On Tuesday, November 5th, voters will be casting ballots to fill two seats on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Voters also will be deciding whether to retain two judges on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania and two judges on the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.To better inform voters about the candidates in this statewide election, the Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Commission (PBA JEC) is reissuing its ratings and descriptive paragraphs for all appellate judge candidates appearing on the Nov. 5 ballots.

In order to help you to make an informed decision, we have linked that review here for your reference. 

Here in Bucks County, six candidates are running for Common Pleas Judge.  Last Spring, the Bucks County Bar Association (“BCBA”), an organization of attorneys dedicated to promoting and advancing the legal system and justice throughout Bucks County, conducted a plebiscite (peer evaluation) to evaluate ten attorneys who announced their candidacy for three vacancies on the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, and the four current judges of the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas who are running for retention.  Please note, this evaluation was done prior to the May primary election, please refer to the table below for the evaluations of the six remaining candidates who will appear on the ballot on November 5th in the highly recommended, recommended and not recommended categories.  The remaining candidates for the three judicial vacancies are Denise M. Bowman, Grace Deon, Charissa Liller, Allen Toadvine, Jessica Vanderkam, and Jordan Yeager.  If you wish to review the original evaluations, here is a link to the plebiscite results.

Additionally, the members of the Bucks County Bar Association were asked to provide their opinions if the following Judges should be retained in office as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County.  Here are the results in the endorsed and not endorsed categories:

However you may choose to vote, please do remember Election Day, Tuesday, November 5th. 

Susan Maslow, Co-Founder and Partner of Antheil Maslow & MacMinn in Doylestown, PA was the Chair and Moderator of a program entitled BUSINESS AND ETHICAL CHALLENGES:  HUMAN RIGHTS REQUIREMENTS, DUE DILIGENCE, REMEDIATION AND BRAND PROTECTION during the ABA Business Law Section’s Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. on Saturday, September 14, 2019.  

The Panel Discussion provided a brief summary of the cycle of human rights violations in supply chains and summarized the growth of legislation, litigation and investor focus on supply chain human rights issues and provided practical contracting and due diligence recommendations, tools and risk assessment procedures to avoid human rights abuses including use of the 2018 Model Clauses for international supply chains published in the 2018  fall issue of The Business Lawyer.  Informed by the Panelists’ knowledge of global policies and procedures, advice was provided as to how to develop an enterprise-wide understanding of, and commitment to, human rights (health and safety requirements, anti-forced labor, child labor and indentured labor constraints) while optimizing market-specific approaches.

Ms. Maslow is a business attorney concentrating her practice primarily in general corporate transactional work and finance documentation in the areas of Business Transactions, Business Law, Private Finance, Real Estate, Contracts, and Non-Profit Law.

Elaine T. Yandrisevits, an estate planning and administration attorney with Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP in Doylestown, PA,  is a course planner and will serve as faculty for Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s upcoming “Administering an Estate in PA: A Step-by-Step Guide” continuing education program in September. The seminar is a comprehensive overview of the estate administration progress in Pennsylvania from beginning to end for attorneys, paralegals, and accountants. Ms. Yandrisevits will be presenting at the live seminar in Philadelphia on September 5. Registration and information on additional dates, including a the live webcast, can be found at www.pbi.org

Elizabeth J. Fineman, a Partner with the law firm of Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP in Doylestown, Bucks County has been selected as one of 11 Pennsylvania lawyers named to the Bar Association’s Leadership Institute.  Candidates had to demonstrate leadership ability and commitment to attendance and participation in the program.  The membership experience for selected attorneys begins with the Young Lawyers Division Summer Summit in State College on July 24 – 26th.

Fineman practices exclusively in family law and handles a variety of issues, including divorce, child support, alimony/spousal support, marital taxation, equitable distribution and child custody matters. She has handled many high-income support cases involving an intricate knowledge of both family law and complex financial issues.

Legal Services Related to Commercial General Liability Coverage:

Key factors:

• Whether an Insurer has a duty to defend its insured;
• Whether an Insurer has a duty to indemnify, or pay a judgment entered against its insured;
• The Insurer’s right to audit its insured and assess an additional premium;
• Analysis of tenders for defense and/or indemnity by contractors and subcontractors on an additional insured and insured contract basis;
• What policy limits apply and whether they are excess or pro rata;
• Whether a loss falls within the:
• Expected or Intended Injury Exclusion;
• Contractual Liability Exclusion
• Liquor Liability Exclusion
• Employer’s Liability Exclusion
• Pollution Exclusion
• Aircraft, Auto or Watercraft Exclusion
• Damage to Property Exclusion
• Damage to Your Work Exclusion
• Whether a loss is covered under the Products-Completed Operations Hazard
• Whether a loss is covered under the Personal and Advertising Injury coverage.

Founding Partner William Antheil of Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP received the Pennsylvania Bar Association 50-Year Member Award at the Association’s Annual meeting on May 17th.  “It is hard to believe how much time has gone by since I first walked up Court Street in Doylestown. There have been many changes in how lawyers do their work, but the core values of client focused service and advocacy have endured.  It has been my good fortune to do work that I love with and for people I respect” said Antheil of his many years in the Central Bucks County legal community.   William Antheil practices Estate Planning and Administration and Business Law at Antheil Maslow & MacMinn in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. 

Legal Services Related to Shareholder/Member/Partner Disputes:

Shareholder/Member/Partner disputes can arise over a number of factors, including:

• Disputes over language in shareholder agreements, operating agreement, partnership agreements, and limited liability agreements

• Succession issues

• Financial disagreements, undisclosed earnings or secret dealings

• Breach of contract or fiduciary duty

• Partnership or shareholder buy-outs

• Underperformance of a partner

• Personal and managerial conflicts

• Deadlocks – where two equal partners cannot agree

• Oppressed minority shareholder disputes

• Fraud • Embezzlement

• Business disparagement

• Leaking of trade secrets

• Disclosing sensitive information

Antheil Maslow & MacMinn congratulates our 2019 Thomson Reuters Super Lawyer and Rising Star Attorneys. 

From our Family Law practice group, Jessica Pritchard, Elizabeth Fineman and Lisa Gaier were included.  Ms. Pritchard, Partner and department chair, was named a Super Lawyer for the fifth consecutive year, and was again included in the Top 50 Women in Pennsylvania. Rising Star Elizabeth Fineman, Partner, is being honored for the 7th time; Lisa Gaier was named a Pennsylvania Rising Star.   

Stephanie Shortall, of the firm’s Corporate/Business law department was named a Rising Star for the third consecutive year.

For more information about Super Lawyers' methodologies, visit www.SuperLawyers.com.

On May 28th, Elizabeth Fineman, Partner and Family Law attorney at Antheil Maslow & MacMinn in Doylestown, will speak on “Drug & Alcohol Issues As They Apply to Custody & Support” at the Bucks County Bar Association’s Family Law Section continuing legal education seminar. Ms. Fineman will be presenting along with Hon. James J. McMaster (Bucks County Court of Common Pleas), Reb Brooks, Ed.M. (Affiliates in Psychology), and Kevin L. Hand, Esq. (Kardos, Rickles & Hand, PC). Elizabeth Fineman practices exclusively in Family Law with extensive experience in complex high net worth individuals with complex assets and tax valuation issues. The Bucks County Bar Association is one of the oldest and most active bar associations in the United States. Located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the Bucks County Bar Association is dedicated to providing support and fellowship for the advancement of the legal profession.

AMM Partner and Corporate Department Chair Joanne Murray was recently interviewed by Laura Queen, Founder and CEO of 29Bison Human Capital consulting firm for their podcast “How the Deal Was Done”.  In this episode, Joanne discusses the path that lead her to her business law practice, as well as her approach to the deal making process and the complexities involved.   The interview features the haunting tale of  how the ghosts of owners past and present can make an appearance at the closing table, and one such ghost who almost scared away a deal!

Joanne Murray is committed to helping small business owners achieve their goals. From inception to business maturity, Joanne serves as an experienced and insightful counselor to business owners as they face the financial, legal and operational challenges that are an inevitable part of the life cycle of a business.

Joanne helps to guide entrepreneurs and closely-held businesses through the new entity formation process and to structure, negotiate and implement business transactions such as asset and stock acquisitions, mergers, financing transactions, real estate purchases and leases, and business separations. She also assists her business and nonprofit clients with negotiating a wide range of contracts, such as software licenses, consulting agreements, employment agreements and non-disclosure agreements. She works with business owners to develop, document and implement their business succession plans, including preparing buy-sell, partnership and LLC agreements. She frequently functions as outside general counsel for companies and nonprofit entities by handling corporate record-keeping and providing advice on corporate governance and other matters as needed.