Friday, January 29, 2010

Philadelphia Labor Law Firm Willig, Williams & Davidson Announces Three New Partners

Congrats to our client, Philadelphia union-side labor law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson. They recently added three new partners, all of whom have contributed significantly to the firm’s efforts on behalf of its clients. The newly named partners are real estate practitioner Kristine A. Phillips, labor and employment lawyer John R. Bielski and wills and estates attorney Sharon L. Steingard.

“We are delighted to add Kristine, John and Sharon to our partnership roster,” said Managing Partner Deborah R. Willig. “These skilled practitioners have tirelessly dedicated themselves to their clients and to furthering the firm’s mission of helping unions, individual working people and their families navigate the complex and often challenging legal system. We look forward to their continued and outstanding contributions to our law firm and the community.”

A partner in the Legal Services Department, Kristine A. Phillips concentrates her practice in residential and commercial real estate, counseling and representing clients in matters including sales, acquisitions, zoning, taxation and landlord-tenant disputes, among others. She assists individuals with legal needs relating to consumer and traffic matters. Phillips joined Willig, Williams & Davidson in 2002. In addition to maintaining her busy practice, she serves as an arbitrator for the Philadelphia Arbitration Center and a volunteer attorney with the Philadelphia Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program. She is a 1998 graduate of Rutgers School of Law – Camden.

John R. Bielski, who joined the firm in 2003, has handled a wide range of matters arising under the laws and regulations governing collective bargaining, union representation, wage and hour issues and employment discrimination. He appears on behalf of clients in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Philadelphia Civil Service Commission, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, and Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, among others. Philadelphia Magazine included Bielski as a Pennsylvania Rising Star in the area of labor and employment law from 2004 through 2008. He graduated magna cum laude from Temple University School of Law in 2000.

Sharon L. Steingard has provided legal services to members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers since the 1979 inception of the Prepaid Legal Service Plan. She joined Willig, Williams & Davidson in 2004 and is a member of the Legal Services Department. Steingard concentrates her practice in all aspects of wills and estates, including estate planning, estate administration and the preparation of wills, trusts, powers of attorney and living wills. She represents clients in personal injury, consumer law and other civil litigation matters before Pennsylvania’s trial and appellate courts. A frequent lecturer and author, Steingard is an arbitrator for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. She earned her juris doctor from Villanova University School of Law in 1975.

About Willig, Williams & Davidson – Willig, Williams & Davidson is one of the largest and most respected union-side labor law firms in the United States. Founded in 1979, the firm focuses on representing labor unions, employee benefit funds, individual working people and their families on a variety of legal fronts, including national, regional and local contract negotiations; dispute resolution through mediation, arbitration and litigation; tax and benefit law compliance issues; discrimination and other employment matters; advocacy for injured workers; and prepaid legal services for union members.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Oxford Valley Mall Teen Board Hosts Fundraiser for Doctors Without Borders Haiti Effort This Saturday

Here is a great event for our Philadelphia-Area readers looking to support Haiti relief efforts:

On Saturday, January 30 from 12pm – 4pm, the Oxford Valley Malls Teen Board will be collecting monetary donations to support the Haiti Quake Relief Effort. All donations will support the work of Doctors Without Borders. The Teen Board donation station will be adjacent to Guest Services booth on the lower level. Community members who donate funds to the nonprofit effort will receive a sticker to write their name on which will be placed on a store front-sized map of Haiti to be displayed within the mall.

To learn more about the Oxford Valley Mall Teen Board, visit http://www.teenboard.com and to learn about Doctors Without Borders, visit http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org.


Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Nine Philadelphia-Area Nonprofits Receive the Help They Need from GlaxoSmithKline



Today, GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, announced the recipients of its GlaxoSmithKline 13th Annual IMPACT Awards. The Pennsylvania-based nonprofits will individually receive an award of $40,000. The nonprofit recipients were selected for having a significant impact on its area communities by providing access to proactive and effective healthcare services. A ceremony will be held on Thursday, March 25 at GlaxoSmithKline in Philadelphia where awards will go to:

Berks County
• FairView Counseling, Inc. (http://www.fairviewcounseling.org/)

Bucks County
• Bucks County Health Improvement Partnership (http://www.bchip.org/)

Chester County
• Chester County Community Dental Center (http://www.chescodental.org/)
• Community Volunteers in Medicine (http://www.cvim.org/)
• Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County, Inc. (http://www.cvcofcc.org/)
• La Comunidad Hispana, Inc. (http://www.lacomunidadhispana.org/)
• Quest Therapeutic Services, Inc. (http://www.questtherapeutic.com/)

Philadelphia
• Prevention Point Philadelphia (http://www.preventionpointphilly.org/)
• Urban Solutions (http://www.philaurbansolutions.org/)

With every interaction, these organizations provide both care and access to care for the underserved,” said Mary Linda Andrews, GlaxoSmithKline Director, Community Partnerships.“The GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Award recipients are chosen for their work in our communities, for the compassion they display for others, and because they are concerned enough to act on that compassion.”

About the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards: To qualify for a GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Award, applicants must provide access to community healthcare services (primary mission) in the Pennsylvania counties of Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery or Philadelphia; have a total annual operating budget of less than $2.5 million; and have been in existence as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization for at least five years. A panel of local and national healthcare delivery experts and GlaxoSmithKline representatives determined the winners based on a strong demonstration of ongoing success in providing access to healthcare; commitment to serving people in need; facilitation of healthcare delivery, education, creative partnerships and policy development; and a solid record of achievement, management and leadership. For more details on the GlaxoSmithKline IMPACT Awards, visit http://www.gsk-us.com/ and click “Our work with communities,” then click “Health programs,” then click “Awards,” or call the GlaxoSmithKline Office of Community Partnerships at 215-751-5171.

About GlaxoSmithKline: GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, GlaxoSmithKline is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For company information, visit GlaxoSmithKline on the World Wide Web at http://www.gsk-us.com/.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sweet Enough to (re)Tweet

Posted by Katie Noonan

For anyone new to the Twitter game, or those of you looking to improve your reach in 2010, this month’s Public Relations Society of America Public Relations Tactics publication offers strategies to get your tweets retweeted. Here are some helpful tips on what to do and what not to do:

This new form of media doesn’t require public relations professionals to reinvent the wheel. A catchy headline (like one you would use on a press release sent to the media), is all that is needed to draw people’s attention to your news and get them to share it with others.

Don’t try to say it all in 140 characters. A compelling headline with a shortened link (using tinyurl or bit.ly) can direct people to the full story or press release and make it that much easier for people to retweet your post.

Dan Zarrella, author of The Social Media Marketing Book and writer for Copyblogger, suggests using “nouns and third person verbs.” “Highly retweetable headlines talk about someone or something.” Just as you would never write a headline about news that happened yesterday or last week, tweets should be in present-tense as well.

Zarrella also encourages tweeters to speak directly to the Twitter community by saying things like “you should check this out,” or “study released today by xyz organization affects you.”

Tweets with “random first-person verbs and details about your life” should be avoided, Zarrella says. Just as we’ve said before on ThePRLawyer, no one cares that you’re having a Caesar salad for lunch or headed to the gym after work. Keep your tweets consistently interesting, informative and clever so that you will gain followers and get your news retweeted.

In December of 2009, co-founder of Twitter, Biz Stone announced that the social media site will handle several billion tweets an hour every day in 2010. The challenge before PR practitioners will be getting your news to stand out among all the other Twitter chatter. In summary, using retweetable words and phrases as well as catchy headline-style writing is the best way to convey your message in order to compel others to share it with their network.

Monday, January 18, 2010

New Jersey Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog Makes Its Debut

Colleagues of Furia Rubel and New Jersey full-service law firm, Fein, Such, Kahn & Shepard, P.C., recently announced the launch of the New Jersey Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog, authored by Shareholder Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss, Esq. The blog will address the complex and often difficult questions surrounding estate planning, elder law, estate and inheritance taxation, Medicaid, probate and estate administration, and related concerns. Business and tax law and strategy, as well as financial planning, will also be featured among the comprehensive blog’s topics.

Check out the New Jersey Estate Planning & Elder Law Blog by visiting www.njelderlawestateplanning.com!

Networking and Career Development Opportunities for Bucks County Women

Posted by Katie Noonan

Network Now, a women's networking organization located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has recently launched “Career Connection” which is a new series of programs and networking opportunities to help women at all stages of career development, especially those who are entering or re-entering the workforce and women in career transition. Classes will be conducted by experts who will help guide attendees through the job search process. Membership includes a free monthly job search support club that provides direct access to key resources. Gina Rubel, a public relations expert and CEO of Furia Rubel Communications, will present “Managing Your Online Image: How and When To Use Social Media Professionally” at the Doylestown Health & Wellness Center on Thursday, April 29, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. For more information about this program and other Network Now programs, please visit http://bucksnetworking.com/career_calendar.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

ALM Announces Plans to Merge The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly

Pennsylvania's Leading Legal Publications to Offer Combined Print/Online Reporting and Analysis Across the State

The Legal Intelligencer

NEW YORK (January 07, 2010) -- ALM, a leading provider of specialized business news and information, today announced plans to merge Pennsylvania’s two leading legal publications, The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly. The combined organization, which will operate under The Legal Intelligencer brand, will continue to provide daily statewide print and online legal news, information and analysis from an award-winning team of journalists. The enhanced publication will feature a pullout center-section edition of the Pennsylvania Law Weekly in each Tuesday issue. The first print edition of the expanded Legal Intelligencer will be published on March 2 and a redesigned combined Web site will also launch on that date.

Current readers of The Legal Intelligencer will gain expanded coverage of news from across the state, including new access to case digests, verdicts and settlements and the weekly “Capitol Report.” The audience of Pennsylvania Law Weekly will continue to receive statewide legal coverage through the Tuesday weekly pullout section, as well as additional content from The Legal Intelligencer. Special promotional pricing is available to current Pennsylvania Law Weekly subscribers who would like to upgrade to receive all issues of the daily newspaper. All subscribers will receive full, premium access to the fully redesigned, integrated Web site, which will feature news updates throughout the day; enhanced video and interactive features; and access to statewide judicial profiles, a statewide attorney directory and blogs, as well as a PDF version of each issue of the paper. RSS and Twitter feeds, e-mail newsletters, data and searchable archives will also be available online.

“The combination of these two outstanding news organizations is a win for all of our readers, providing both groups of subscribers with access to expanded content, in print and online,” said Hal Cohen, publisher of ALM’s Pennsylvania Newspaper Group. "Our new Web site will be the most visited online source of legal news and information for the state's legal community and will continue to grow in the future." The newspaper and Web site will also feature expanded jobs listings, with career options in Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Metro region.

Hank Grezlak will continue to serve as editor in chief of the expanded Legal Intelligencer. Publisher Hal Cohen will continue in that role. ALM’s Pennsylvania Newspaper Group’s award-winning legal publications, related Web sites, reference texts and directories serve the Pennsylvania, Delaware and Southern New Jersey region. The group includes The Legal Intelligencer, the oldest daily legal newspaper in the U.S. and official publication for all Philadelphia County legal notices, and the Delaware Law Weekly.

ALM, an integrated media company, is a leading provider of specialized business news and information, focused primarily on the legal and commercial real estate sectors. ALM’s market¬leading brands include The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, GlobeSt.com, Insight Conferences, Law.com, Law Journal Press, LegalTech, The National Law Journal and Real Estate Forum. Headquartered in New York City, ALM was formed in 1997. For more information, visit www.alm.com.

Legal Marketing, Networking, Social Media and other Not to be Missed Leadership Events

Furia Rubel issues a public relations e-newsletter monthly where we share exciting news, client sightings, not-to-be-missed events and more. One of the regular sections is "Where to be seen" where we provide a list of networking and professional development opportunities.

Here is a recap from our newsletter that you can subscribe to by going to our website at http://www.furiarubel.com/ (see top right corner of Web site for subscription field).

Where to be seen...

The Justinian Society of Philadelphia will honor Scott F. Cooper, Esq. (Blank Rome), 2010 Chancellor, Philadelphia Bar Association, on Tuesday, February 10, 2010 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at The Union League of Philadelphia. For more information, go to http://www.justinian.org/.

On February 11, 2010, the Philadelphia Bar Association, Bar-News Media Committee, chaired by Gina F. Rubel will host “How and When to Share Your Opinion with the Press – Submitting to Editorial Pages.” Members of the media have been invited to speak from several area newspapers. The program will take place from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 1101 Market Street, 11th Floor Philadelphia. For more information, go to http://cts.vresp.com/c/?FuriaRubelCommunicat/f232d8cc10/3fc4dc40c8/5a2d6ce1b3.

21st Century Women's Leadership Program will host “Presenting Yourself as a Leader” on February 11, 2010 at The Union League featuring Kim Huggins, Neen James, Megan Kristel, Laura Powers, Gina Rubel, Joan Walsh and Kim Woodward. To learn more about this fabulous, all-day program and the speakers, go to http://cts.vresp.com/c/?FuriaRubelCommunicat/f232d8cc10/3fc4dc40c8/a6b976cd72. To register for the program, go to http://cts.vresp.com/c/?FuriaRubelCommunicat/f232d8cc10/3fc4dc40c8/9b180ff2f1/pageid=3.

The 2010 Legal Marketing Association National Conference, “Recover … Refocus … ReunitePathways to Increasing Profitability,” will be held in Denver, Colo., March 10 – 12, 2010. New for 2010 is the “Just JDs: Business Development Strategies for Lawyers” program on Wednesday, March 10. This full-day, pre-conference session offers programming designed exclusively for marketing-oriented lawyers and administrators at firms of all sizes. Gina F. Rubel, President and CEO of Furia Rubel will be speaking that day with John Hellerman of Hellerman Baretz Communications, LLC on “The Ethics of Marketing and Public Relations.” Other presenters include: Ross Fishman, CEO of Fishman Marketing, Inc.; James A. Durham, Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer of McGuireWoods LLP; Deborah Knupp, Partner of Akina Corporation; Richard P. Klau, Business Product Manager, Blogger, Google; and Alvidas A. Jasin, Director of Business Development of Thompson Hine LLP. For more information, go to http://cts.vresp.com/c/?FuriaRubelCommunicat/f232d8cc10/3fc4dc40c8/2ad482d9f6.

The Bucks County Women’s Fund will host their Annual Power of the Purse event on Thursday, March 11, 2010 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Spring Mill Manor, Ivyland, Pa. Lynn Doyle, anchor/executive producer at The Comcast Network and host of It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle, will emcee to help raise money for future grants and programs. The Bucks County Women's Fund tackles inequity and empowers women to improve their lives and communities. For more information, please contact Jeanne Scanlon at 215-345-5440 or jscanlon@bcwf.org or go to http://www.bcwf.org/.

An encore presentation of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute’s “Facebook, Twitter & Blogging…Oh MySpace!” six-credit CLE is being offered on March 24, 2010. The last program was a sell-out in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Gina Rubel will once again set the stage with an introduction to social media and will discuss social media marketing with Kim Jessum, Esq., and Kelly Phillips Erb, Esq. among others. To follow on Twitter, check our #pbism or to register, visit http://cts.vresp.com/c/?FuriaRubelCommunicat/f232d8cc10/3fc4dc40c8/8dfcbb6860.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

No more PA Best 50 Women in Business

Just in: PA Best 50 Women in Business award program will not be funded in 2010 by the PA Dept. of Community & Econ. Dev. What a shame.

State Supreme Court

State Supreme Court sides with workers represented by Wilig, Williams & Davidson on payless paydays ( http://htxt.it/IMgc )