communications associate at a Harrisburg-based government relations firm.

Faculty Retirements From left: Michael Hussey, John Benfield, and Julie Massing

Widener Law Commonwealth started the new year with two new associate deans responsible for academic affairs and admissions and administration, as well as a communications manager.

Associate Professor Michael Hussey became the new associate dean of academic affairs in January. Hussey, who joined the faculty in 2004, will be responsible for supervising faculty development programs, organizing the academic calendar and schedule of classes, and other administrative duties as needed. He replaces D. Benjamin Barros who began his tenure as dean and professor of law at the University of Toledo School of Law last summer.

John Benfield joined in September as the associate dean of admissions and administration. Benfield was previously at the Charleston School of Law, where he served as the associate dean of admissions and administration since 2003. Benfield has been visiting undergraduate campuses across the country, speaking with potential students about Widener Law Commonwealth and the opportunities the school provides. His position is a new one, created after the separation of Widener Law Commonwealth from the Delaware Law School.

Julie Massing joined the administration in September as communications manager. She is responsible for the public relations efforts of the school, as well as management of social media channels and the website. Massing previously has worked as a senior communications

Two longtime members of the Widener Law Commonwealth faculty retired in December.

Pat Fox, director of the Law Library, retired after 21 years.

Prior to becoming the director in July 2015, Fox held the position of assistant library director. “Guiding the library during a time period of many changes—from DOS disks to Dropbox— has been a rewarding experience,” Fox said.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Robert Power also retired. Power started at the school in as a professor in 1990 and received tenure in 1994. He has held the positions of associate dean for faculty and research development (2009-2011), H. Albert Young Fellow (2007-2009) in Constitutional Law, and vice dean (20012004). Most recently, he served in the fall semester as interim associate dean of From top: Robert academic affairs.

Power and Pat Fox Power said he really enjoyed his time at the law school helping students grasp legal principles and learning how to put them to use. “As a member of the Widener Law Commonwealth community, my best memories are of helping the new school become established in the early 1990s and then to become fully independent of the Wilmington Campus in the last few years,” he said.

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Sustainability and the City Taking Lessons Learned on Maintaining and Improving Quality of Life from the Classroom into the Real World

By John C. Dernbach Distinguished Professor of Law

S

ustainable development is the internationally and nationally recognized framework for reconciling environmental protection with economic and social development. Most of us tend to think that we have to choose between development and environment—as if we were picking which team to cheer for—development or environment. Sustainable development offers another alternative—development and environment. Its overall objective is maintaining and improving human quality of life for this and future generations.

In the United States, sustainability has been embraced in a growing number of contexts. These include green building, local and organic food, sustainable forestry, and energy efficiency.

Colleges and universities, local governments, and corporations (Microsoft aims to make its operations carbon neutral) are among the most active practitioners.

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Students in Distinguished Professor of Law John C. Dernbach’s fall 2014 Sustainability and Law course drafted ordinances presented to the Harrisburg City Council addressing various environmental issues. Above, Matt Fine ‘15, at the counter ordering from Rod Madrigal, owner of the Mad Sandwiches food truck, is the author of an ordinance—similar to one passed by City Council—that cited health and environmental benefits of food trucks.

To his right are Mark Wendaur IV ’15, author of an ordinance on focusing on installing permeable paving as a way of greening paved areas; Dernbach; and Pia Aklian ’15, who drafted an ordinance pertaining to recycling.

Photos by Melanie Franz

They all understand that the global economy, population, and environmental degradation are growing, and that there are huge unmet human needs throughout the world. They all see that we have no choice but to make economic development, job creation, and environmental protection work together rather than against each other. And they seek to translate those basic realities into reduced risks and greater opportunities.

Sustainable development will be enormously important to the careers of students now in law school, regardless of where they practice law or what kind of legal work they do. As the July 30, 2015 Final Report of the Sustainable Development Task Force of the American Bar Association states: "Going forward, lawyers will need to become involved in a broad range of sustainability issues. Younger lawyers, who represent the future of the legal profession, often understand these issues better than the lawyers who would hire them. The transition to sustainability in both governmental and private sector decision making is inevitable and will profoundly affect the legal profession."

Sustainable development is a growing part of law practice in nearly every practice area and involves many different skills. As corporate, governmental, and nongovernmental clients embrace sustainability, they expect their attorneys to have the necessary knowledge and skills, including, of course, an understanding of what sustainability means. As the ABA Task Force stated: Sustainability is affecting, or will affect, tax law, insurance, banking, finance, real estate development, environmental and energy law, among other fields. It also involves a wide range of knowledge and skills, including commercial transactions, client counseling, litigation, advocacy before governmental agencies and other bodies, and legislative drafting.

As clients increasingly demand legal work that addresses sustainable development issues, lawyers are responding to that demand. Law schools are increasingly doing the same—across the entire range of their activities, including courses, scholarship, facilities, and community service.

In the Real World My Sustainability Law and Practice class provides students with skills they will need to help clients meet their sustainability goals. These skills include application of the principles of sustainable development in specific contexts; researching local government law; legislative/ordinance drafting; giving short presentations; and client counseling. Many of these skills are essential to the practice of law in general. I adapted the class from one taught by Professor Jonathan Rosenbloom at Drake Law School in Des Moines, Iowa.

Each year, the class focuses on a local government client. Communities are an excellent place to study and practice sustainability. In addition to the reality that they already provide a rich source of experience on sustainability, the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of issues are easier to identify and experience at the local level.

In the fall of 2014, our client was the city of Harrisburg, in no small part because Mayor Eric Papenfuse campaigned on a sustainability

“This is a wonderful idea to incorporate what you are learning in class in such a real world way,” Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse told the students. “You now have the ears of the city’s movers and shakers.” platform. Students drafted proposed amendments to city ordinances, as well as justifications for their proposals. This gave them the opportunity to translate the conceptual framework of sustainability into a real-world proposal that might actually become law.

Their proposals were based on topics chosen by the city. At the end of the semester, they presented their proposals at a special meeting of City Council. “This is a wonderful idea to incorporate what you are learning in class in such a real world way,” Papenfuse said.

“You now have the ears of the city’s movers and shakers.” Since that time, Harrisburg has upgraded its recycling program and adopted a new food truck ordinance that is similar in scope, emphasis, and administration to that proposed by Matt Fine '15, a student in the class. In fall 2015, the primary client of the class was the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, which has more than 1,400 member municipalities representing more than five million people and covering 95 percent of Pennsylvania’s land area. The class researched and drafted model sustainability ordinances and wrote a narrative explaining and justifying them. The topics, chosen by the association after consultation with its members, were blight, community housing, walkability, natural gas pipeline setbacks, stormwater mitigation, rain gardens, permeable paving, and green roofs.

Before Thanksgiving, the students presented their draft model ordinances to two dozen municipal solicitors at the association’s Fall Solicitors Seminar.

The solicitors were uniformly positive in their praise of the professionalism and

Dernbach's fall 2015 Law and Sustainability class presented draft ordinances to two dozen township solicitors at the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors. Pictured, left to right, are Dernbach, attorney Andrew Miller, Inderdeep Paul, Derek Young, Jordan Wartman, Robert Lavelle, Joseph Quinones, Robert Bucher, Brett Flower, and PSATS General Counsel Scott Coburn.

thoughtfulness of the student presentations.

Many had specific suggestions for how the students could improve their ordinances.

The association plans to post the final narratives and model ordinances on its website, so that they can be considered and adopted by any of its member municipalities. In addition, the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs and the Pennsylvania Municipalities League have expressed an interest in doing so.

The plan is to use this and future classes to create a bank of model sustainability ordinances that municipalities can consider and adopt.

For the students, this is a law skills class, but it is much more than that. It is a course

that gives them the opportunity to make a contribution, and to see themselves as lawyers capable of continuing to make a contribution after they graduate.

Widener’s Environmental Law and Sustainability Center has posted the model ordinances on its website at commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/ordinances.

Distinguished Professor of Law John C. Dernbach is director of Widener Law Commonwealth’s Environmental Law and Sustainability Center. He was a member of the ABA Task Force on Sustainable Development.

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Writing the City Financial Cri$i$ Playbook How Harrisburg Has Influenced Discussions about Municipal Insolvency Nationwide

Professor Juliet Moringiello, a widely recognized expert on municipal bankruptcy, is a frequent commentator on the topic in the national and international news media. She developed and teaches a Cities in Crisis seminar and has published several law review articles on the role of the state in the Chapter 9 process.

By Juliet Moringiello, Professor of Law

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he eyes of Pennsylvania are often on Harrisburg, the seat of government for the Commonwealth, but five years ago the world turned its attention to this capital city—and not for a good reason.

Cited by CNN Money as one of “America’s 7 Junkiest Cities,” and featured in Britain’s Economist for its “hellish financial state,” the city of Harrisburg was suffocating under $400 million in debt, much of it incurred to retrofit a trash-to-energy incinerator that had fallen out of compliance with federal environmental regulations. The incinerator transactions had the hallmarks of a juicy story: an untested contractor who filed for bankruptcy without having provided a performance bond to the city; financial and legal maneuvers designed to evade statutory limits on municipal debt; and a complicated debt structure that included multiple interest rate swaps. Late in the evening of October 11, 2011, the city took a step that a miniscule number of cities had ever taken: It filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code.

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Although the incinerator financing grabbed most of the headlines, Harrisburg’s financial distress was precipitated by many of the typical pressures on urban areas. Municipalities provide necessary services to their residents and fund these services by collecting property and other taxes. Harrisburg is a small city with about 50,000 residents, 32 percent of whom live below the poverty line. As the state capital, almost 50 percent of the land in Harrisburg is tax exempt, much of it occupied by government buildings. Like many core cities, Harrisburg is surrounded by relatively prosperous suburbs, yet the city and its suburbs do not share municipal services and their costs. Pennsylvania, with more than 2,500 municipalities, is notable for the extent of its municipal fragmentation.

Harrisburg is now on the mend. After the bankruptcy court dismissed the city’s petition for lack of state authorization, Harrisburg began the painful process of negotiating with its creditors under state supervision. Those efforts produced the “Harrisburg Strong Plan,” which restructured the city’s debts and stabilized its budget by selling the incinerator and monetizing the city’s parking system.

Harrisburg’s downfall and ongoing recovery provide several lessons to policymakers working to address municipal financial distress around the country. In Pennsylvania alone, 20 cities are designated as “distressed” by the state pursuant to the Municipalities Financial Recovery Act, known as “Act 47.”

Chester and Scranton have been in the Act 47 program for more than two decades.

Outside the state’s borders, Atlantic City, New Jersey, is reeling from the collapse of its tourism base, Chicago struggles with its pension obligations, and Puerto Rico and its public entities owe more than $70 billion to creditors.

Constitution, all powers “not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” This limits the extent to which the federal government can interfere in state affairs. To alleviate constitutional concerns, the Bankruptcy Code prohibits a municipality from filing for bankruptcy unless its state authorizes it to do so.

Anticipating that the city of Harrisburg might file for bankruptcy and fearing the effect of such a filing on the credit ratings of other cities in the Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania General Assembly prohibited certain cities from filing for bankruptcy in June 2011. Six weeks after Harrisburg filed for bankruptcy, the court rejected the City Council’s challenge to this prohibition and dismissed the city’s petition.

A state can choose whether to authorize its municipalities to file for bankruptcy and only about half of the states grant this permission. Cities that cannot file for bankruptcy lack an

Harrisburg’s downfall and ongoing recovery provide several lessons to policymakers working to address municipal financial distress around the country.

Lesson No. 1: Authorizing Chapter 9 can speed the recovery process Before the 1930s, there was no federal municipal bankruptcy law.

Because municipalities are creations of their states, any federal debt adjustment process raises the specter of unconstitutional interference in state affairs. Under the Tenth Amendment to the United States

important tool to force creditors to the negotiating table. The Contracts Clause of the Constitution prohibits a state from impairing contracts, and Chapter 9 preempts state laws that purport to bind non-consenting creditors to a collective debt adjustment proceeding. Seventeen months after prohibiting Pennsylvania cities from filing for Chapter 9, the legislature restored authorization. By all accounts, this was key to the acceptance of the Harrisburg Strong Plan. It is often hard to obtain 15

consensus without the threat of compulsion, and Chapter 9 bankruptcy provides a city with the ability to force creditors to take less than what they are owed. If the state had not restored Harrisburg’s ability to file for bankruptcy, the creditors might still be holding out for more money.

Lesson No. 2: It is necessary to strike the right balance between strong state supervision and democracy When a city is in financial distress, someone must make difficult choices about how to resolve that distress. Sometimes a state finds it necessary to step in to make those choices.

In Pennsylvania, the state does so through Act 47. Passed in the 1980s to address the hardships faced by cities and towns after the collapse of Pennsylvania’s steel industry, Act 47 allows the state to exercise varying levels of oversight over municipal finances.

Harrisburg entered the Act 47 program in December 2010 and the Department of Community and Economic Development appointed a coordinator to develop a plan to assist the city in managing its financial distress. The law provided that once the city adopted the plan, the coordinator would be responsible for implementing it. It was not so simple in Harrisburg. The majority of the City Council was at war with the mayor, making it impossible for the city’s leaders to agree on anything. As a result, the city never accepted the plan. Because the architects of Act 47 had never anticipated that a city would refuse to adopt a plan, the law contained no mechanism to deal with such a refusal.

Nine days after Harrisburg filed for bankruptcy, Gov. Tom Corbett signed a bill amending Act 47 to provide for the appointment of a receiver to manage a distressed city’s finances. A week after the dismissal of Harrisburg’s bankruptcy petition, bond lawyer David Unkovic was appointed as the first receiver for any Pennsylvania city.

He and his successor, Gen. William Lynch,

remain the only municipal receivers ever appointed in Pennsylvania.

Receiverships are often denounced as state takeovers of cities. The reality is more nuanced than that. A Pennsylvania constitutional provision prohibits the legislature from appointing any special commission to “perform any municipal function whatsoever.” This “Ripper Clause” likely prohibits a state-appointed receiver from usurping the authority of a municipality’s elected officials. As a result, neither Harrisburg receiver had the power to force the mayor or City Council to do anything, necessitating a collaborative approach to address the city’s financial problems.

In other states, such as Michigan, a stateappointed receiver like the emergency manager appointed for Detroit displaces the city’s elected officials. As states decide how to assist their distressed cities, the powers and even the name assigned to the person appointed to help the city get on firm financial footing matter. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ignited a firestorm when he appointed an “emergency manager” for Atlantic City. New Jersey has long been known for its robust oversight of its municipalities, and no municipality in New Jersey has ever filed for bankruptcy. By giving his appointee the title emergency manager (a title absent from New Jersey’s oversight statute), Gov. Christie sent a signal to the bond markets that Atlantic City might follow in Detroit’s footsteps and file for Chapter 9, an impression reinforced by the emergency manager’s appointment of Kevyn Orr, the emergency manager for Detroit, as an adviser.

Harrisburg and its creditors were able to agree to the Strong Plan because both receivers worked hard to gain the trust of the city’s elected officials and residents. This was no small feat, having been appointed by a white Republican governor to manage the finances of a predominantly minority Democratic city. The fact that the receivers did not displace elected officials may have been a blessing.

Lesson No. 3: There is no true recovery without addressing the underlying causes of distress Debt adjustment alone cannot revive a city. Shrinking cities nationwide are being crushed by pension obligations incurred at a time when their populations and workforces were much larger.

Many of Pennsylvania’s municipalities provide their own police protection and other public services. Municipal elected officials around the country tend to serve on a volunteer or part-time basis and are often unsophisticated in financial matters yet they sometimes enter into the kind of complex financial transactions more typical of large corporations.

These structural problems are more difficult to address.

Most municipal pensions are not large, and retirees depend on them to sustain a minimum standard of living. Although the most recent amendments to Act 47 allow the state to dissolve a non-viable municipality, the law cannot compel municipalities to merge or share responsibility for services. As a result, distressed core cities will remain so unless they can somehow attract development. The state legislature is considering several proposals to restrict the kinds of debt that can be incurred by a municipality and only time will tell whether they become law.

Harrisburg’s story illustrates that multiple factors drive a municipality into financial distress and that a multifaceted approach to preventing and alleviating such distress is imperative. Harrisburg’s problems revealed flaws in the Act 47 program, which the legislature moved to correct.

As Puerto Rico, Atlantic City, and 20 distressed Pennsylvania municipalities deal with their financial problems, all eyes are on Harrisburg again—this time to learn how Pennsylvania worked with the city of Harrisburg to pull it from the brink of bankruptcy and how state lawmakers continue to work to address shortcomings in its laws governing pensions, local government debt, and municipal financial distress generally.

A Symposium on City Bankruptcies The Widener Law Journal drew national attention to the law school with its symposium, Bankruptcy and Beyond: Exploring the Causes of and Solutions to Municipal Financial Distress, in April 2014. Speakers included both receivers for the City of Harrisburg, David Unkovic (pictured above) and Gen. William Lynch; the judges who heard the bankruptcy cases of Harrisburg and Jefferson County, Alabama; the lead lawyer behind the Harrisburg Strong Plan; and numerous academics studying solutions to the financial problems plaguing American cities. Video from the symposium are online at commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/bankruptcy and articles published after the symposium are available

To read more of Moringiello’s writing on municipal bankruptcy, see “Specific Authorization to File Under Chapter 9: Lessons from Harrisburg,” 32 California Bankruptcy Journal 237 (2012); “Goals and Governance in Municipal Bankruptcy,” 71 Washington & Lee Law Review 403 (2014); and “Chapter 9 Plan Confirmation Standards and the Role of State Choices,” 37 Campbell Law Review 71 (2015).

at widenerlawjournal.org/?page_id=307.

Photo courtesy of Dani Fresh of Roxbury News

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We Write the Laws Alumni from Widener Law Harrisburg Prominent at the Legislative Reference Bureau

By Julie Massing

L

isa Kelly still pauses each morning when she mounts the marble steps of Pennsylvania’s most powerful rotunda. “I walk in to the Capitol some days and think ‘Wow! I’m working in the Capitol and things we do affect everyone in the state.’”

Originally from the York area, Kelly has worked as a legislative drafting attorney for the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) since she graduated from Widener Law in 2008. She can’t believe seven years later that she is lucky enough to be a part of making the laws for the entire Commonwealth.

The bureau’s main function is as a law office for the general assembly.

Staffers draft all of the legislative materials for the state—including all of the laws. Formed by resolution in 1905, and by statute in 1923, the independent legislative drafting body serves both the legislative and executive branches of state government. The bureau’s 70 staff members include four Widener Law alumni who graduated in every decade since the school was founded and one adjunct faculty member. They work with a wide range of people, including public officers, employees, and private citizens to draft more than 11,000 legislative documents each year. The documents that are created include resolutions, amendments, and bills that will eventually become law.

Four alumni and a Widener Law Commonwealth adjunct faculty member work for the Legislative Reference Bureau in the Capitol. From left, Stephen Rehrer ’93; Lisa Kelly ’08; Vince DeLiberato, director and adjunct faculty; Andrew Butash ’12; and Mike Pavlick ’92.

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Photos by Melanie Franz 11

In the Legislative Reference Bureau library, which contains state laws and records dating back more than a century, are (from left) Butash, Rehrer, Pavlick, DeLiberato, and Kelly.

“The bureau serves as a gatekeeper of sorts to make sure that the laws that are brought up are keeping with the Constitution and existing state and federal laws. And, that is a really big responsibility.”

Each year the bureau employs two interns. Professor Jill Family, director of the Law and Government Institute at Widener Law Commonwealth, said the experience the bureau provides during an internship and the legislative drafting classes that are taught are a key piece to teaching the legislative process to students who are interested in a concentration in government.

“Legislative drafting is an unusual skill and having that skill can help students wanting to work in government understand the written laws,” Family said. “As a lawyer it can help you understand how the law is put together and that can make it easier to understand and to break apart.”

Vince DeLiberato, director of the bureau and an adjunct faculty member of Widener Law Commonwealth, has been with the LRB since 1975 and directed the office for the past four years.

The director is elected every two years by the General Assembly— one of the few acts that the House and the Senate vote on together.

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–Lisa Kelly ’08 “We are actually a legislative agency, which means we are created by the legislature,” DeLiberato said. “Our office is in charge of many different things, but one of the main issues we handle is the preparations and the drafting of legislation.”

So, what does a typical day at the LRB entail?

“My day runs the gamut from talking with people who have the legislation developed to some people who may just come to

you with an idea,” said Mike Pavlick ’92, a member of Widener Law Harrisburg’s first graduating class who has been with the bureau since 1999. Pavlick, originally from the northeast part of the state, is now an assistant director of the bureau, but said he will always consider himself a drafting attorney and enjoys the day-to-day interaction and the writing of the legislation. “We are here to help everybody with their legislation. I always tell people that we are not the policy guys, but we can put everything together and advise them on constitutional and procedural issues.”

Fellow staffer Stephen Rehrer ’93 recently started as associate counsel and also works directly with many of the legislators and staff members to draft items. “It is a very dynamic setting to work in since you are working with different types of subject matter everyday,” Rehrer said. “One day you may be working on legislation about financial institutions and another day you may be drafting a resolution for a non-profit group to bring awareness to an issue.”

Rehrer attributes the legislative writing class he took as a Widener Law student to tying all of his areas of interest together, which allowed him to delve deeper into the areas he had an interest. “Law school is really designed to make you think a certain way and to make you ask the questions you need to know to get from point A to point B, to close the circle on a project,” Rehrer said. “It’s important, especially when drafting legislation, that you don’t leave anything ambiguous.”

Andrew Butash ’12, a legislative drafting attorney at the bureau, said one of his main goals at the LRB is to make the language in Pennsylvania legislation less vague and clearer for the general public to understand, which makes it easier to implement. “Working with staff to turn their concepts into statutory language, accurately portraying the intent the legislator intended, and drafting a bill to make a law more effective, helps the administrative agencies implement the law,” Butash said. “And, I think that’s a pretty important contribution to the Commonwealth.”

Butash, originally from Scranton, graduated with a certificate from Widener’s Law and Government Institute and completed an internship with the bureau before being hired permanently after successfully passing the bar in 2012. “I get to make the lives of the people easier and help them have a better understanding of the law,” Butash said. “I like solving problems by drafting the laws that help the people living in Pennsylvania.”

Kelly also began her career with the bureau as an intern before she was hired as a legislative drafting attorney. But, drafting legislation can be tough. “Sometimes you draft things that you don’t necessarily agree with,” Kelly said. “But, you still work with your legislative clientele to make sure the information is drafted. And, there are other times when you draft something you really believe in. There is always a balance.”

She said law school gives you the perspective to look at issues from multiple angles and helps you understand why some bills and amendments have to be drafted and implemented.

While Kelly does her fair share of drafting legislative bills and amendments, one of the projects she is most proud of is the condolence resolutions that are written for members of the military that have fallen in the line of duty. “One of the first things I drafted during my internship was a resolution remembering a soldier,” Kelly said. “Knowing that these people sacrificed their lives for their country and I am helping in some small way to recognize them and providing their family with comfort is a huge source of pride.”

But, she added that there really is nothing like that feeling when you hear about something that you worked on and how it is making a difference for so many people. “I think sometimes I forget the reach the [bureau] has,” Kelly said. “The bureau serves as a gatekeeper of sorts to make sure that the laws that are brought up are keeping with the Constitution and existing state and federal laws. And that is a really big responsibility.”

FACULTY NOTES Professor John C. Dernbach spoke on the panel Financing Collective Action to Combat Climate Change at the Law, Justice, and Development Week conference held at the World Bank in Washington.

He also published the following articles: “Sustainable Development and its Discontents” with Professor Frederico Cheever of Denver Law School in Transnational Environmental Law; “Robinson Township v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Examination and Implications” in Rutgers University Law Review; “A Legislative History of Article I, Section 27 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” with Edmund J. Sonnenberg in the Widener Law Journal; “The Potential Meanings of a Constitutional Public Trust” in Environmental Law, Volume 45; “Recognition of Environmental Rights for Pennsylvania Citizens: A Tribute to Chief Justice Castille” in Duquesne Law Review; and “The ABA Embraces Sustainability: From the Earth Summit to Rio 20 and Beyond” with Ira R. Feldman in International Law News.

Dernbach, second from left, and Brown, third from left, at the UN Climate Talks in Paris.

Widener Law Commonwealth Faculty at Global Climate Conference Two Widener Law Commonwealth faculty members—Professor John C. Dernbach and Scholar-in-Residence Don Brown—played key roles in the groundbreaking UN Climate Talks held in Paris last fall. Brown and Dernbach’s participation included the presentation of research conducted

by Widener Law Commonwealth in conjunction with the University of Auckland. That research concluded that most nations that have formulated climate change policies have failed to seriously consider the equity, ethical, and justice considerations that should guide national climate change policy.

Professor Michael Dimino spoke about Voter ID Laws at a meeting of the Federalist Society at the University of Dayton in September. Dimino and Professor Greg Randall Lee were panelists in a program presented by the Pennsylvania Bar Association in November titled “We Differ as Rational Friends: A Debate between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.”

Associate Professor of Law Tonya Evans published the chapter “Sampling, Looping and Mashing…Oh My! How Hip Hop Music is Scratching More Than the Surface of Copyright Law” in the book Hip Hop and the Law. Professor Jill Family presented her paper “The Procedural Fortress of US Immigration Law” at the Birkbeck Law Review Conference in London in November. She published the article “The Executive Power of Process in Immigration Law” in the Chicago Kent Law Review.

Associate Professor Anna Hemingway and Professor Amanda Smith had their teaching ideas featured in the AALS Section on Teaching Method’s Newsletter.

Dean Christian A. Johnson completed Leadership Harrisburg’s Executive Leadership Series. Johnson published the book review “Legal Challenges in the Global Financial Crisis” in the Banking and Financial Law Review.

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Professor Greg Randall Lee published a memorial in the Widener Law Journal titled “A Response to the Final Words of Professor Starla Williams on ‘Violence Against Poor and Minority Women & the Containment of Children of Color’.”

Robyn Meadows published a memorial in the Widener Law Journal titled “Remembering our Colleague and Friend Starla Williams.”

Professor Juliet Moringiello will be honored at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Sections on Business Associations 2016 Annual Meeting for her service to legal education through inspiration and mentorship. Moringiello also presented at the Dentons conference in New York in the Municipal Restructuring and Reform program. She published an article in the Widener Law Journal titled “Symposium, Bankruptcy and Beyond: Exploring the Causes of and Solutions to Municipal Financial Distress.”

Professor Palmer Lockard’s article “A Good Start” was featured in Pennsylvania Lawyer magazine. The article highlights the success of the incubator program to help new lawyers learn the basics of running a successful practice.

Professor Christopher Robinette with Oscar S. Gray and Donald G. Gifford published the book Harper, James and Gray on Torts 2016-1 Cumulative Supplement to Vol 1-5.

CLASS NOTES CLASS OF 1992 Christian A. Davis is president of Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania for 2016. Davis, a partner at Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP in Philadelphia, has been involved with the organization for more than three years. The nonprofit group helps teens needing assistance for college or vocational education after a parent was killed or injured in a work-related accident.

Davis has been involved with fundraising and other activities for the organization and has helped other attorneys at Weber Gallagher and regional firms become involved in Kids’ Chance.

Harrisburg Magazine’s “Best of Harrisburg” issue as the Reader’s Choice for Business Law Attorney.

CLASS OF 1995 Jonathan P. Bigley was honored as a distinguished alumnus of Westminster College. He is currently in the private sector at his lobbying firm, Bigley & Blikle, LLC, in Harrisburg.

Frank R. Emmerich, Jr. was re-elected to serve on the Cabrini College Board of Trustees. Emmerich is a Partner at Conrad O’Brien PC in Philadelphia.

CLASS OF 1996 CLASS OF 1993 Carrie M. Bowmaster is now deputy director for operations at MidPenn Legal Services in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Scott B. Cooper of Schmidt Kramer in Harrisburg was selected to be included in "The Best Lawyers in America" for Personal Injury Litigation-Plaintiffs and Litigation-Insurance.

CLASS OF 1994 Mark K. Emery, owner of The Law Offices of Mark K. Emery, has been named in

J. Michael Sheldon of Harrisburg was granted membership into the American Association of Premier DUI Attorneys.

Sheldon also was recognized

by The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys (AIOFLA) as one of Pennsylvania's Top Ten family law attorneys for client satisfaction. Attorneys who are selected must pass a rigorous selection process based on client and/or peer nominations, thorough research and AIOFLA's independent evaluation.

Sheldon will begin his term as president of the Dauphin

We want to hear from you!

Submit your career and life updates for future Class Notes to nclewis@widener.edu.

Alumnus Elected to Northumberland County DA A 2006 Widener Law Harrisburg graduate began serving as the District Attorney for Northumberland County in Pennsylvania in January.

Tony Matulewicz, of Mount Carmel, won the general election with 58 percent of the vote over incumbent Ann Targonski, who had held the position since 2014.

Matulewicz has been practicing law in Northumberland County since graduating from Widener Law Harrisburg.

He has been the solicitor for the Northumberland Sheriff’s Office since 2008.

A graduate of Mount Carmel Area Junior-Senior High School, he holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in computer science and economics from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

County Bar Association in January 2016.

CLASS OF 1997 Robert D. Morrow, Jr. of Timonium, Maryland, is now the associate commissioner/ administrative hearings officer with the State of Maryland Insurance Administration.

Previously, he spent 13 years as in-house counsel for Transamerica.

CLASS OF 1998 Jarad W. Handelman is the managing shareholder of Elliott Greenleaf’s Harrisburg office. His extensive experience in litigation and in state government uniquely positions him to strategically

and effectively counsel private and public clients in the boardroom and the courtroom on civil litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts, as well as administrative tribunals, concerning a wide variety of issues, including regulatory matters, healthcare, energy law, municipal distress and debt restructuring, labor and employment, and constitutional issues. Prior to joining Elliott Greenleaf, Handelman provided legal counsel to Gov. Tom Corbett and his executive staff, overseeing the operations and management of the Governor’s Office of General Counsel, consisting of nearly 500 lawyers who serve as counsel to 36 executive and independent agencies.

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Alumnus Named to Pentagon Leadership Position Patrick Murphy, a 1999 alumnus of Widener Law

during the second Iraq War. Murphy earned a bronze star

Harrisburg, in January was named acting secretary of the

for his service while in Baghdad serving as Captain in the

Army, the highest ranking civilian position in the military’s

82nd Airborne Division. “As a third generation veteran,

largest branch.

I understand that America’s sons and daughters are our

Murphy, 42, previously had been confirmed in the role of the under secretary of the Army, the number two position,

most precious resource,” Murphy said in a statement on the Army’s web site. “Therefore, I am absolutely committed to keeping our soldiers

Widener Law Harrisburg Alumnus Patrick Murphy addressing the Senate Armed Services Committee in December.

ready, making the Army data-driven and accountable to the American taxpayer, and remaining loyal to our soldiers for life.”

Murphy was the first veteran from the second Iraq war to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District for two terms from 2007 to 2011. During his time in congress, he was the author and chief sponsor of the bill to repeal the Department of Defense’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy. He authored a memoir, Taking the Hill: From Philly to Baghdad to the United States Congress, which was published in 2008. He served as an anchor on an MSNBC show that shared its title with his memoir.

In 2011, Murphy became a partner with the law firm Fox Rothschild LLP in Philadelphia, serving as general counsel for small businesses, including several that are veteranowned. He ran as Democrat for the

by the Senate in December. President Obama named

Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office in 2012 but lost in

Murphy to the top spot on an interim basis when Acting

the primary election to the eventual winner Kathleen Kane.

Secretary Eric Fanning stepped down to await his delayed

As an alumnus, Murphy has been an adjunct professor

confirmation hearings. In the role of acting secretary,

for the Widener University Commonwealth Law School and

Murphy has statutory responsibility for all matters relating

served on the law school’s National Advisory Committee

to the Army, which includes 1.3 million personnel and a

from 2007 to 2015. Widener Law Harrisburg in 2009

budget of approximately $144 billion.

awarded Murphy an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Murphy served in the Army from 1993 through 2004.

“Patrick Murphy is an exemplary leader, and he will do

He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and later

an outstanding job,” said Widener Law Commonwealth

served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps as a criminal

Dean Christian A. Johnson. “We are very proud of his

prosecutor and as an assistant professor in the Department

accomplishments and the leadership he has displayed as

of Law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After

an alumnus, a veteran, and in his civic roles.”

the attacks of September 11, 2001, he volunteered for deployment, serving in Bosnia in 2002 and Baghdad 24

Photo by Joseph Gidjunis of JPG Photography

CLASS OF 1999 Zachary M. Rubinich has been named a partner at the law firm of Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby, LLP in the Philadelphia office.

Lawyers on the Fast Track. Schultz is an attorney for Gross McGinley LLP in Allentown.

He focuses his practice on all aspects of civil litigation, medical malpractice defense, insurance defense, personal injury and utility law.

Kimberly K. Moraski, an associate with The Chartwell Law Offices, LLP in Scranton was named a 2015 Lawyer on the Fast Track by the Legal Intelligencer.

Chris Schellhorn '07 and

CLASS OF 2002 Devon M. Jacob, owner of Jacob Litigation: A Civil Rights Law Firm in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, was elected chair of the Civil Rights Section of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), formerly the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA). AAJ is the world's largest trial bar association, consisting of 18 Litigation Sections with 140 specialized Litigation Groups.

Jacob was appointed in July 2015 during the AAJ's annual convention, which took place in Montreal, Canada.

CLASS OF 2003 George A. Bibikos of Cozen O'Connor in Harrisburg was named a 2015 Forty Under 40 award winner by Central Penn Business Journal. The award recognizes up-andcoming leaders in Central Pennsylvania.

CLASS OF 2006 Graig M. Schultz was selected to the Legal Intelligencer’s 2015

CLASS OF 2007 Kim M. Christie of Palmerton, Pennsylvania, married James Gillen on October 24, 2015.

Tara Schellhorn '07 of Chester, New Jersey welcomed their second son, Samuel Franklin, in June 2015. Sam joins older brother Teddy, who is now two-and-a-half. Chris works for the Morris County (NJ)

Carroll "Beau" Correll, Jr. was a Republican nominee for Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Winchester, Virginia.

Prosecutor's Office as an assistant prosecutor and was recently reassigned to the Major Crimes/Arson/ Environmental Unit. Tara continues to work as an attorney at Riker, Danzig,

Scherer, Hyland and Perretti LLP in Morristown, New Jersey, focusing primarily on bankruptcy and corporate reorganization matters.

CLASS OF 2008 Robert B. Hamilton of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, became the managing attorney for the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic at MidPenn Legal Services.

Kevin E. Harchar of Pond Lehocky's Scranton office, was selected a 2015 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star.

Clarke H. Madden is now partner at Smigel, Anderson & Sacks, LLP in Harrisburg.

Alumnus Joins State Probations and Parole Board A Widener Law Harrisburg alumnus from the class of 2007 has been appointed to the Pennsylvania Board of Probations and Parole.

Leo Dunn was nominated by Gov. Tom Wolfe and was approved unanimously by the Pennsylvania State Senate in December. Dunn replaces Randy Feathers, who resigned halfway through his term.

Dunn will serve the remaining three years of the term and then will be eligible for reappointment to a full six-year term.

Dunn said he has two primary objectives in his new role. “The first goal is to make fair decisions on whether inmates should be released or not,” he said. “And, secondly, I want to concentrate my efforts policy-wise on improving supervision of mentally ill offenders so they have a better and more successful potential for reintegrating into society.”

Dunn, who had a solo law practice and has served as an adjunct faculty member for Widener Law Commonwealth, has 26 years previous experience with two state agencies.

He was appointed director of policy and legislative affairs for the Board of Probation and Parole in 2012 after working nine years as an assistant director. Prior to joining that agency, he spent 15 years with the Department of Agriculture in various roles.

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Beyond the Bar Exam The most recent alumni to pass the bar were sworn in at a special ceremony in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Twenty recent graduates were sworn in during the November ceremony, which officially endorses the new bar passers to practice law.

Bar passers who attended the ceremony included the following members of the class of 2015: Pia Aklian;

CLASS OF 2009 Anthony M. Hoover, an associate attorney in the Family Law Practice Group at McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC in Harrisburg, assisted in preparing free CLE materials for a pro bono video project produced by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) in partnership with the PBA and PLAN. Hoover took part in presenting the "ABC's of Handling a Child or Spousal Support Case" segment of the videos. The 10 one-hour free CLE videos offer practical and reliable training for lawyers taking a pro bono case from any legal aid, county bar or other poverty law organization. The videos allow 26

pro bono volunteers to gain valuable insight into a variety of common pro bono matters.

Hoover practices in the areas of divorce, support, child custody, property distribution, and alimony.

CLASS OF 2010 Diana C. Schimmel of Montclair, New Jersey, spoke as an honored panelist at the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs annual Divorce Conference in October 2015. The conference addressed multiple issues related to taxes and financial planning and their intersection with family law and divorce.

Kasey Bolton; Kasey Clouser; Matthew Fine; Ryan Gonder; Jacob Herzing; Samantha Hogan; David M. Marra; Matthew Martin; Jennifer K. McAteer; Sarah McGowan; Erika McLain; Michael O’Donnell; Kayla Rosencrans; Richard Sgrignoli; Melissa Toaltoan; Monica Ugliuzza; Mark Wendaur IV; and Megan Caggianelli ’14.

Her panel specifically addressed same sex marriage and divorce in light of the recent SCOTUS decision legalizing same-sex marriage.

CLASS OF 2011 Ryan K. Carnes was published in the September 2015 issue of Tax Notes. The article, titled, "A Practical Research Tax Credit— Recent Developments in R&D" looked at new developments in the administration of the research tax credit. The article argued that the research tax credit has become a less contentious issue because of new developments in its administration and recent court cases. Carnes is a senior associate with RSM US,

formerly McGladrey LLP, in Denver.

Paul D. Edger and his wife, Katelynn, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, are expecting their first child in May 2016.

CLASS OF 2012 Lina Dedulin of Newark, New Jersey, celebrated two years as assistant county counsel at the Office of the Essex County Counsel.

Nicole J. Radziewicz of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, joined the Office of Attorney General, Civil Litigation

Department, as deputy attorney general. Radziewicz became engaged to Michael Boland in August 2015.

CLASS OF 2013 Matthew J. Curran celebrated two years as associate at Rhoads & Sinon LLP in Harrisburg.

Lucas J. Csovelak of Harrisburg celebrated one year at Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP in September 2015.

Patrick J. Daniels of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is now special counsel with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

Tricia S. Lontz of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is now attorney at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC.

CLASS OF 2014 Jessica L. Boyles is now director of human resources for the city of Scranton.

Timothy K. McHugh has joined Stock and Leader's

School Law Group in York focusing his practice in the area of public education, including student discipline, special education, and employment law.

Chloe L. Zittle of Hanover, Pennsylvania, is now executive director of the Aging and Youth Committee for the Senate of Pennsylvania.

CLASS OF 2015 Matthew R. Martin of Enola, Pennsylvania, is now a judicial law clerk at the Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas.

Shana R. Weinstock of Dallas, Pennsylvania, is now a property & casualty claims associate with Berkshire Hathaway Guard Insurance.

Matthew I. Wilson of Millersville, Pennsylvania, is now the government affairs director for RAMP.

Work with Veterans Wins Alumnus Pro Bono Honors Assistance to Central Pennsylvania veterans in need has earned a 2006 Widener Law Harrisburg alumnus local and statewide awards recognizing exceptional pro bono work.

In January 2015, Jeremiah Underhill of Harrisburg received the Dauphin County Bar Association’s Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award, which is presented to a lawyer in the county who has used their talents to help those in need. In September, he was honored with the Pro Bono Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

Underhill, a contract analyst in the aerospace, defense and marine section of TE Connectivity, also serves as the director of the Dauphin County Bar Disabled Veterans Lawyer Referral Service. Through that program he has devoted the majority of his 400 pro bono hours this year to helping veterans receive their disability and compensation claims. “Most of the time they are just trying to get answers or some guidance,” Underhill said. “And, they just want someone to listen to their problems. They want to talk to a real person. And, when you help them they are unbelievably thankful to have somebody help them.”

Underhill, who has served in the past as supervisor of the Veteran’s Law Clinic office on the Harrisburg campus, said he loves doing the pro bono work because he is helping others and the cases are things that he can get passionate about. “Working with the veterans is a no-brainer,” he said. “These people put their lives on the line for you. If you can’t get behind these cases and get passionate about them, then you shouldn’t be an attorney.”

Alumni Unite! Volunteers Wanted For New Alumni Association Widener Law Harrisburg has graduated 3,414 students since its first commencement in 1992. Of those graduates, 3,285 are practicing in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands. With the new name of the law school and our organizational separation, we are establishing a new alumni association, and we invite you to get involved. Please contact Natasha Lewis, director of development, at 717-541-3974 or nclewis@widener.edu.

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BACK PAGE

A Widener Law Love Story Leaders in New Alumni Association Share Law School Bond

By Natasha Lewis, Director of Development and Alumni Engagement Alaina successfully sat for the Pennsylvania Jonathan ’07 and Alaina (Schroeder) Koltash ’10 bar exam. aren’t your typical law school couple.

Although they never attended law school at Like the many who meet in Harrisburg the same time, Jon and Alaina fully supported and marry, they didn’t meet during class or the other’s pursuit of a legal education and while studying law together. shared a mutual passion for giving back to Jon, the new president of the inaugural Widener Law Commonwealth Alumni the law school. Jon began volunteering with Association, and Alaina, the new secretary and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) treasurer of the board, didn’t Program during his first year meet afterward in legal of law school preparing tax practice, either. returns for low-to-moderateThey met during underincome taxpayers. Inspired graduate study at Penn State

by Jon’s volunteerism, Alaina University in State College also became a VITA volunteer during Jon’s senior year. Alaina during law school. Both was in her freshman year when continue volunteering with a mutual friend brought her to VITA to this day. They are also a birthday party being held for big supporters of the Moot Jonathan ’07 and Jon, a few months before his Court Honor Society and Alaina Koltash ’10 graduation in June 2004. dedicate their time by helping They hit it off right away and began dating. teams prepare for competitions. “Volunteering Their relationship continued that summer as and giving back to the community and Widener Jon began the Trial Admissions Program (TAP) at is really important to both of us,” Alaina said. the Harrisburg campus. During Jon’s three years “It is something we enjoy doing together.” of law school, Alaina learned a great deal from him Jon and Alaina now live in Mechanicsburg, and supported him by traveling on the weekends Pennsylvania, and both are employed by the from State College to Harrisburg.

Governor’s Office of General Counsel; Jon Jon successfully graduated and passed the bar works for the Department of Health and Alaina in 2007. Alaina then began law school at Widener works for the Department of Education. They Law Harrisburg later that fall. Thanks to the are grateful for the opportunity and education time she spent with Jon during his three years of Widener provided and were eager to become law school, Alaina felt adequately prepared as she involved in the planning and development of began her legal studies. Knowing Alaina planned the new alumni association. They both knew the to pursue a legal education, Jon saved notes and value and importance of creating a platform for books for her to use, and served as a mentor of alumni to connect, network, and give back. sorts to Alaina during her years in law school.

They are pleased that alumni from a variety of It was no easy task, but their entire courtclass years and geographic areas have come together ship revolved around their combined six years to form the alumni association board. “It’s a really of law school. “We often joke that if we could exciting time for Widener Law Commonwealth,” make it through six years of law school, we can Jon said. “I’m thrilled that we are on the ground make it through anything,” Alaina said. They floor building the alumni association together with married in August 2010, a few weeks after other incredibly talented Widener alumni.”

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About the Alumni Association The objectives of the Alumni Association are to foster a close association between Widener University Commonwealth Law School and its alumni; to promote the interest and welfare of the law school; and to promote the practice of law and the highest standards of learning and ethics in the legal profession.

All 3,414 graduates who hold a JD degree from Widener University Commonwealth Law School (formerly known as the Harrisburg Campus of Widener University School of Law) are automatically members of the Alumni Association.

For information about the alumni association, please visit our website at commonwealthlawalumni. widener.edu.

If you are interested in becoming active, please email nclewis@widener.edu. We hope to hear from you!

Officers President Jonathan Koltash ‘07 President Elect Niki Carter ‘08 Vice President Bret Keisling ‘05 Secretary/Treasurer Alaina Koltash ‘10 Board Members Tanya E. Colbert Blissman ‘97 Andrew Conaboy ‘10 John Dixon ‘14 Catherine Dotto ‘09 Paul Edger ‘11 Clarissa Freeman ‘08 Ann Fruth ‘92 Jason Gottesman ‘09 Jay Holstein ‘92 Cary Kurtz ‘93 Maryanne Lewis ‘98 Robert Lindefjeld ‘93 Tricia Lontz ‘13 Keli Neary ‘06 Linda Randy ‘93 Katharine Riggleman-Thomas ‘14 William “Ski” Rozier ‘04 Ryan Webber ‘10

Spring Time Means Tee Time!

Please join us for our annual Alumni & Friends Golf Outing This popular event is a great way to network with alumni. Reconnect with old friends and meet new contacts. All proceeds from the event benefit the Widener Law Commonwealth Fund.

Saturday, April 9, 2016 Manada Golf Club, 609 Golf Lane, Grantville, PA 17028 Registration begins at 7:30 a.m., shotgun start at 8 a.m.

Light breakfast fare and casual lunch provided Single golfer fee $75 • Foursome fee $300 Sponsorship opportunities are available For more details or to register, please contact Natasha Lewis, Director of Development, at nclewis@widener.edu or 717-541-3974. You can also register online at commonwealthlawalumni.widener.edu/events/alumni-and-friends-golf-outing.

For course information, please visit Manada Golf Club’s web site at manadagolfclub.com.

3800 Vartan Way, P.O. Box 69380 Harrisburg, PA 17106-9380 Address Service Requested

Leave your legacy

Help pave the way for the next generation of lawyers

Widener Law Commonwealth Legacy Pathway Commemorative Pavers Make a lasting impression on the law school’s campus and support activities that benefit current law students.

The Legacy Pathway is the main path between the library and administration buildings on our scenic Harrisburg campus.

A personalized paver is the perfect way to mark important occasions— graduations, anniversaries, and professional achievements.

A portion of each commemorative paver purchase is tax deductible and proceeds benefit the Widener Commonwealth Law Fund. Pavers are installed in the fall and spring.

Three sizes are available: • 6” x 6” commemorative paver $150 ($130 is tax deductible) • 6” x 9” commemorative paver $250 ($218 is tax deductible) • 12” x 12” commemorative paver $500 ($425 is tax deductible) To learn more or to place an order, contact Natasha Lewis, Director of Development and Alumni Engagement, by phone at 717-541-3974 or via email at nclewis@widener.edu.

You can also find information on our website at commonwealthlawalumni.widener.edu/.