Dawn M. Nicholson is a partner with Weber Gallagher. She concentrates her practice on the defense of national and regional insurance carriers, third-party administrators, and self-insured in workers’ compensation matters throughout Pennsylvania. She has successfully litigated clients in a variety of industries including commercial transportation, food and hospitality, retail, and manufacturing. Dawn has handled all aspects of litigation from utilization review, depositions, mediations, hearings, and testimonies. Additionally, she has obtained favorable decisions before workers’ compensation judges, the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, and the Commonwealth Court. Dawn was a judicial clerk to the Honorable Richard J. Geiger, New Jersey Superior Court – Civil Division, Cumberland County, and twice served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Reneé Marie Bumb, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. She holds a dual JD degree/Masters in Public Affairs and Politics. Dawn was selected by her peers for inclusion in the 2022 edition of Best Lawyers in America for her workers’ compensation practice. “Ones to Watch” awards recognize extraordinary lawyers who have been in private practice for less than 10 years in the United States and is based entirely on peer review. Dawn is a member of Weber Gallagher’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee and the Professional Development Committee. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She is a graduate of Rutgers School of Law -Camden, J.D.; The State University of New Jersey-Rutgers, M.P.A.P., summa cum laude; and University of Pittsburgh, B.A., summa cum laude. She is actively involved in the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the New Jersey Bar Association. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Gress Mountain Ranch. Dawn in on the UCC Appeals Board for Springfield Township and is Chairwoman of the Planning Commission for Springfield Township. She is a past Board member for the Southern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce.

Judge Martin graduated from Marist College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. After working as a paralegal at a New York City law firm, Judge Martin attended Fordham University School of Law, graduating in 2010.  Following graduation, Judge Martin served as a judicial clerk in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.  In 2012, Judge Martin joined Carpenter, McCadden & Lane, and in 2015, Judge Martin moved her practice to Hill Wallack, LLP.  On April 11, 2022, Judge Martin was appointed as a Workers’ Compensation Judge. Judge Martin is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Central Bucks County and serves as a Troop Leader for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.  She currently co-chairs the Continuing Legal Education sub-committee of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association and is also co-chair of the Bucks County Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section.

Mr. Aslam is a partner at Krasno, Krasno & Onwudinjo. He currently concentrates his practice in the representation of injured workers in both Eastern and North Eastern Pennsylvania. He is a certified specialist in workers’ compensation and has close to twenty years of litigating personal injury and workers’ compensation matters. He was previously a board member of the Pennsylvania Association of Justice. Mr. Aslam received his J.D. From the Washington College of Law at American University and received a B.A. In Economics with a minor in Mathematics at American University. He currently resides in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He can be reached by email at saslam@krasno.com.

Judge Beck has been a Workers’ Compensation Judge in Philadelphia since 2012. Judge Beck received his B.A. from Elizabethtown College in 1994 and his J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law in 1997. In private practice, Judge Beck represented primarily public and private employers, carriers, and third-party administrators in workers’ compensation matters for nearly fifteen years, culminating in a position as chief in-house workers’ compensation counsel for GUARD Insurance Group (now Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies). Judge Beck has authored and co-authored numerous articles for the Legal Intelligencer and taught and prepared materials for continuing legal education seminars, including the annual Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Conference, on the subject of workers’ compensation.

Stephen R. Miller is the managing partner of Pond Lehocky Giordano’s Pittsburgh office. Since his admission to the Pennsylvania bar in 2000, he has dedicated his practice to workers’ compensation law and has continuously litigated cases throughout the Commonwealth, primarily in central and western Pennsylvania. Mr. Miller spent the first 15 years of his career on the defense bar, representing employers and insurance companies at a large regional firm where he advanced to partner. In 2016, Mr. Miller crossed the aisle and left his long-time position to open Pond Lehocky’s Giordano’s Pittsburgh office, where he now exclusively advocates for injured workers.

Steve Ryan is an associate with Martin Law who practices workers’ compensation law. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Ryan worked for a regional firm that helped claimants secure Workers’ Compensation benefits in the Susquehanna Valley. Before practicing claimant’s workers’ compensation, he had worked at a top defense firm, but he left to focus his practice on injured workers after observing the difficulties that many workers faced in the workers’ compensation system. In the Spring of 2015, Mr. Ryan became a certified specialist in Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation by the PA Bar Association’s Section on Workers’ Compensation Law as authorized by the PA Supreme Court. In addition to his workers’ compensation practice, Mr. Ryan is an accredited attorney by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and is authorized to assist veterans and their families seeking to appeal denials of veterans’ benefits claims.  He is an active member of the National Organization of Veterans Advocates (NOVA). Mr. Ryan is an active member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (PAJ), Dauphin County Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He has held various positions on the executive committee for the Dauphin County Bar Associations Workers’ Compensation Committee, including Chair of the section. He regularly speaks and writes on the topic of workers’ compensation. Mr. Ryan received his law degree from Widener University School of Law in 2007. During law school, he was a Senior Staff Member of the Widener Law Journal. He received his undergraduate degree in English from Brooklyn College in 2002.

Judge Sheldon has been a Workers’ Compensation Judge in Harrisburg since 2012. He currently hears petitions arising in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Perry and York counties. Judge Sheldon also served as a Medical Fee Review Hearing Officer from 2013 through 2020. He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Hershey Aquatic Club. Prior to becoming a Workers’ Compensation Judge, Judge Sheldon litigated cases arising under the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation, Black Lung Benefits Act, and the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act for a Pittsburgh-area defense firm. Judge Sheldon obtained his B.A. in English from Allegheny College in 1999 and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2002.

Judge McTiernan served as a member of the course planning committee, the team that plans and presents the biennial PBI program Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Practice & Procedure, and writes the manual from 1989 through 2014. He has served on the Workers’ Compensation Rules Committee, appointed by the Secretary of Labor and Industry, and its predecessor, the Committee for Referees’ Rules and Procedures from 1993 to 2016. He is a past chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Law Section. He is also past chair of the Allegheny County Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section. Judge McTiernan was a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County and is a Fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. He is the recipient of the prestigious Irvin Stander Award, 2011, from the Pennsylvania Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Law Section. Judge McTiernan was listed in The BestLawyers in America, published by Woodward & White from 1997 through 2017 and was named in the Best American Lawyers in Workers’ Compensation. He was also listed as one of Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers from 2005 through 2017. He has also been a member of the board of Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania, and served as its president from 2014-2015. A former partner in the Pittsburgh firm of Caroselli, Beachler, McTiernan & Coleman, he currently serves as a workers’ compensation judge in the Brookville WCOA office.

In 2004, Mr. Shah earned his law degree from the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University, where he was a member of the Minority Law Student Association. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Shah worked at a boutique defense firm handling workers’ compensation litigation in Pennsylvania. In 2007, Mr. Shah joined Martin Law and is currently a partner. He is a member of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Philadelphia Bar Association. Mr. Shah is certified as a specialist in the practice of workers’ compensation law by the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Section on Workers’ Compensation Law as authorized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In January 2015, Mr. Shah became an ex officio member of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia. In 2017, Mr. Shah served as co-chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. In 2022, Mr. Shah was elected to the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Council where he currently serves as the treasurer. Mr. Shah was recently appointed as a co-author of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Workers’ Compensation Practice and Procedure Manual, which is known among attorneys and judges as the “bible” on workers’ compensation law. Mr. Shah is the committee chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Fall Section Meeting, which is one of the largest Continuing Legal Education courses in Workers’ Compensation taught over a two-day period in Hershey, PA, which involves numerous judges and attorneys. Mr. Shah is a co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s Workers’ Compensation Bench and Bar Practices, a continuing legal education course for judges and attorneys. Mr. Shah has spoken at various seminars on the subject of Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation. Mr. Shah has been designated by the National Football League’s Players’ Association (NFLPA) to represent the players of the Philadelphia Eagles. In addition, Mr. Shah is associated with the National Hockey League’s Players’ Association (NHLPA), Major League Baseball’s Players’ Association (MLBPA), Major League Soccer Players’ (MLSPA), and Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) to handle Workers’ Compensation matters for professional athletes in Pennsylvania.

The Honorable Holly A. San Angelo was appointed the new Director of the Workers’ Compensation Office of Adjudication on December 20, 2024, by the Secretary of the Department of Labor and Industry, Nancy Walker. Director San Angelo became a Workers’ Compensation Judge in May 2012 and then Judge Manager of the Southeastern District in March 2018.Director San Angelo was the 2014 Judge co-chair for the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. During her tenure, she served as a member of the Bench Bar Association. The 2014 co-chairs were also the first to introduce philanthropy to the section, which has since evolved to make the section the most philanthropic amongst its peers. Director San Angelo has been a frequent panelist for the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Philadelphia Bar Association, as well as the WCOA Judge’s conferences/retreats. Director San Angelo is a strong advocate of the mediation program, and she has performed hundreds of mediations statewide each year. As Director, she will continue to perform this service for the stakeholders. Prior to becoming a Workers’ Compensation Judge, she was in-house counsel for Travelers Insurance Company at William J. Ferren & Associates for 17 years where she concentrated her practice in workers’ compensation. She graduated from the California Western School of Law where she was a published member of the Law Review. She also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Service from the Pennsylvania State University.