Overview
Faculty
Kristen Feden Esq.
Kristen M. Gibbons Feden, a Partner at Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, is widely-regarded as one of the Nation’s leading litigators in the field of sexual abuse and civil rights. She has proven herself to be fearless when fighting for survivors against high-profile offenders and large institutions. Christened by the New York Times as “The Prosecutor Who Stared Down Bill Cosby,” she is internationally recognized as a leading litigator in the #MeToo Movement. Internationally acclaimed as a fierce litigator, she has represented numerous sexual abuse survivors in their pursuit of civil justice and received a multitude of awards for her tireless work with the most vulnerable survivors, many of whom were in their darkest moments when they sought her out. While her, now famous, closing argument in the second trial of Commonwealth v. William H. Cosby put her in the international spotlight, she has always been dedicated to fighting for victims of sexual abuse both in and out of the courtroom. She began her work with victims as a prosecutor in Montgomery County, where she served as Captain of the Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Units and member of the Sex Crimes Unit. In that role, she successfully litigated scores of cases to verdict, including trials involving sexual and physical abuse, domestic violence, and homicide. While a prosecutor, she received multiple commendations for her courtroom successes and efforts on behalf of survivors. By taking many cases to trial that others would not, she demonstrated her dedication to survivors, time and time again. Outside of the courtroom, she provides a powerful voice for victims nationwide. She uses her experience and training in law enforcement to passionately fight for people and groups who have suffered unfair discrimination by police or government. She is regularly called upon for expert commentary on high-profile matters by attorneys and international and national media outlets alike including MSNBC, NBC, CNN, CBS, ABC, Fox, NPR, and the BBC. She has traveled internationally speaking out and fighting for changes in the law and in our societies’ understanding of the dynamics of sexual violence and the effects of sexual trauma on survivors. She has been recognized by numerous victim’s rights organizations around the country for this work. She is also a proud member of various Boards and Court Appointments, including being a Board Member of AEquitas, a national resource center for law enforcement investigating and prosecuting sex trafficking and other sex crimes; the President of the Montgomery County’s Victim’s Services Center; and a Member of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Criminal Procedural Rules Committee. Her expertise is also frequently called upon by various advocacy groups to present and provide keynote speeches. She is also an adjunct professor at the Temple University Beasley School of Law and occasionally teaches in the top-ranked Temple LL.M. program in Trial Advocacy. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Temple University Beasley School of Law (JD), where she serves as an Adjunct Professor in the JD and LLM programs, and Lafayette University (BS).
Elizabeth Crawford Esq.
Ms. Crawford is a partner at Kline & Specter and a graduate with honors from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law. After gaining experience at two other law firms, Philadelphia Family Court in the Domestic Violence Unit, and a clerkship with a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Ms. Crawford joined Kline & Specter in 2013. In October 2019, Ms. Crawford, as lead counsel, won a $4.7 million verdict against an Abington Hospital doctor for the family of a Glenside man who died because of the delayed diagnosis of a severe bacterial infection. The verdict was a rare victory for a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case in Montgomery County, Pa. Earlier this year, Ms. Crawford was co-counsel with Andy Stern in a case that resulted in an eight-figure settlement for a woman in her 20’s who suffered permanent brain damage after medical providers in New Jersey failed to properly perform neurosurgical procedures and properly monitor the patient. In a highly publicized trial, Ms. Crawford was co-counsel among a group of plaintiffs’ attorneys who won a jury verdict and subsequent $227 million settlement in lawsuits involving the collapse of a Center City building that killed seven people and injured 12 others. With Andy Stern, Ms. Crawford in May 2017 helped obtain a $95.6 million recovery — the largest personal injury recovery in Pennsylvania history — for Mariya Plekan, who was catastrophically injured in the building collapse. In previous litigation, Ms. Crawford was co-counsel with Andy Stern in a case that resulted in an eight-figure settlement for a teenager who suffered permanent brain damage after medical providers in New Jersey failed to properly monitor, diagnose and treat him following an orthopedic-related surgery. Ms. Crawford in late 2015 also worked with Stern to win a $10.1 million jury award in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court for a child who suffered deafness and brain-related injuries because of a delay in diagnosing and treating bacterial meningitis at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The Legal Intelligencer reported that the verdict, which came at the end of a four-week trial, was among the Top 10 in Pennsylvania for 2015 and was the largest medical malpractice verdict involving a minor for the year. The Superior Court affirmed the verdict through a published opinion and approved delay damages that increased the total award by $1.25 million and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied Defendants’ Petition for Allowance for Appeal. Earlier in the same year, Ms. Crawford was co-counsel in a Delaware County, Pa., trial that produced a $7.4 million jury verdict for a 61-year-old man who suffered a debilitating stroke after his doctor failed to treat symptoms including elevated blood pressure. The verdict was in the Top 15 verdicts for the year in Pennsylvania. In one of her first cases at Kline & Specter, Ms. Crawford was co-counsel in litigation which resulted in an eight-figure settlement for the family of an infant who suffered permanent brain injury due to oxygen deprivation during delivery. The lawsuit, settled in April 2014, claimed personnel at a Philadelphia hospital failed to properly monitor and regulate the use of the labor-induction drug Pitocin. In 2019 and 2020, Ms. Crawford was named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer — Rising Star, designating her as among the top 2.5 percent of attorneys in the state who are 40 or younger. Ms. Crawford is also a member of The National Trial Lawyers “Pennsylvania Top 40 under 40,” a professional organization comprised of top young trial attorneys.
Heidi Villari Esq.
Ms. Villari is the principal Shareholder of The Villari Firm, LLC, a boutique specialty firm representing people who are catastrophically injured. Ms. Villari is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as the State of New Jersey. She practices actively in both states. Her main office is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was born and raised. Ms. Villari’s career has been diverse. She honed the practice of law first on the defense side, where she was one of the first young female partners of her former firm. She then switched sides and became a plaintiffs’ lawyer where her focus included catastrophic loss, wrongful death, and medical malpractice. Ms. Villari’s aggressive approach to holding people accountable for their wrongdoing has resulted in a number of favorable outcomes for clients. She uses her training on the defense side as well as her past experience in handling significant injuries and complex litigation to advocate for clients. There is no doubt that Ms. Villari’s knowledge of personal injury law and her watchful eye in overcoming the defense strategies have led her to a prolific career. To date, Ms. Villari has obtained over $125 million in settlement and awards. One of Ms. Villari’s most notable cases involved wins include a $11 Million Dollar Jury Verdict in Buck County Pennsylvania involving a woman who suffered a tear when delivering a baby. She also obtained an $8 Million Dollar result in a helicopter crash case where her client was partially paralyzed. Other Notable Settlements include a $20 million settlement on behalf for an obstetrical injury and a $12 Million Dollar settlement in a case involving a bus accident. Ms. Villari most enjoys handling cases where children have been injured as she believes that the work done in pediatric cases can improve the lives of innocent children who are harmed. Ms. Villari is on the Board of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. She served as a Judge Pro Tempore for Philadelphia County. She is a Hearing Committee Member for the Disciplinary Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She has earned the Clients’ choice award for AVVO with a top rating, and for the last two years, received Top 50 Women in Pennsylvania. She is also a member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Justinian Society. She is a Board Member of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. Outside her practice, Ms. Villari frequently teaches fellow attorneys through continuing education courses and enjoys spending time with her young son, Matteo.
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