Defamation, Libel, & Slander 2026

Heather S. Heidelbaugh has four (4) decades of experience as a trial lawyer and has handled litigation matters for businesses and individuals regionally and nationally. Unique to her practice, clients hire her based on her expertise and passion as a trial lawyer and zealous advocate; with an enviable record of wins. She is a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers, Litigation Counsel of America (both honorary societies), listed in Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers and rated AV pre-eminent by Martindale Hubbell. In addition to a successful trial practice, Heather has been very active in local, state, and national political matters; both as a lawyer in the Election Law arena, as a public official and candidate, and as a source for political analysis and commentary throughout Pennsylvania.

Mr. Berry is a partner in the Philadelphia office of Ballard Spahr LLP, where he represents news, entertainment, and other media clients in defamation and privacy suits, accessing government and court records, defending reporters who are subpoenaed, and advising clients on newsgathering and other First Amendment matters. He has litigated cases for media clients in jurisdictions around the country, from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York to Florida, California, and the Virgin Islands. Mr. Berry currently serves on the boards of the Media Law Resource Center Institute and Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, is co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Bar-Press Committee, and is an ex officio member of the board of Spotlight PA. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Emory University and holds a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University. He attended the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he graduated with highest honors and served as Editor in Chief of the North Carolina Law Review. Previously, Mr. Berry worked on Capitol Hill for the late Senator Paul D. Coverdell, R-Ga., and as a law clerk to the Honorable David B. Sentelle on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Judge Stengel is the chair of Saxton Stump’s Internal Investigations Group and CEO of Optimal Dispute Resolutions, an ADR practice providing mediation and arbitration services in a wide variety of cases. Since joining the firm, Judge Stengel has been appointed to several high-profile matters, including as the special investigator for the National Football League (NFL) concussion settlement program and as a member of the Independent Oversight Committee for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Independent Reconciliation and Reparations Program (IRRP). Judge Stengel began his career as a judge on the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas in 1990. ln 2004, he was appointed to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by President George W. Bush. He became chief judge on August 1, 2017. Judge Stengel has received various awards and been appointed to several boards. One of those awards includes the President’s Award from the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges for preparing and presenting a panel on racial disparity in sentencing at a statewide conference. While serving as a state court judge, Judge Stengel served on the Executive Committee and Education Committee for the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges and as the President of the Lancaster Bar Association. As bar president, he formed the Diversity Task Force and Lancaster Bar Association Foundation. At the federal level, he was appointed to the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Resources and was subsequently named chair of the committee by Chief Justice John Roberts. He also served on the Third Circuit Judicial Council and various committees and working groups in the federal judiciary. Prior to his career as a judge, Judge Stengel was in private practice first with Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C. He then began his own practice in Lancaster with his father, Lawrence E. Stengel, Esq. Judge Stengel received his Bachelor of Arts from Saint Joseph’s University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He previously taught at Lancaster Catholic High School, Millersville University, Franklin and Marshall College and the Beasley School of Law at Temple University.