CLASS NOTES
Keep up with your former classmates and fellow Widener Law Commonwealth alumni. Fill out the class notes submission form to share your milestone.
Jump to class of: 1992-1999 | 2000-2009 | 2010-2022
Class of 1993
Christie Corado has joined MIB Group, Inc. as General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Privacy Officer. Corado joins MIB from Truist Insurance Holdings, Inc. where she served as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel responsible for the legal and regulatory functions impacting the company and its subsidiaries. Read More
Todd Shill, an entertainment lawyer at Pillar+Aught in Harrisburg, PA, recently represented executive producers Nyle DiMarco and Sami Housman on the Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary “Audible.” The documentary follows the Maryland School for the Deaf’s football team on their journey to defend their winning streak, while simultaneously coping with the tragic loss of a close friend to suicide.
Class of 1995
Terence Sawyer has been unanimously selected by the Loyola University Maryland Board of Trustees to be its 25th president. Sawyer, who previously served as senior vice president of the university, is its first layperson to serve as president, as all previous presidents have been ordained Jesuit priests.
Class of 1996
Craig Wolfson and Susan Klein-Wolfson are pleased to announce the opening of their new law firm, Wolfson and Klein-Wolfson, PLLC. The firm is based in Syosset (Long Island), New York, and is focused on 1) Employment Law; 2) Estate Planning & Elder Law; and 3) Residential Real Estate.
Class of 1997
Dana A. Bernstein, former associate at McCarthy Weidler, P.C., has joined Philadelphia law firm Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci, P.C.’s Estates and Trusts department as an associate. Ms. Bernstein’s practice focuses in the areas of commercial law, taxation, special needs planning and estate and wealth preservation planning.
Class of 1998
Christine Taylor Brann, partner at JSDC Law Offices in Hershey, PA, has been awarded the inaugural Pennsylvania Bar Association Medical Marijuana and Hemp Law Award, which will be presented during the Medical Marijuana and Hemp Law Symposium on Nov. 21 in Philadelphia. The award was created to highlight those in the legal profession who have gone above and beyond to shed light on, and fight to resolve, issues that impact the medical marijuana and hemp programs.
Class of 1999
Zachary M. Rubinich recently participated as a Speaker during the Risk Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Live 2021 Annual Virtual Conference where he co-presented: Avoiding Risk Exposure Across State Lines: Practical Considerations for Multi-Jurisdictional Workers’ Compensation Cases. He was also selected as a 2021 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer - Workers' Compensation.
Visitor 2001
Flavia Naves recently marked her first anniversary as general counsel for Circle, a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce and financial applications worldwide. Circle is undergoing a business combination with Concord Acquisition Corp, a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition corporation with $276 million in trust.
Class of 2005
Michael J. Dennin, had the great pleasure of rising through the ranks and becoming President of the Camden County Bar Association for 2019-2020. During his tenure, the association was able to raise funds for charity, conduct numerous networking events, and provide top notch CLE and mentorship to the bar. He currently is a trial attorney at the Law Offices of Vincent J. Ciecka practicing plaintiffs personal injury and workers compensation cases in NJ and PA.
Class of 2006
Arlene Marshall-Hockensmith has been promoted to director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. (PLAN), effective June 1, 2022 . Marshall-Hockensmith, who has been with PLAN since 2014, is the first woman of color to hold a senior leadership role at PLAN. She previously served as administrative officer. Before joining PLAN, she worked as an attorney and project manager at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) and as a staff attorney at MidPenn Legal Services. Marshall-Hockensmith serves as editor-in-chief of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Minority Bar Committee’s Houston’s Legacy Newsletter and on the board of directors for the Carlisle Theatre and Central PA’s MLK Day of Service.
Keli Neary was recently honored by the Legal Intelligencer as a “power player.” Read More
Class of 2007
Jonathan D. Koltash has begun his second year of a two-year term as chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates, the policy-making body of the PBA. He is an attorney in the Governor’s Office of General Counsel, serving as chief counsel for the Pennsylvania Health Insurance Exchange Authority. In addition, Koltash is also an adjunct professor at Widener Law Commonwealth and Central Penn College.
Class of 2008
Niki Carter recently joined defense contractor BAE Systems, Inc. as associate general counsel of procurement. In her new role, she supports BAE’s chief procurement officer, vice president of procurement, and vice president of contracts and advises on matters of compliance, U.S Department of Defense government contracting, business strategy, and real estate matters.
Class of 2010
Ryan Webber recently opened his own practice, Webber Law PPLC, in Mechanicsburg, PA, which focuses on elder law, special needs, trusts, and probate matters.
Andrew Conaboy was recently named partner of the Sarasota, Florida based law firm of Berlin Patten Ebling, PLLC. His practice consists mostly of residential and commercial real estate transactions and estate planning.
Class of 2011
Paul D. Edger has been appointed as a Senior Deputy Attorney General in the Bureau of Consumer Protection. He also serves as chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and was once again named as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star (3rd year in a row).
Class of 2012
Josh Bovender has been elevated to equity partner with Thomas, Thomas & Hafer LLP. He is a lawyer in the Harrisburg office, where he splits the bulk of his practice between representing entities in commercial litigation matters and representing insurers and their insureds with regard to general liability cases.
Gabriela Raful, senior partner of Galfand Berger, has been elected to serve as president of the Berks County Bar Association. Raful, a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is the first Latinx to become president of the association. She is also the first racial minority, first naturalized U.S. citizen, and youngest to hold this position in the association's history.
Class of 2013
Tricia Springer was recently promoted to member (partner) at the Harrisburg, PA office of Eckert Seamans. She concentrates her practice in labor and employment matters, administration law, and civil litigation. In addition, Springer has an extensive practice representing governmental agencies and private parties related to the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law and educational institutions connected to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Douglas S. Wortman recently received the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Pro Bono Award. The Annual Pro Bono Award of the PBA’s Legal Service to the Public Committee honors attorneys who have performed significant pro bono service. This year marks the 34th year that the committee has given out awards to pro bono champions across the state. Read More
Class of 2014
Katy Landis has been recognized in the 2023 edition of the Best Lawyers of America in the area of Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants. Landis is an associate with Saxton and Stump’s Lancaster, PA office and works in risk mitigation and drafts, reviews and revises construction contracts, subcontracts, releases and waivers. She has also represented clients under investigation for violations of the False Claims Act within the firm’s investigations and criminal defense practice group.
Class of 2015
Patrice M. Turenne was recently named as Chair-Elect of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Young Lawyers Division following the close of their annual meeting, which was held on May 21.
Class of 2017
Brandon Jordan has been awarded the 2022 Houston’s Rising Star Award by the Pennsylvania Bar Association and its minority bar committee. This annual award recognizes a PBA minority bar committee member who has made significant contributions to the committee or to the PBA. He currently works as a trial attorney at Liberty Mutual Group, Inc., representing Liberty Mutual and its policyholders in complex civil litigation matters, including workers’ compensation, personal injury, and property damage claims.
Angela Lucci married Douglas P. Solomon on April 17, 2021 in Archbald, PA. The couple has postponed their wedding twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately had a wedding with their closest family members. Their wedding consisted of a celebration of nuptial mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Church of Christ the King Parish in Archbald, followed by a dinner reception at Arcaro and Genell's in Old Forge, PA.
Justin Shedron, an Army helicopter pilot, was promoted to the rank of major. Major Shedron is admitted to the bar in both Pennsylvania and Ohio and intends to practice law upon his retirement from the Army.
Class of 2018
Robert T. Moran has been admitted as a member to the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Membership is limited to attorneys who have acted as principal counsel in one or more cases which resulted final judgment, award or settlement in favor of his or her client in the amount of one million dollars or more. There are over 5000 members throughout the country. Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members.
Roberto Ugarte was recently admitted to practice law in Maryland. In addition, he and Silvia Calife were married on June 18 in Ugarte's hometown of Hanover, PA.
La Tasha C. Williams was recently appointed as the assistant district attorney with the York County District Attorney’s Office.
Class of 2019
Coulter D. Ebbert recently joined Saxton & Stump as an associate attorney, with a focus on serving commercial and healthcare clients, particularly in professional liability and product liability cases.
Class of 2020
Benjamin Gingerich has joined Russell, Krafft and Gruber, LLP in Lancaster, PA. He began his legal career as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Howard F. Knisely in the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County and gained additional experience serving as a summer associate for a law firm in York, PA
Sarah Holloway recently joined the Saxton and Stump law firm in Lancaster, PA, working in the firm’s Regulatory and Government Affairs, Workplace Safety and Utilities and Real Estate teams. She previously served as legal counsel to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ finance committee, where she played a key role in drafting and analyzing legislative policy and advising representatives on state and federal law, notably concerning taxation and fiscal policy.
Salvatore Sciacca, an associate member of McNees Wallace and Nurick in Harrisburg, PA and a staff sergeant with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, has been deployed to Lithuania for a training exercise with NATO allies. He joined the law firm in 2021 and works in its litigation practice group. Sciacca previously served in Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2008 and 2009.
Contact Us
Development and Alumni Engagement Office
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 717.541.3905