Overview
Faculty
Lisa Grayson
The Honorable Lisa M. Grayson is currently the Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans’ Court for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. She recently retired after serving in the United States Air Force and Pennsylvania Air National Guard as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Prior to taking office in 2014, Ms. Grayson was a staff attorney for the United States District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, concentrating on death penalty and pro se cases. Prior to working for the Court, Ms. Grayson was in private practice, handling diverse matters in civil, criminal, and orphans’ court matters focusing on wills & probate, real estate, family, dependency, municipal, and mental health law. Ms. Grayson is an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, currently the co-chair of the Military and Veterans Affairs committee and Cumberland County Bar Association, currently serving as a director of the board. Ms. Grayson is a graduate of the Dickinson School of Law and Pennsylvania State University.
Stephan Todd Esq.
Mr. Todd retired from United States Steel Corporation in 2007 as Vice President-Law and Environmental Affairs. Prior to joining U. S. Steel in 1976, he was on active duty with the U.S. Army (JAGC) and retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a Colonel in 1996. He was a member of the Supreme Court Disciplinary from 2008 to 2014 and served as co-chair. Mr. Todd received his B.S. from Ohio State University in 1967, his J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law in 1970, and his LL.M. from University of Virginia Law School in 1976.
Richard Prebil Esq.
Richard A.J. Prebil, Esq., currently serves as a Staff Attorney with the Veterans Advocacy Project at Legal Aid of Southeastern PA, a project he helped establish in mid-2020. The mission of the Project is to provide trauma-informed, client-centered legal representation and advice to veterans experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness, and income insecurity, or living with a disability, in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties, and to empower individuals through legal education and increased access to the courts, and to change community practices and systems that cause or aggravate poverty. Currently, he primarily practices in the areas of VA benefits, discharge upgrades, and social security. He also provides brief advice in the areas of unemployment compensation, landlord/tenant, and other matters as necessary. He joined Legal Aid of Southeastern PA in September 2019 as a staff attorney in its Chester City, Delaware County, office representing low-income individuals throughout Delaware County in the areas of landlord/tenant, public/section 8 housing, child custody, public benefits, and unemployment compensation. Prior to joining Legal Aid, Mr. Prebil was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Military Assistance Project where he provided representation and outreach to veterans, current military personnel, and their families, in the areas of veterans benefits, discharge upgrades, and Chapter 7 bankruptcies. Throughout law school he interned with different legal service and social service organizations from Minnesota to Chicago to Philadelphia, focusing on assisting individuals experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness and income insecurity. Mr. Prebil is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Springfield (BA) and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law (JD). He also earned a Certificate in Trauma-Informed Organizations from the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care at the University of Buffalo in 2018. Mr. Prebil is licensed to practice law in PA, an accredited attorney with the US Department of Veterans Affairs, and is on the bar of the US District Court for the Eastern District of PA and the US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
Wesley R. Payne IV, Esq.
Mr. Payne is a partner in the litigation department at White and Williams, LLP, in Philadelphia. He is also the immediate past chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee, chair of the Pro Bono Committee and co-chair of the Partners’ Compensation Committee. He primarily focuses his practice in the areas of insurance defense, bad faith, extra-contractual damages, disability and coverage matters. Mr. Payne is a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer, selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America by Best Lawyers, and an AV Preeminent peer-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell. He has over 35 years of experience representing insurance carriers and insureds in first- and third-party litigation matters. Mr. Payne has successfully defended wrongful death, extra-contractual damages, product liability, asbestos, toxic tort, environmental, mass tort, commercial auto, construction, insurance coverage, disability, ERISA and general liability cases. Prior to joining White and Williams, LLP, he managed an inhouse litigation office for a major insurance carrier. Mr. Payne is licensed to practice before all state and federal courts in Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He has written and lectured on bad faith, extra-contractual damages, civil litigation and uninsured and underinsured motorist issues. Mr. Payne is a past Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, a past Zone 1 Governor and Minority-At-Large Governor of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, past president of the Board of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN), past president of the Conference of County Bar Leaders, past president of the Board of the Bethesda Project, a member of the Board of Directors of the Homeless Advocacy Project, a past co-president of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group (PDLG) and a past president of the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel (PADC). He was recognized by the Legal Intelligencer as an “Unsung Hero” for his dedication and service to the pro bono community. Mr. Payne is the recipient of The Honorable William F. Hall Award, the Huey R. Burkett Service Award, the Multicultural Leadership Award, and most recently named Defense Attorney of the Year by the Pennsylvania Defense Institute. He was also named as one of the “Top 60 African American Attorneys in Philadelphia” by the Philadelphia Tribune. Mr. Payne has been selected to City & State Pennsylvania’s 2022 Law Power 100 (39) and City & States Philadelphia’s Power 100 (91) lists. He serves as a Judge Pro Tem for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Mr. Payne received his B.A., cum laude, from Washington and Lee University and his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law, where he served as the president of the Student Bar Association.
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