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Cohen & Grigsby Attorneys Named As "Pennsylvania Super Lawyers"

June 1, 2005

Pittsburgh, PA - Fourteen of Cohen & Grigsby’s attorneys have been named as “Pennsylvania Super Lawyers” for 2005 by Philadelphia Magazine and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Magazine.  Those selected for the list include James B. Brown, Christopher B. Carson, Charles C. Cohen, R. Michael Daniel, Daniel M. Darragh, Robert W. Doty, Larry K. Elliott, Christopher F. Farrell, E. Donald Ladov, Lawrence M. Lebowitz, John E. Lyncheski, Thomas J.  Madigan, Richard R. Nelson, II, and Jonathan M. Schmerling.  James B. Brown has also been named among the “Top 50 in Pittsburgh.”

“The recognition of so many of our attorneys, 12 percent, as Pennsylvania Super Lawyers is an honor,” said Jack W. Elliott, the firm’s president.  “Each of these individuals exemplifies our firm’s mission:  understanding the business and goals of each of our clients and providing them with high-quality legal services to assist in meeting those goals.”

James B. Brown chairs Cohen & Grigsby’s Labor and Employment and Employment Litigation Groups and concentrates his practice on representing public and private employers in employment litigation cases.  He has counseled and defended public universities, public authorities and commissions, corporations, financial institutions, health care institutions, the construction industry, hotels and retail and manufacturing establishments in all aspects of employment litigation.  Mr. Brown is also a prolific speaker and author and has been quoted in professional journals, newspapers and magazine articles both regionally and nationally.  Jim is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA’s America’s Leading Business Lawyers for labor and employment law and in Who’s Who in American Law and Who’s Who in America.  He earned his B.A. from the University of Louisville in 1967 and his J.D. from Duquesne University in 1971.  Mr. Brown also serves on the Port of Pittsburgh Commission, is an arbitrator on the American Arbitration Association Employment Dispute Panel, and is a mediator on the JUSTUS ADR Employment Litigation Mediation Panel.  Jim is a member of the Federal Bar Association, the International Association of Defense Counsel, and the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law EEO Committee.  He resides in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Christopher B. Carson chairs the firm’s Business Group and focuses in the areas of general corporate and securities law, with particular emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, including auction-based transactions, negotiated acquisitions, takeover counseling, international joint ventures and corporate finance.  Chris is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for business law.  Mr. Carson earned his B.A. (cum laude, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Society) from Dickinson College in 1982 and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1985.  He serves as co-chair of the Individual Gifts Committee of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and is a member of the Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations.  Mr. Carson resides in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Charles C. Cohen is a founder, chairman and former president of Cohen & Grigsby whose practice involves serving public and private commercial and industrial corporations, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs.  A main focus of his practice is planning, negotiating and documenting public and private capital formation and financing transactions, SEC compliance matters, and mergers and acquisitions.  Mr. Cohen is also a law professor, arbitrator and lecturer and has been quoted in professional journals, newspapers and magazine articles.  Chuck is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for corporate mergers and acquisitions and securities.  He is a Board member of several companies and nonprofit organizations.  Mr. Cohen earned his A.B. (with distinction) from Dartmouth College in 1962 and J.D. (with distinction) from the University of Michigan Law School in 1965.  Mr. Cohen resides in the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  

R. Michael Daniel is a director and head of Cohen & Grigsby’s Estates and Trusts Group.  With more than 30 years of legal experience, Mr. Daniel concentrates his practice in the areas of family business planning, income tax planning, estate planning, charitable planning and estate administration, including highly complicated estates.  Mike is listed The Best Lawyers in America for trusts and estates.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.  He lectures extensively and has authored numerous articles on estate planning and estate administration topics.  A retired Colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, he is a past chair of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and a past president of the Greater Pittsburgh Council, Boy Scouts of America.  Mike earned an A.B. in 1968 and a J.D. in 1971 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  He resides in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania.

Daniel M. Darragh is a director in the firm’s Litigation and Intellectual Property Groups.  He has over 25 years’ experience and concentrates his practice on a wide range of complex commercial litigation matters, with an emphasis on environmental and patent litigation, including environmental claims, toxic torts, patent infringement, oil and gas lease and partnership disputes, land development restrictions, commercial contracts, insurance coverage claims, and challenges to federal and state regulatory programs and state sales tax assessments.  He represents clients in the industrial, chemical manufacturing, waste disposal, and coal mining industries, among others.  Dan earned his J.D. (Associate Editor, Duquesne Law Review, 1974-1975) from Duquesne University in 1975 and his B.S. in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary in 1968.  He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New York and before the U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. District Courts of the Western District of New York and the Western District of Pennsylvania; and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second, Third, Sixth, Federal and D.C. Circuits.  Mr. Darragh is a member of the Pennsylvania and New York Bar Associations.  He resides in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

Robert W. Doty is Of Counsel with Cohen & Grigsby’s Litigation Group.  As a trial lawyer who has been actively engaged in civil litigation for nearly 40 years, his practice has included major trials and the representation of clients in litigation matters throughout the United States, North America, Europe and Africa.  He has represented clients in major cases in environmental law, insurance coverage, product liability, construction, and patent infringement.  Mr. Doty earned his B.A. (cum laude) from Wheaton College in 1963 and his J.D. (Founder’s Medalist, Order of the Coif) from Vanderbilt University in 1966.  He is admitted to practice before Pennsylvania state and federal courts and before the United States Supreme Court.  He is a member of the Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations and is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in the World.  Mr. Doty resides in Monaca, Pennsylvania and Bonita Springs, Florida.

Larry K. Elliott is a director in Cohen & Grigsby’s Litigation Group, and his practice covers a wide range of commercial and business litigation, including the representation of directors and officers in shareholder, derivative and class action litigation.  He also represents accounting firms in malpractice and securities fraud actions.  He regularly handles complex commercial and antitrust litigation.  He earned his B.A. (with distinction in English) from the University of Virginia in 1974, his M.A. in English from the University of Virginia in 1977. and his J.D. (Articles Editor, William and Mary Law Review) from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary in 1981.  He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Sixth, Tenth and Federal Circuits, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.  Mr. Elliott resides in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania.

Christopher F. Farrell is a director in the Estates & Trusts Group.  With more than 25 years of legal experience, Mr. Farrell concentrates his practice in the area of estate and trust administration, corporate law, personal taxation, and nonprofit corporations.  He lectures extensively and has authored numerous articles on estate planning and estate administration topics, and he is listed The Best Lawyers in America for tax.  Chris earned his J.D. (Phi Beta Kappa; Member, University of Pittsburgh Law Review; American Jurisprudence Award for Excellence in Contracts and the Law of Credit) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1976, his L.L.M. in Taxation from New York University in 1989, and his B.S. (summa cum laude) from Lehigh University in 1970.  He served as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Frank McKenna, Administrative Judge of the Orphans’ Court Division, Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.  Chris is a fellow with the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of the Estate Planning Council of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and American Bar Associations.  Mr. Farrell resides in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.  

E. Donald Ladov is a labor lawyer exclusively representing management in all areas of labor/employment law both in the private and public sectors.  Mr. Ladov has regularly practiced before the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance and many other regulatory agencies.  Mr. Ladov is also a prolific speaker on a wide variety of topics involving human resources and labor and employment law.  He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for labor and employment law and in Chambers USA America's Leading Business Lawyers, where he is ranked among the most highly rated labor and employment lawyers in Pennsylvania.  He earned his B.A. (Labor Studies) from the Pennsylvania State University in 1970 and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1973.  Mr. Ladov resides in the Shadyside area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Lawrence M. Lebowitz chairs the firm’s Immigration Group and focuses on business immigration, specifically representing both public and private employers in securing temporary and permanent visas for foreign national employees.  Mr. Lebowitz is also a prolific author and speaker and has been extensively quoted in professional journals, newspapers and magazine articles both regionally and nationally.  He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for the past 10 years for immigration law.  Mr. Lebowitz is Cohen & Grigsby’s Vice President of Marketing.  He earned a B.A. (magna cum laude) from the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 and J.D. (cum laude, Order of the Coif) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1987.  Mr. Lebowitz also serves as an adjunct professor (teaching the Immigration Law course) at the University of Pittsburgh Law School and is included in the 2005 edition of Who’s Who in Legal Education.  Mr. Lebowitz is also involved in several community organizations.  He is a member of Young Leadership Group of the United Way, serves on the Board of Directors for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, is a member of Leadership Pittsburgh XX and is a mentor in the Career Literacy for African American Youth (CLAAY) Program.  Mr. Lebowitz also participates in Katzport, an employment assistance program for international graduates of the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.  He resides in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

John E. Lyncheski chairs Cohen & Grigsby’s Healthcare Practice Group.  With more than 30 years’ experience, Mr. Lyncheski focuses his practice in management labor relations law and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for employment and labor law, Chambers U.S.A. America's Leading Business Lawyers and Who’s Who in American Law.  One of the founding members of Cohen & Grigsby, Mr. Lyncheski counsels and represents private and public sector management on labor board proceedings, negotiations, personnel decisions, mergers, acquisitions, consolidations and divestitures, discrimination claims, employee and union litigation and advises clients in labor disputes and resistance of union organizational efforts.  Besides having a prominent history as a national public speaker, Mr. Lyncheski has authored numerous regional and national articles on labor and employment law topics.  He was recently honored as Educator of the Year by the American College of Health Care Administrators.  He is past chair of the American Health Lawyers Association’s Labor and Employment Practice Group and is a member of the Board of Directors of the American College of Health Care Administrators and President of its Pennsylvania Chapter.  John is President of the Chartiers Country Club.  He earned his B.A. from Cornell University in 1967 and J.D. (cum laude, Order of the Coif and Law Review) from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1970.  John is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and Florida and resides in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania.

Thomas J. Madigan a director in Cohen & Grigsby’s Litigation Group and serves as the head of the firm's Construction Practice Group.  Mr. Madigan received his undergraduate degree from Bucknell University in 1982.  He graduated cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1986.  He also received a Master's Degree in Urban and Regional Planning, with honors, from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in 1986.  Mr. Madigan represents owners, construction managers, contractors and suppliers in litigation across the United States, and is a frequent presenter at continuing legal education and industry seminars on construction related topics.  He is admitted to practice before all Pennsylvania state courts, the United States District Courts for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.  He is a member of the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations.  He is also a member of the ABA's Forum on the Construction Industry, the Allegheny County Bar Association Construction Law Section Council and the ACBA Services Construction Dispute Resolution Group.  Mr. Madigan resides in Marshall Township, Pennsylvania.

Richard (“Chip”) R. Nelson, II is a founding member of Cohen & Grigsby and a former president of the Firm.  His practice encompasses a broad array of complex commercial litigation.  Among other areas of emphasis, Mr. Nelson has defended accounting firms, brokerage firms, financial institutions and other companies accused of committing securities laws violations.  One of the class action cases Mr. Nelson tried to a successful defense verdict was recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the biggest wins in a jury trial in the United States in 1996.  Mr. Nelson has more than 25 years’ experience, and he is a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County.  Chip is listed in Philadelphia magazine’s Pennsylvania Super Lawyers.  He regularly conducts seminars on matters pertaining to financial statement and accounting litigation.  Mr. Nelson earned a B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude) in Political Science from The Pennsylvania State University in 1976, and a J.D. (with honors, Order of the Barristers) from the University of North Carolina in 1979.  He recently concluded his term as the president of the Longue Vue Club, where he served on the Board of Governors for nearly ten years.  Mr. Nelson resides in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.

Jonathan M. Schmerling focuses his practice on representing individuals and helping them to develop strategies to meet their income, gift, estate, and charitable planning goals.  He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for trusts and estates.  Mr. Schmerling is also a frequent speaker and moderator for estate and tax planning seminars.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of the Estate Planning Council of Pittsburgh.  Mr. Schmerling earned an A.B. from the University of Michigan in 1977 and a J.D. (Staff Member and Student Writing Editor, Vanderbilt Law Review) from the Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1980.  He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New York.  Mr. Schmerling resides in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

The current listing is the result of more than four months of extensive research and polling of Pennsylvania attorneys, and the list was cut off at five percent of the Pennsylvania Bar.  The list is the most comprehensive and diverse listing of top Pennsylvania lawyers ever assembled, and it includes respected lawyers from more than 60 areas of practice.