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Cohen & Grigsby Attorneys Named As "Pennsylvania Superlawyers"

April 30, 2004

PITTSBURGH, PA - Fourteen of Cohen & Grigsby’s attorneys have been named as “Pennsylvania Super Lawyers” for 2004 by Philadelphia Magazine and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Magazine.  Those selected for the list include James B. Brown, Christopher B. Carson, Charles C. Cohen, Henry C. Cohen, V. Susanne Cook, R. Michael Daniel, Robert S. Grigsby, E. Donald Ladov, Lawrence M. Lebowitz, John E. Lyncheski, Richard R. Nelson, II, Hugh W. Nevin, Jr., Jonathan M. Schmerling, and Thomas C. Wettach.  Three of the fourteen, Charles C. Cohen, R. Michael Daniel, and Jonathan M. Schmerling, have also been named among the “Top 50 in Pittsburgh.”

“We are pleased with the recognition this publication provides to our attorneys,” said Jack W. Elliott, the Firm’s president.  “In addition to being excellent attorneys, each of these individuals exemplifies our Firm’s dedication to client service and results.”

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.  He is listed in Chambers USA America's Leading Business Lawyers, where he is ranked among the most highly rated labor and employment lawyers in Pennsylvania 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 as 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 Cohen & Grigsby’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.  He is also 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.  Mr. Carson resides in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Charles C. Cohen is a founder and chairman of Cohen & Grigsby and concentrates his practice in serving public and private commercial and industrial corporations, financial institutions, 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 of business and banking organizations.  Mr. Cohen is also a law professor, arbitrator and lecturer, who has been quoted in professional journals, newspapers and magazine articles.  He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for 10 consecutive years and serves as 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.

Henry C. Cohen is a business and tax attorney who is among The Best Lawyers in America for Tax Law.  Mr. Cohen concentrates his practice in the areas of individual and corporate income taxation (including extensive experience in compensation planning and business ownership transfer transactions), mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations and estate planning.  He serves as the Firm’s Vice President, Florida Practice.  Mr. Cohen is a Certified Public Accountant in Pennsylvania and Ohio (inactive).  He earned a B.S. from Miami University in 1967 and J.D. from Cornell University in 1971.  He is licensed to practice law in Florida and, together with Mr. Hugh Nevin, opened the Firm’s office in Naples, Florida where he advises U.S. and foreign businesses and individuals, primarily Germans and Canadians as to U.S. estate, gift and income tax.  Mr. Cohen resides in Nevillewood, Pennsylvania and Bonita Springs, Florida.

V. Susanne Cook chairs the firm’s International Business Group and focuses her practice on counseling companies on international and domestic business transactions, joint ventures, customs, export and licensing matters.  She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for international trade and finance.  She earned her B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977 and her J.D. (Order of the Coif; member, Law Review), from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1988.  Fluent in German, Ms. Cook is an adjunct professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Translation Department, an adjunct professor in Duquesne University’s MBA Program, a board member of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Center for International Legal Education, a member of the Advisory Board for the Duquesne Center for European Technical Standards, a technical advisor to the Regional Export Assistance Network of the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission, and teaches Legal and Tax – Understanding the Basics at the Global Trade Institute of Pennsylvania, of which she is also the founder.  Ms. Cook resides in Edgewood, 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.  He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for trusts and estates and 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.

Robert S. Grigsby has more than 40 years of experience and is a trial lawyer engaged in civil litigation and a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.  He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for 20 consecutive years.  Mr. Grigsby is a prolific speaker on the topics of evidence, trial tactics, product liability, medical malpractice and in programs sponsored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.  He has been extensively quoted in professional journals, newspapers and magazine articles, both nationally and regionally.  He was a Judge in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, 1978-79.  He earned his B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1950 and L.L.B. from Duquesne University School of Law in 1955.  Mr. Grigsby resides in Sewickley, 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.  He specifically represents both public and private employers in securing temporary and permanent visas for foreign national employees.  Listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Immigration Law, 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.  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, who is an adjunct professor (teaching the Immigration Law course) at the University of Pittsburgh Law School, 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 has been selected for The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers U.S.A. America's Leading Business Lawyers, and for 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 chair of the American Health Lawyers Association’s Labor and Employment Practice Group and 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.

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.  Mr. Nelson is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for business litigation.  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 24 years’ experience, and he is a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County.  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.

Hugh W. Nevin, Jr. is a founder and former president of Cohen & Grigsby and concentrates his practice in international business and tax.  He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for 10 consecutive years.  Mr. Nevin, who is fluent in German, focuses a substantial part of his practice in advising foreign enterprises and individuals investing and conducting their businesses in the United States.  In this connection, he provides income and estate tax planning for foreign nationals and secures temporary and permanent visas and labor certifications.  He earned a B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude) from Harvard College in 1968, a Rotary International Fellowship at the Freie Universität Berlin in 1971, and a J.D. (cum laude) from Harvard Law School in 1974.  Mr. Nevin is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and Florida and, together with Mr. Henry Cohen, opened the Firm’s office in Naples, Florida where he advises foreign individuals, primarily Europeans and Canadians, as to U.S. estate, gift and income tax.  Mr. Nevin resides in Sewickley, Pennsylvania and Bonita Springs, Florida.

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.  Jon earned an A.B. from the University if 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.  He resides in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Thomas C. Wettach chairs the firm’s Intellectual Property Group and focuses his practice on intellectual property advice and litigation.  He counsels manufacturing and advanced technology companies on technology protection and solutions for related legal issues.  In addition to his patent, trademark, copyright infringement, unfair competition and trade secret litigation practices, a substantial amount of his work concentrates on licensing all forms of intellectual property, as well as protecting trade secrets and confidential technology.  Mr. Wettach is listed in both The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA America’s Leading Business Lawyers for intellectual property.  Mr. Wettach earned a B.A. in Physics from Washington & Jefferson College in 1963 and a J.D. (with honors, Order of the Coif and Research Editor, North Carolina Law Review) from the University of North Carolina in 1966.  He resides in Thornburg, 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.