Ms. Lefkowitz is a lawyer and career coach at Achievement by Design Coaching in Media, PA. She is a certified professional coach at and veteran Philadelphia attorney who helps clients navigate career transitions, get more business, and increase productivity. A former board member of the International Coach Federation’s Philadelphia chapter, Ms. Lefkowitz has successfully coached a best-selling author, law firm partners, and chief executives. Firms have also hired her, a former in-house counsel, to work directly with entry-level associates to improve performance and increase their early contributions to the firm. She holds a BA and JD from Temple University and Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia and attended the College of Executive Coaching as well as the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

June Essis is a distinguished legal professional with a proven track record in commercial transportation, insurance defense, product liability, and commercial litigation, offering innovative solutions to complex legal challenges. With a career spanning more than 30 years, June brings a transformative approach to resolving catastrophic losses, combining her deep understanding of various industries with a keen insight into the intricacies of business operations. Focused on representing trucking companies and drivers in accident-related claims, she navigates the complexities of statutory regulations and vehicle code violations with finesse, ensuring her client’s interests are vigorously defended in Pennsylvania’s federal and state courts. Drawing on her extensive trial experience and leveraging her understanding of the mediation process, June Essis employs the best strategies to effectively resolve catastrophic losses. A dedicated advocate, June is committed to reshaping public perceptions of the trucking industry, tirelessly working to dispel myths of danger and promote safer practices. Her influence extends beyond the courtroom, as she frequently lectures at industry conferences and contributes articles to defense organization journals. In addition to her work in trucking defense, June has successfully represented clients in product liability matters, commercial litigation, dram shop matters, and property and casualty claims. June has also represented liftgate manufacturers in product liability matters, various businesses in commercial litigation, and numerous insurers in property and casualty claims. Her leadership roles within esteemed industry organizations such as the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel (PADC), the Trucking Defense Advisory Council (TDAC), and the Defense Research Institute (DRI) reflect her commitment to advancing the legal profession. Recognized for her exemplary advocacy, June holds an AV Preeminent^® rating by Martindale-Hubbell for over a decade and has been honored with the International Trial Lawyers Association Award for Outstanding Trial Advocacy. With a foundation rooted in excellence, June’s career trajectory exemplifies her dedication to delivering top-tier legal representation and cost-effective solutions to her clients. After graduating law school, June served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Sydney Hoffman of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Bock is a respected and recognized leader in the ADR field. One of the handfuls of full time neutrals in the Philadelphia area, his practice for the last two decades has been devoted exclusively to serving as arbitrator, mediator, factfinder or hearing officer. Mr. Bock’s areas of expertise include business, personal injury, professional malpractice, employment, insurance, partnership, law firm and equitable distribution disputes. Mr. Bock is routinely selected by agreement of counsel as well as State and Federal Judiciary to serve as Arbitrator, Special Master or Mediator. He is currently Special Hearing Officer for the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. A frequent lecturer for continuing legal education programs, commercial trade associations, insurance carriers and Trial Lawyer and Defense Counsel groups in all aspects of dispute resolution, Mr. Bock has authored numerous articles in the ADR field. He was the founding Managing Editor and was instrumental in initiating publication of The Philadelphia County Reporter in 1977 and served in such capacity until 1990. Director Bock serves as a consultant in ADR design and utilization. He created and implemented a unique mediation program in the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court and served as Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association ADR Committee for five years. Under his leadership, ADR awareness and utilization in the Philadelphia area increased substantially. He has also served as special ADR Consultant to governmental entities and Fortune 500 companies, and was recently appointed by the Mayor, President of City Council, and the City Controller to serve as the Hearing Officer for the Philadelphia Water Department’s proposed $318 million rate increase for fiscal years 2009-2012. Mr. Bock is currently Adjunct Professor of Alternative Dispute Resolution at Villanova Law School and has assisted in the teaching of courses on dispute resolution at numerous accredited institutions. He served on the ADR Section of the Pennsylvania Futures Commission and on other state and national ADR related committees and organizations. Mr. Bock also served as an Arbitrator for The International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims. Mr. Bock was born and raised in Philadelphia. After graduating from Central High School with Barnwell Honors in 1966, he was inducted into The Beta Alpha Psi Honor Society at Temple University, where he received his B.B.A. in 1970. A 1973 graduate of Villanova Law School, and winner of the U.S. Law Week prize for academic excellence, he received his primary mediation training at Harvard Law School in 1990. Since that time he has received and participated in extensive ADR training from numerous nationally respected training programs. Mr. Bock has also taught mediation with faculty from Pepperdine University Law School’s renowned Straus Institute. Mr. Bock is President of the Philadelphia Lawyers Club, a Board Member of Philadelphia Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a Board Member of the American Heart Association, trustee of Boys Town of Jerusalem, President of Vassar Square Condominiums, and former Chairman of the Radnor Township Housing Appeal Board. He resides in the Rittenhouse Square area of Philadelphia.

Katherine Tenzinger handles pre-suit and litigated matters involving the full spectrum of liability claims affecting the transportation industry, including personal injury, fatality and catastrophic loss, property damage, cargo loss, and household goods liability claims. Katherine also handles transactional and contract matters including equipment leases, brokerage agreements, and defense and indemnity agreements. Katherine routinely represents motor carriers, drivers, brokers, and household goods carriers. Her experience has led to a deep understanding of the specialized areas of law that apply to claims against actors in the transportation industry. In addition to her transportation practice, Katherine defends premises liability matters, including representation of the property owner, general contractor, and subcontractor in both the liability matter and tender pursuit efforts.

Mr. Tanner is the co-managing partner at Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock & Dodig, LLP, where he focuses his practice on complex civil litigation including medical malpractice, product liability, insurance bad faith, and catastrophic personal injury cases. He is a board-certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and was inducted as a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, which limits its membership to 500 of the top trial attorneys from the United States. Mr. Tanner has been recognized in Philadelphia Magazine as one of the Top 10 Superlawyers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the past ten consecutive years and received the second-highest number of votes in the state in 2014. In 2005, he was the recipient of the President=s Award of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers= Association and has served continuously as a Board member and/or officer of that organization where, in 2007, he served as its President. Similarly, Mr. Tanner served on the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice. He also has been inducted as an Associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). Mr. Tanner has served as a faculty member for Temple University=s Academy of Advocacy and has provided over 60 CLE lectures by invitation for various legal organizations in the United States and in London. He was elected and served on the Philadelphia Bar Association Board of Governors and is an Investigator for the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention. Through the Bar Association, he has chaired the discovery court sub-committee for the State Civil Litigation Section and was appointed to a committee formed to work with the judiciary and implement reforms in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas as suggested by the National Committee on State Courts. He has also been appointed as a Hearing Committee Member by the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. To date, Mr. Tanner has obtained jury verdicts for his clients totaling in excess of $55 million in courts throughout Pennsylvania. He also regularly represents indigent clients through the Philadelphia VIP Program, and volunteers as a Child Advocate with the Support Center for Child Advocates, an organization which also appointed him to its Board of Directors. He received his undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross and graduated with honors from Temple University School of Law.

Judge Moss retired from the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania on November 1, 2013 to become the Executive Director of the Stephen & Sandra Sheller Center for Social Justice at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. In January 2014, she joined The Dispute Resolution Institute as an arbitrator, mediator, Special Master and expert witness. Known for her analytical and persuasive style, Judge Moss has developed Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedures that are taught to judges across the country at The National Judicial College. Judge Moss’ innovations in administering complex litigation have given her national recognition. She was Chair and a founding member of the State Judges Mass Tort Litigation Committee, the first national organization to develop common approaches to problems in Mass Tort Litigation. She was invited to testify before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and addressed The Conference of Chief Justices and The Federal Court’s Multi-District Litigation Panel on managing and resolving a multitude of cases, involving not only mass tort actions, but medical, pharmaceutical and products liability issues as well. In addition to her national recognition in mass tort litigation, as the founder and first supervising judge of the famed Complex Litigation Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she has created groundbreaking programs in the medical malpractice; products liability and catastrophic injury areas and has served as both a trial judge and an administrator. Judge Moss has been recognized for her ability to accept challenges and solve difficult problems through consensus. In 2007, the Philadelphia Bar Association presented her with “The Justice William J. Brennan Distinguished Jurist Award,” which recognizes a jurist who adheres to the highest ideals of judicial service. She was selected as The Beasley School of Law’s “Certificate of Honor” recipient at Temple University’s Founder’s Day Celebration in 2008, and in 2010, The Legal Intelligencer selected her as a “Woman of Distinction.” The Philadelphia Bar’s State Civil Section chose Judge Moss as its 2011 “Honoree” and The National Judicial College presented her with its “Service Award” in 2012. In 2013, The Temple Law Alumni Association bestowed its inaugural “Woman’s Champion Award” on her. In 2014, the Philadelphia Bar Association, once again, honored Judge Moss with “The Sandra Day O’Connor Award,” conferred upon a woman attorney who has achieved significant legal accomplishments and has furthered the advancement of women in both the profession and the community. In addition to serving as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Temple, she has also taught at Widener Law School and Drexel University, and participated in literally hundreds of continuing legal and judicial education programs.

Kelly McWilliams is an experienced and effective complex litigation trial attorney with a specialty in all areas of casualty litigation. Kelly McWilliams is a dedicated trial attorney with 25 years experience, a strong reputation in the Philadelphia legal community for aggressive and successful advocacy, and has received an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell.

Craig Levin is an experienced litigator who has brought over 40 cases to trial. He handles primarily personal injury matters, but his practice also includes estate work (specifically handling matters concerning tangled titles), as well as criminal, real estate, and family law matters. Craig spoke passionately during his interview about his dedication to reforming the way the city and the Commonwealth treat formerly incarcerated individuals, and he has dedicated his volunteer efforts to various reentry programs. He is a board member and volunteer for Community Forgiveness and Restoration Initiative (CFRI), which he described as “an assembly of clergy, community leaders and rehabilitated and transformed incarcerated citizens” that works to “provide incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals with educational opportunities, job training, mentorship, social, coping, and communicative skills, and connect them to resources and services to increase their chances of a successful reintegration back into the community.” During CFRI programs, Craig visits prisons twice a week, and then participates in a five-week program to teach formerly-incarcerated individuals life skills and prepare them for successful re-entry. As a judge, Craig stated that he would reduce excessive supervision and probation.

David L. Kwass, a partner at Saltz, Mongeluzzi & Bendesky, PC, handles cases involving crane and aerial lift accidents, equipment tipovers, guardrail failures, automobile crashworthiness claims, electrical contacts, workplace falls, recreational products, and liquor liability. Mr. Kwass served as the Chairman of the State Civil Procedural Rules Committee. An active member of the American Association for Justice, Mr. Kwass is a past Chair of the Product Liability Section, and currently serves as Chairman of the Crane and Aerial Lift Litigation Group and Co-Chairman of the Guardrail Litigation Group. His passion for workplace safety and safe product design has resulted in over 100 separate verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million. Since 2012, he has been recognized each year as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer. Mr. Kwass’ courtroom advocacy has earned multiple seven figure verdicts for his clients, including a $19,100,000 award in June 2021. Mr. Kwass is a 1987 graduate of Haverford College, receiving a B.A. with Honors. He earned a master’s degree from Georgetown University (1989), a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1992, and in 2002, a master’s degree with honors in Trial Advocacy from the Temple University School of Law. Mr. Kwass continues his association with Temple’s School of Law as an Adjunct Professor of Law in the ITAP Program, teaching advanced Civil Procedure, and lecturing in the LLM Program on various trial advocacy topics. He has mentored Temple’s trial teams on construction and product liability cases and served as the Coach of the Strawberry Mansion High School Mock Trial Team. An active author, Mr. Kwass’ publishing credits include “Heavy Lifting Ahead,” Trial, Vol. 55, No. 11 (November 2019) at p. 46; “Looking Out for Boom Lift Defects,” Trial, Vol. 53, No. 11 (November 2017) at p. 40; “Protect Your Life Care Plan,” Trial, Vol. 53, No. 4 (April 2017) at p. 52. “Building Your Case Against Architects and Engineers,” Trial, Vol. 51 (October 2015) at p. 30; “Defective Guardrails on Our Highways,” AAJ Product Liability Section Newsletter (Winter 2015); “Dealing in Dangers,” Trial, Vol. 50 (April 2014) at p. 36; “Defuse the OSHA Citation,” Trial, Vol. 49, No. 4 (April 2013) at p. 46; “Try Opening with a Videotaped Deposition,” Trial, Vol. 43 (April 2007) at p. 52; “Proving Your Case With Manufacturer Employee Depositions,” Trial, Vol. 42, No. 2 (February 2006) at p. 56; and “Law on Seat Belt Defense Continues to Develop,” Andrews Litigation Reporter Automotive, Vol. 24, Issue 15 (1/25/05). Mr. Kwass is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, and the Third, Fourth and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals. He is an active member of the American and Pennsylvania Associations for Justice, and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. Away from work, Mr. Kwass is the principal owner of the Tria cafes in Center City, Philadelphia, where wine, cheese and beer are the focus.

Presently a distinguished neutral at The Dispute Resolution Institute, serving the profession as a mediator, arbitrator, Discovery Master, and trial strategy consultant, Judge Snyder previously served as a Workers’ Compensation Judge for approximately 15 years. Judge Snyder served as the 2020 Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, the nation’s oldest bar association. Judge Snyder has been an active member of the Association for 25 years, having previously served as Chancellor-Elect, Vice-Chancellor, Assistant Secretary, and member of the Board of Governors of the Association. In addition, Judge Snyder has served as Chair of the Bar Academy, and as Chair or Co-Chair of the Law School Outreach Initiative. Judge Snyder has also served as a member of the Investigative Team of the Association’s Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention, and currently serves as a member of the Commission. He is currently Co-Chair of the Association’s Fee Dispute Committee. He has also served as Vice-Chair and Treasurer of the Association’s Campaign for Qualified Judges. In addition, Judge Snyder is a trustee of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation, and served as chair of the Foundation’s Grants Committee. Judge Snyder twice served as a co-chair of the Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section and continues to serve the Section’s Executive Committee as Of Counsel. He also served as Chair of the Association’s PNC Award Committee. In addition to his Philadelphia Bar Association activities, Judge Snyder has served as Vice-Chancellor and Chancellor of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society, and as President of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society Foundation. In addition, Judge Snyder served as a member of the House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and was a member of the Judicial Administration Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Judge Snyder is also a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Additionally, Judge Snyder is a Director of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Bar Foundation. On a national level, Judge Snyder is a member of the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, serving as the Chair of the NCBP’s Metro Bar Committee, and as Vice-Chair of the 21st Century Lawyer Committee. Judge Snyder is a member of the Temple American Inn of Court and was the founder and President of the Judge Alexander F. Barbieri Workers’ Compensation Inn of Court. Judge Snyder also serves as a member of the Elder Justice Resource Center Taskforce, and the Ombuds Project, a joint First Judicial District/ Bar Association initiative. Additionally, Judge Snyder is also a Board Member of Good Shepherd Mediation Services. A 1974 graduate of Temple University Law School, he received his undergraduate degree from Muhlenberg College. Prior to his appointment, Judge Snyder was engaged in private practice, representing Plaintiffs, Claimants, Employers and Defendants. He has lectured extensively for the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Mutual Insurance Carriers, the Pennsylvania Self-Insured Association, the Delaware Valley Workers’ Compensation Trust, the Delaware Valley Consortium, National Business Institutes, the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel, and the Beasley School of Law at Temple University, as well as for a number of other private organizations on a variety of topics. Judge Snyder has been recognized as an authority on the interrelationships between Workers’ Compensation and Medicare, and lectures frequently on various issues, including trial strategy, jury selection, medicine and the law, and labor and employment issues. Judge Snyder received advanced mediation training through the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions. Judge Snyder is an Adjunct Professor at Temple University Beasley School of Law. He teaches Mediation Advocacy and has taught Anatomy for Litigators. Judge Snyder was recently named Scholar in Residence of the Legal Studies Division of the Fox School of Business of Temple University. Judge Snyder has been honored by the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association with the Martha Hampton Award. The Pennsylvania Bar Association honored him with the Sir Francis Bacon Award, presented by the Alternatve Dispute Resolution Committee of the PBA. In addition, he received the Benjamin F. Levy Community Service Award from the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society.

Mr. Haggerty is one of the founding partners of Haggerty, Goldberg, Schleifer & Kupersmith with offices in Philadelphia, Holland, Reading, Lancaster and Allentown.  He focuses his practice upon plaintiff’s personal injury, bad faith, class actions, UM/UIM claims and insurance coverage matters, having previously represented the insurance industry for over 30 years.  He is consistently ranked in the top 100 Lawyers in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia.  Mr. Haggerty served on the Board of the Pennsylvania Defense Institute, being President of that organization in 2007.  He is currently a member of the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice.  Previously, he served on the Supreme Court Appellate Rules Committee for six years.  In addition, he recently completed his term on the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court, having served as Chair for 2020-2021.  He has argued numerous cases before the Superior and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania as well as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.  Mr. Haggerty is a frequent lecturer on insurance, bad faith and motor vehicle law issues throughout the state.

Since 2016 Judge Cohen has been a Team Leader for Major Jury Civil Cases in Philadelphia. Currently, he is the Team Leader responsible for overseeing all cases filed in 2018. Previously, he was the Team Leader for all cases filed in 2016. Before his service in the Trial Division- Civil, he had presided in the Criminal and Family Courts. Judge Cohen commenced his service on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas when appointed by Governor Thomas Ridge in 2000. He was elected in 2001 and retained for a ten-year term in 2011. Judge Cohen had been a Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney from 1976-2000. Since 2016, Judge Cohen has been the Co-Chair of the First Judicial District’s Civil Conversations Program (a judicial education program) and previously was the Co-Chair of the First Judicial District’s Criminal Conversations Program from 2006-2015. He has been the Board of Judges’ Parliamentarian since 2017. Additionally, he was elected to the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges Executive Committee from 2006-2009. Judge Cohen has been very active for the last thirty-one years with the Philadelphia Bar Association. His leadership roles have included: Board of Governors (elected to a three-year term); Co-Chair of Professional Responsibility Committee for eighteen years, spanning three decades; Judicial Selection Commission; and Criminal Justice Section Chair. Judge Cohen was elected President of the Boston College Law School Alumni Association in 2010 and received the Daniel G. Holland Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association in 2019. Judge Cohen graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and earned his J.D. from Boston College Law School.

Mr. Thompson is director of the Complex Litigation Center and Senior Judge Complex, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia County. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and Certificate in Broadcasting from the Pennsylvania State University and his Juris Doctor degree from Temple University School of Law. Mr. Thompson has worked in various capacities with the court for over 22 years. He was law clerk to the Honorable Angelo A. Guarino, Honorable Ethan Allen Doty, and other senior judges assigned to the Complex Litigation Center from 1992 through 1997. He subsequently served as civil case manager and supervising civil case manager. Mr. Thompson has been recognized for his contribution to the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program and Trial Division Civil Judicial Tipstaff Education, Training and Development Program. Mr. Thompson is the 2018 recipient of the annual Honorable Alex Bonavitacola Award for outstanding service, presented by the Philadelphia Bar Association, State Civil Litigation Section. He has served as judge pro tempore on behalf of judicial team leaders, conducting settlement conferences. Mr. Thompson has also worked as a recovery administrator for Master Lease Corporation/Tokai Financial, Inc., Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, working with general counsel and vice president to resolve commercial account disputes. He has also worked in private practice for several years as a litigation associate for Stahl and DeLaurentis, P.C., in the firm’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Voorhees, New Jersey, offices. Mr. Thompson is a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association, Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management, Pennsylvania Association for Court Managers, Barristers’ Association of Philadelphia, Temple Law Alumni Association, Temple American Inn of Court, Lawyer’s Club of Philadelphia, and Citizen Diplomacy International. He has collaborated with the court’s Department of Information and Technology Services (IT) in developing and maintaining the mass tort information page on the court’s website. He has served as an author and presenter for numerous continuing legal education programs covering various areas, including civil practice and procedure, arbitration and arbitration appeal practice, mass tort, and complex litigation. Mr. Thompson has been admitted to the following bars: Pennsylvania, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and Supreme Court of the United States.

Ms. Eagen has been the director of the Arbitration Center since 2014. Prior to her appointment as director, Ms. Eagen was law clerk to the Honorable D. Webster Keogh, who was assigned to the Major Civil Trial division, Day Forward program. Ms. Eagen also clerked for Judge Keogh during his tenure as administrative judge and supervising judge of the Criminal Trial division. For approximately five years, Ms. Eagen served as a law clerk to various senior judges in the Criminal Trial Division handling major felony cases. Ms. Eagen graduated magna cum laude from the University of Scranton with a B.S. in economics/finance in 1988. She received her J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law in 1991. After law school, Ms. Eagen clerked for the Honorable Leon Katz and the Honorable Albert John Snite, Jr., before returning to Northeastern Pennsylvania. There, she worked for three years as a litigation associate with Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald. She returned to Philadelphia in 1996 and worked for Post & Schell, as well as Rubintate, Jacobs & Saba. During her tenure with the FJD, she has helped coordinate the “Law Day” trials for the Early Education Program with the Honorable Annette Rizzo (retired) and participated in the FJD’s Management Development Program and Civil Education, Training and Development Program. Ms. Eagen also served for six years as a Board member, including as vice-president and president, of the Board of Trustees for Independence Charter School, Philadelphia, PA

Judge Klein spent 28 years as a trial and eight years as an appellate court judge in Pennsylvania. He served as a trial judge in all parts of Philadelphia’s courts.& When first appointed, he was the youngest judge in the history of Pennsylvania. When Judge Klein was elected to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, its intermediate appellate court, he received a “highly recommended” rating from the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the endorsement of every major newspaper in the State that made judicial endorsements. Retired from the bench, he is serving as a mediator, arbitrator and appellate consultant as “Of Counsel” with McElroy and Deutsch in Philadelphia. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Amherst College and an honor graduate of Harvard Law School. He won a National Merit Scholarship when he graduated from Friends’ Central School. He is co-author of the West Publication Thomson Reuters book, Trial Communication Skills, written with Body Language author Julius Fast and international lawyer Roberto Aron. He was awarded the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Sir Francis Bacon award, given to an individual who excels in the area of alternative dispute resolution and has had a significant professional impact in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the area of ADR. He also received the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s highest award for effective writing, the Clarity Award. He served for ten& years as co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution committee. He is founder and co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Plain English Committee. He is chair of the Pennsylvania Futures Commission in the 21st century, starting again to review and update a long-term plan for the Pennsylvania Justice system originally prepared 20 years ago. He served as educational leader for legal-study tours sponsored by the Corporation for Professional Conferences, having led 18 such trips, including trips to Russia, China, Greece, Thailand, Vietnam, France, Egypt, and the Czech Republic and Hungary, and South Africa. He served for fifteen years as an adjunct lecturer at Temple University Law School. Judge Klein frequently lectures on Alternative Dispute Resolution, Effective Writing, Trial and Appellate Advocacy, AI and Chatbots in Litigation, Legal Ethics, and other topics. He is past president of the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra. He also is the drummer and leader of the jazz groups, “The Reading Terminals” and “The Moonlighters.”

Ms. Coatsworth is a partner at Margolis Edelstein. She has litigated hundreds of motor vehicle, dealer fraud and lemon law cases from both the plaintiff and defense sides. Additionally, she concentrates her practice in the defense of professionals such as realtors, home inspectors, accountants and physicians. She also has extensive experience with premises liability and product liability and has handled employment and construction work and several fraternity cases. Ms. Coatsworth has defended dozens of car dealerships and real estate sales people for claims of breach of contract and fraud and violations of various fraud-related statutes such as the Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Magnuson Moss Warranty Improvement Act, the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Lemon Laws, the New Vehicle Damage Disclosure Act, the Automotive Industry Trade Practices Act, the Real Estate Sellers Disclosure Law and the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act. Additionally, Ms. Coatsworth specializes in representing Greek letter organizations in all manner of claims including dram shop, hazing, and personal injury. She was selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars from 2011 through 2018 and Super Lawyers in 2021-2024. Ms. Coatsworth currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association as Immediate Past Chancellor, having previously served as Chancellor, Chancellor-Elect, Vice Chancellor, Assistant Treasurer, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Parliamentarian and Elected Member. Additionally, she is a past co-chair of the Women in the Profession Committee, and she is also very active with the State Civil Litigation Section, Women’s Rights Committee, LGBTQ Rights Committee and the Real Property Section. She previously served on the Executive Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of that organization for six years and held the positions of Secretary and Vice Chair of the Division. She also served as a Trustee of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation and a Board Member for Philadelphia VIP. She serves on the Leadership Council of Community Legal Services and the Advisory Board for Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts. In the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Ms. Coatsworth is the Immediate Past Zone One Governor, and she sits on the Executive Counsel of the Civil Litigation Section as a Past Chair and the Women in the Profession Commission’s Executive Council as Co-Chair on the Nominating Committee. She previously served as co-chair of the PBA Women in the Profession Commission and chaired several of its committees including Annual Meeting, Fall Retreat and Awards Committee. She is also a Past Chancellor of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society, and she serves on several committees of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania including the Community Outreach Committee and the Jury Diversity Task Force.

Professor Hodge is a Professor Emeritus at Temple University where he teaches law, anatomy, and forensic courses. He is also a member of the Dispute Resolution Institute in Philadelphia where he serves as a mediator and neutral arbitrator. Professor Hodge has been named one of the most popular continuing legal education instructors in the country and lectures frequently to attorneys, judges, physicians. and governmental agencies on medical/legal issues and artificial intelligence. He has received multiple teaching awards including being named a Temple University Great Teacher and his Anatomy for Lawyers course was the recipient of the ACLEA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Continuing Legal Education. Professor Hodge is one of the most published authors in the United States on medical/legal matters. His book, Anatomy, and Physiology for Legal Professionals was published by PBI in 2020, and he is also the co-author of the books: Traumatic Head and Brain Injuries, ABA; The Forensic Autopsy, ABA; The Spine, ABA; Clinical Anatomy for Attorneys, ABA; and author of the award-winning book, Anatomy for Litigators, ALI-ABA. He also wrote Law in American Society, McGraw Hill; Law for the Business Enterprise, McGraw Hill; and Thermography and Personal Injury Litigation, Wiley Law. In addition to his authoring multiple books, he has published more than 200 articles in medical and legal journals and in excess of 500 non-referred publications. Professor Hodge is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law and the Graduate Division of the Law School. He has received mediation training at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. In addition to writing multiple law review articles on the various applications of artificial intelligence from its use in medicine to the legal profession, he testified before the Pennsylvania Legislature’s Democratic Caucus studying the use of artificial intelligence in a business setting. He is also on the committee making recommendations to the Pennsylvania legislature on proposed legislation on police body worn cameras.

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.

Mr. Cooper is a partner at the Harrisburg-based personal injury law firm of Schmidt Kramer P.C. where he specializes in personal injury law with an emphasis on motor vehicle accidents and insurance cases. An active member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (PAJ), Mr. Cooper served as its 2012-13 President. He is also chairman of its Legislative Policy Committee and has served on both the Executive Committee and Board of Governors. He is also the Treasurer of LAWPAC, the Association’s PAC. Mr. Cooper has an AV Preeminent Martindale-Hubbell rating. In November 2014, Mr. Cooper was appointed by then Pennsylvania Governor-elect Tom Wolf to act as a co-chair for the transition team committee overseeing the Department of the Commonwealth/State. In 2012, Mr. Cooper was appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to its Appellate Court Rules Committee. He has also been appointed as a Hearing Officer with the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board. In 2020, Mr. Cooper was appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to its Civil Procedure Rules Committee and was appointed by the Court to serve as the Committees’ Vice-Chair. In July 2021 he was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Wolf to the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board, and he was elected this year by the Board to service as its Chair. Mr. Cooper has been named by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers as one of the top 100 lawyers in the Commonwealth every year since 2011. In 2008, Mr. Cooper was honored by PAJ and awarded its prestigious Milton D. Rosenberg Award for leadership and efforts for victims’ rights. In 2005, Mr. Cooper received the Association’s prestigious George F. Douglas Amicus Curiae Award for outstanding appellate advocacy. In addition, Mr. Cooper has been selected for inclusion as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer every year from 2006 to the present, and in 2005 was a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Stars. He has also been named Best Lawyers In America each year since 2012. Mr. Cooper has been actively involved in many important appellate cases in the Pennsylvania Supreme and Superior Courts and United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, including Donovan v. State Farm, Gallagher v. GEICO, Rush v. Erie Ins. Exch., Rancosky v. Washington National, Allstate v. Wolfe, Ayers v. Geico, Heller v. League of Cities, Bumbarger v. Peerless, State Farm v. Rosenthal, Sackett v. Nationwide, and Smith v. Rohrbaugh. Mr. Cooper is also a member of the Pennsylvania and Dauphin County Bar Associations. He is a member of the Dauphin County Bar Associations. In 2021 he was named to the Board of Directors of the Joe Allegrini Children’s Hero Fund Board and this year was re-appointed to another term. Mr. Cooper is an editor for the leading treatise on Pennsylvania Auto Insurance released in December 2012, the Third Edition of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Financial Responsibility Law, Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Insurance: An Analysis of the Financial Responsibility Law. He is also an editor of all supplements for the Third Edition and was also a contributing editor on the Second Edition of the treatise. He is also the author of The A to Z of Civil Depositions in Pennsylvania published by PBI Press in February 2013. The text is a manual for attorneys who need assistance and ideas with handling various types of civil depositions in the Pennsylvania state and federal courts.
Mr. Cooper received his J.D. from Widener University School of Law (1993) and his B.A. from the University at Albany (1990). He is a frequent lecturer and author, who is also involved with the community through the Harrisburg Jewish Community Center and as an Adjunct Professor at Widener Law Commonwealth.

Mr. Novello is a partner in the law firm of Dashevsky, Horwitz, Kuhn, Novello and Shorr, P.C., which maintains offices in both Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Haddonfield, New Jersey. He is admitted into practice and has tried numerous cases in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and State of New Jersey. Mr. Novello is a graduate of Temple University (BBA) and the Widener University School of Law (JD) Mr. Novello is a past member of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Board of Directors. Mr. Novello is a former Senior Hearing Committee Member on behalf of the Disciplinary Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He has served as a Judge Pro Tempore for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas since the inception of the program and is frequently asked to serve as a neutral arbitrator and mediator. He is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution, Arbitration and Senior Attorney Committees of the Philadelphia Bar Association. He has served as President of the Girard Estate Area Residents Civic Association and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Packer Park Civic Association, Sports Complex Special Services District and the Widener University School of Law. Mr. Novello has made numerous television appearances as a legal consultant. He has lectured on numerous occasions to the judiciary and members of both the medical and legal communities on substantive and ethical issues. Mr. Novello lectures in the Temple University Law School LLM program. Mr. Novello has repeatedly been designated a “Super Lawyer” and awarded the highest rating by his peers and judges, including an “AV” rating in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Mr. Novello has repeatedly been designated to be in the Top One Percent of the lawyers in the United States.