Associate Stephanie Solomon authored an article titled, “Bench Trials — A New Defense Tactic in Legal Malpractice Claims” for Volume 5, Issue 4 of Riding the E&O Line, the newsletter of DRI’s Professional Liability Committee. Click here to download the newsletter (courtesy of the Professional Liability Committee) and scroll to page nine to read the article.
PITTSBURGH, November 1, 2013 — Burns White earned nine rankings in the 2014 U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” survey. Most notably, the firm received a national first-tier ranking in railroad law for the fourth year running and a national tier 2 ranking in mass tort litigation/class actions.
Other results include the following metropolitan rankings for Pittsburgh:
Rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes a collection of client and lawyer evaluations and peer review from leading attorneys in their fields nationwide. Those surveyed provided feedback on the individual practice group’s expertise, responsiveness, understanding of business needs, cost-effectiveness, civility, integrity and likelihood of referral.
“These rankings reflect our firm’s continued efforts to maximize the return that our clients invest in us every day,” said Dave White, a founding Member of the firm. “It’s gratifying to hear from them, as well as our colleagues, of our success in these efforts.”
To be eligible for the survey, a firm must have a lawyer listed in The Best Lawyers in America©, which recognizes the top 4 percent of practicing attorneys in the United States. For the 2014 list, more than 12,000 attorneys provided more than 330,000 law firm assessments, and nearly 7,000 clients provided close to 20,000 evaluations. Overall, awards were given in 74 national practice areas and 120 metropolitan practice areas.
A complete listing of results is available online: http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com, while the national first-tier rankings will be published in the first edition of the “Best Law Firms” Legal Issue, and national and metropolitan first-tier rankings will be featured in the “Best Law Firms” General Counsel Publication, both to be distributed later this month
For more information on Burns White and its 19 practice areas, including Banking and Financial Services Litigation, Business Practices, Estate Planning and Administration, Healthcare and Long-Term Care, Medicare Compliance, Transportation, Litigation and White Collar and Government Enforcement, visit the firm’s website at www.burnswhite.com.
Pittsburgh, Oct. 25, 2013 — Last week, Member Jeffrey A. Jackson was elected by Keystone State Railroad Association to serve its board of directors as an Associate Member. In this role, he will be tasked with assisting the President and the Board with strategic planning and setting the association’s priorities. Mr. Jackson is only one of two members of the board not currently working for a railroad entity.
Member Stuart T. O’Neal obtained a dismissal in Chester County, Pa. for an executive of a solar power company in a breach of contract claim. A dissatisfied consumer initiated the lawsuit against the Burns White client, as well as other executives and corporate entities from the energy company — some of which still remain. The judge dismissed the claim during the dispositive motion stage.
Note: The results obtained in a particular case are, of course, always heavily dependent on the facts and the law specific to that case.
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 23, 2013 — Founding Member David B. White was appointed by Pennsylvania House Speaker Sam Smith today to serve on the Port Authority of Allegheny County Board of Directors in a three-year term. Mr. White will be one of 11 board members tasked to provide oversight and assist the Authority with achieving its mission of delivering outstanding transportation services that connect people to life.
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 19, 2013 — Burns White LLC welcomes four associates to its Pittsburgh and Philadelphia offices.
Pittsburgh
Tara E. Hansen is an Associate in the Transportation Group focusing on the defense of toxic tort litigation. A well-rounded litigator, Ms. Hansen handled personal injury, employment and constitutional matters through arbitration, mediation and traditional litigation as an Associate at Steele Schneider. She received a J.D. from Duquesne University in 2009 and a B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh in 2006.
Also an Associate of the Transportation Group, Ashley E. Horton defends railroad clients in occupational illness litigation. Ms. Horton graduated from Duquesne University School of Law in 2011, where she received the Outstanding Appellate Brief and Oral Argument Award and served as Secretary of the Black Law Students Association. Ms. Horton received a B.A. in May 2008 from Case Western Reserve University.
Philadelphia
Associate Shirley A. Hampton defends self-insured employers, insurance companies and third party administrators across Pennsylvania and New Jersey against workers’ compensation claims. Ms. Hampton brings to the firm experience from several Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey-area law firms, where she handled workers’ compensation and civil litigation matters. She graduated from Widener University School of Law in 2002 and received a B.A. from Dickinson College in 1999.
Sasha E. Miller is an Associate of the firm’s Healthcare and Long-Term Care Group. Prior to joining Burns White, Ms. Miller was an Associate at Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky in Pittsburgh, handling a range of commercial litigation, commercial transactions and workers’ compensation matters. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2010, and received dual B.S. and B.A. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh in 2007.
Lyle D. Washowich, Co-Chair of the Banking and Financial Services Group, was appointed by the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers (PACB) to serve on its Strategic Planning Committee. In this capacity, Mr. Washowich will help shape the association’s direction, priorities and strategies on issues pertinent to Pennsylvania’s community banks.
William J. Mundy, Co-Chair of the Healthcare and Long-Term Care Group, and Stephen S. Stallings, Chair of the White Collar and Government Enforcement Group, were both quoted in recent articles in The Legal Intelligencer.
Mr. Mundy, who is based out of the Philadelphia office, was quoted throughout “Long-Term Care Litigation Sees Surge,” the first of a two-part series looking at the future of long-term care litigation. Click here to read it. He was also quoted in part two of the series, “Obamacare to Affect Nursing Homes, Too” which can be viewed here.
Pittsburgh-based, Mr. Stallings gave insight on why white collar lawyers are in such high demand in Pennsylvania in “Market for White-Collar Lawyers White Hot in Pa.” which can be read here.
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 28, 2013 — Members David A. Damico, Daniel B. Donahoe, T.H. Lyda, Patrick L. Mechas, D. Scott Newman and Of Counsel Michael W. Burns were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2014 (Copyright 2013 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC). In addition, Mr. Damico was named the Best Lawyers’ 2014 Pittsburgh Railroad Law “Lawyer of the Year.”
First published in 1983, Best Lawyers® is based on a peer-review survey where nearly 50,000 attorneys cast nearly five million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas and geographic locations.
Mr. Damico, Founding Member and Co-Chair of the Transportation Group, brings more than 28 years of litigation experience coupled with business acumen to his corporate clients. He serves as National Trial Counsel to multiple railroad companies and has tried numerous occupational illness, toxic exposure and catastrophic personal injury cases.
Mr. Donahoe concentrates his practice in the defense of occupational illness cases in both federal and state courts throughout the country. With a primary emphasis in FELA litigation, he has also performed defense work in the areas of product liability, automobile insurance and personal injury.
Mr. Lyda, who Co-Chairs the Transportation Group, was named Pittsburgh Railroad Law “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers last year. A litigator with more than 20 years of experience, he is well versed in occupational disease, toxic tort and products liability litigation. Mr. Lyda also handles OSHA citation contests and inspections for clients in several industries and is an invited speaker on the topic at national conferences.
Co-Chair of the firm’s Healthcare and Long-Term Care Practice Group, Mr. Mechas has 20 years of legal experience defending professional negligence claims on behalf of medical and dental professionals, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, long-term acute care hospitals and management services companies. In addition to his extensive healthcare practice, he has defended numerous products liability and general liability matters on behalf of businesses from a variety of industries.
Mr. Newman joined the firm in 1990 and is Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Group. He represents both self-insured corporations and insurance companies before workers’ compensation judges, the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board and the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Mr. Newman maintains a secondary concentration in the practice of administrative law under the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act and Black Lung Benefits Act.
Founding Member Mr. Burns has more than 40 years of litigation experience representing individuals, businesses and governmental agencies across multiple jurisdictions. He currently serves as Of Counsel to the firm. Mr. Burns has extensive experience litigating catastrophic loss personal injury, toxic tort and dram shop cases in federal and state courts throughout the nation.
The National Association of Chemical Distributors selected Burns White for its inaugural Regulatory Compliance Preferred Provider Program to support its members in the increasingly tough regulatory environment in which they operate. The firm was chosen for four out of the eight regulatory issue areas offered: environmental issues, chemical regulations, process safety/occupational safety and health, and transportation. Click here to find out more about the program.
