Big, Big Pennsylvania Society Weekend, NYC

We headed up to New York over the weekend (along with Adam Cirucci) to attend the events surrounding the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Society at the Waldorf Astoria.

The Society is a non-profit, charitable organization with nearly two thousand members around the Commonwealth, the United States and the world.  

It is not formally affiliated with any particular political party, business or profession.  Its purpose is to honor achievement, to reward excellence, to promote good will and understanding and to celebrate service to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and to humanity in general.

Thriving and still growing in its third century of existence, the Society is the longest-lived organization of its kind in the country.

Since Adam Cirucci is intimately involved with the workings of Pennsylvania government (as Communications Director for State Senator Andy Dinniman) we once again allowed him to take the lead in guiding us through the maze of receptions and events surrounding the Society's weekend confab.If you've ever maneuvered your way through a full day or more of Society events, you know that the schedule is nothing less than staggering. But it's also worth it in terms of the people that you meet and the contacts that you make.
We managed to cover eight events in eight hours, with a brief rest in between.
Overall, make no mistake about it, this was a big GOP year at the Pennsylvania Society weekend. Many Big Time Republicans were present and they were avidly celebrating the return of the Red State.
Anyway, we began on Friday on Times Square with a party sponsored by the Broadband Cable Association of Pennsylvania. Then it was off to events sponsored by the Metropolitan Caucus, Auditor General Jack Wagner, the Blank Rome law firm, IBEW Local 98, PoliticsPA/Governor Miflin Society, the Duane Morris law firm and the Book Bash.
In no particular order, here are just some of the people that we saw and/or chatted with: Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia City Councilman Frank Rizzo, Pennsylvania Auditor general Jack Wagner, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Philadelphia Managing Director and Deputy Mayor Richard Negrin, former Senator Rick Santorum, Sen.-Elect Pat Toomey, former Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellors Abe Reich, Larry Beaser, Michael Pratt and Sayde Ladov, Comcast honcho and honcha David L. Cohen and Charisse Lillie, Dilworth law firm partner Greg Cirillo, PR maven Bonnie Squires, Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Scott Cooper, Sherri Reich, Shelly Beaser, Lynn Marks of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts,  Pennsylvania Society Executive Director Carol Fitzgerald, former State Senators Rob Rovner, City GOP leaders Michael Meehan and Vito Canuso, State Representative Kathy Manderino and of course State Senator Andy Dinniman.
But there's more. Lots more. We also huddled with Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Anne Lazarus, former Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams, Cozen O'Connor partner David Ladov, former state GOP leader Alan Novak, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Independence Blue Cross Paul Tufano, Bill Tyson of Aqua Pennsylvania's PR team, Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge James J. Fitzgerald, Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ron Castille, attorney Michael Adler, Judge John Younge, Judge Richard Klein, attorney Romey Diaz, attorney Tom McGill, Blank Rome partner Sam Becker, Jonathan Cetel of Kipp Charter Schools, Maxim Alexander Kind, Brittany Tressler of the Montgomery County Republican Committee, Blank Rome Government Relations managing Principal Peter Peyser, former Pennsylvania Bar Association President Leslie Anne Miller, Blank Rome partner Adam Laver, Morgan Lewis partner Marc Sonnenfeld, former Pennsylvania Bar Association President James Mundy, attorney Joe Prim, attorney Tom Wilkinson, Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer, and one of the bright new stars of the Philadelphia legal community, Philadelphia bar Association Vice Chancellor Elect Kathleen Wilkinson.
And more: One of the great joys of the weekend was being with our dear friend Gayle Michael and her son, Geoffrey Michael, a partner with the prestigious Washington law firm of Arnold & Porter. Geoffrey was later joined by his brother, Matthew, also with Arnold & Porter. Gayle is a powerhouse in Pennsylvania Republican circles and both of her sons are highly accomplished attorneys in the nation's capital.
To be with Gayle is to be in the presence of a vivacious and passionate public citizen and loyal friend who is keenly committed to cherished ideals and high standards.
Well, before we knew it midnight was approaching.
So, it was adieu to all of the Commonwealth's movers and shakers.
But this was only Friday.
Saturday was reserved for Christmas fun in Manhattan.
But that's another story.

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Garcia Announces New Bar Initiatives

We were delighted to be present yesterday when new Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Rudy Garcia addressed the Association's Annual Meeting and unveiled his initiatives for 2011
Among his 2011 initiatives, Garcia will convert the Bar Association’s Minorities in the Profession Committee into a forum for collaboration with and among the various minority bar associations in Philadelphia. Working with the Bar Association’s Office of Diversity, the group will address common goals – including providing diversity and inclusion resources to the legal profession – as well as share ideas and develop best practices. Garcia will increase support for Philadelphia’s dynamic public interest community through enhanced promotion of the more than 30 agencies and 3,000-plus attorneys who provide free legal services to the city’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable citizens. Philadelphia lawyers handle about 6,000 pro bono cases each year.
To help the Bar Association plan for the future, Garcia is also creating a Long-Range Advisory Council that will examine long-term opportunities and challenges. Garcia has already begun to address such issues with the creation of a Membership Task Force to develop new programs designed to enhance the value of Bar Association membership. He announced two programs that will be unveiled early next year.
An online Legal Classifieds section will be added to the Bar Association’s website at philadelphiabar.org to assist lawyers who are struggling to find work in an extraordinarily difficult job market. Lawyers can post notices for jobs, office space and similar items at a significantly reduced cost.
Also being unveiled early next year is free access to Fastcase, an innovative legal research service that law firms with full attorney-membership in the Bar Association can utilize at no cost. Fastcase offers enhanced legal research features including an interactive map of search results, so the most important cases can be seen at a glance. Garcia noted that if the 25 largest law firms in Philadelphia use the service for as little as 30 percent of their research, each will save an average of $35,000 a year.
Additionally, Garcia announced the creation of a new Philadelphia Bar Association Leadership Institute that will provide the Association’s section and committee chairs with guidance and training to help them improve their leadership skills, expand active participation in the Bar and develop even more dynamic education programs that will in turn benefit clients.
Garcia will also continue the Association’s outspoken support for an independent judiciary and for improvements to Pennsylvania’s judicial selection process, as well as the work of the Bar Association’s Civil Gideon Task Force, which promotes the right to counsel in civil proceedings where basic human needs are at stake.
He will maintain and expand programs created by Immediate Past-Chancellor Scott F. Cooper, including the Bar Association’s Historical Society and its Bar Academy, which provides civic and cultural education experiences to Bar Association members to help create business and personal development opportunities.
He will also ensure the Bar Association continues to serve as a resource to city officials on common goals.

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Philly Bar Ass'n Elects Wilkinson, Others

Our sincere congratulations go out to Kathleen D. Wilkinson, a partner with Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP, who will serve as Vice Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 2011 after running unopposed in the Association's Annual Election yesterday.
Wilkinson will serve as Chancellor-Elect in 2012 and Chancellor in 2013.
Jacqueline G. Segal, a partner with Fox Rothschild LLP, was elected Assistant Secretary.
The following candidates for Bar offices ran unopposed and will begin serving in their positions on Jan. 1: Sophia Lee, Secretary; Joseph A. Prim Jr., Treasurer; and Wesley R. Payne IV, Assistant Treasurer.
The following five candidates for Board of Governors were elected on Dec. 7 and will begin their terms on Jan. 1.: Brian S. Chacker, Nikki Johnson-Huston, Scott W. Reid, Gina Furia Rubel and Marc J. Zucker.
The following seven candidates for the Young Lawyers Division Executive Committee were unopposed and will begin serving their terms on Jan. 1: Jo Rosenberger Altman, Edward F. Beitz, Anthony H. Chwastyk, Joshu Harris, Brielle M. Rey, Christopher Sharp and Todd H. Zamostien.

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Congratulations To Rudy Garcia, New Bar Chancellor

Today we extend congratulations to Rudy Garcia, the new Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, America's oldest chartered metropolitan bar association.
Since 1802, the Philadelphia Bar Association (whose founders included some of our nation's founders) has been leading the way in the law and setting the sort of high standards that we come to associate with the term "Philadelphia lawyer."
Today, Garcia, a shareholder at the law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, will deliver inaugural remarks as the first-ever Hispanic Chancellor of the 13,000-member Association.
A graduate of Temple University (B.A., 1974) and the Beasley School of Law at Temple University (J.D., 1977), Garcia began his legal career at a 10-lawyer firm before joining Saul Ewing in 1978. After 27 years at Saul Ewing, he moved with a group of colleagues to Buchanan Ingersoll in 2005.
At the Philadelphia Bar Association, Garcia has served three multi-year terms on the Board of Governors and was a founding co-chair of the State Civil Litigation Section. He also chaired the Federal Courts Committee and serves on the Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention. He was elected Vice Chancellor in 2008 and is now completing a one-year term as Chancellor-Elect.
Garcia has also served in the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates and is an American Bar Foundation Fellow and a member of the ABA Advisory Panel.
In addition to his Hispanic roots, Garcia also boasts Italian ancestry. Consequently, he also served two terms as Chancellor of the Justinian Society, a legal organization comprised of attorneys, judges and law students of Italian descent.
Garcia's term begins on January 1 and continues through 2011.

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Chancellor: Comisky Exemplified High Ideals

Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Scott F. Cooper issued the following statement today on the passing of former Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Marvin Comisky, Chairman Emeritus at Blank Rome LLP:

"Marvin Comisky was a pioneer in the legal profession and a natural-born leader who exemplified the ideals of personal character, keen intellect, and professional commitment. A consummate lawyer, he managed a full-time practice while serving as Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 1965 and was integral in leading the commitment to diversity among law firms at a time when such efforts did not exist.
As Chancellor in 1965, Marvin Comisky focused on the problems of the courts, fostering a new level of cooperation between bench and bar. He advocated for the creation of additional judicial seats to address the high volume of cases in the Philadelphia court system, resulting in the addition of ten judges that year. He was instrumental in persuading the court to establish for the first time a formal ceremony for the induction of lawyers.
Under Comisky’s leadership, the Association addressed itself to the national call for a “war on poverty” by creating a plan in which Philadelphia lawyers would assure the availability of legal services to the poor throughout the city.
He also established a fund for underemployed lawyers “so that our less fortunate brothers at the bar may have a friendly, helping hand in times of stress.”
Comisky also created the Philadelphia Bar Association’s first published Annual Report.
Marvin Comisky was a personal mentor to me in my professional career. As a partner in the law firm that he helped to create, I am honored to have followed in his footsteps to serve as Chancellor of America’s oldest metropolitan bar association.
On behalf of the entire legal community, we extend our condolences to Marvin Comisky’s family at this difficult time. We do this gratefully with the knowledge that they and we are sustained by the warm and shining memory of this great man."

Services will be held on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Beth Shalom Congregation, 8231 Old York Road in Elkins Park. Contributions in Marvin’s name can be made to: Beth Shalom Congregation, 8231 Old York Road, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania 19027, or Abramson Center for Jewish Life, 1425 Horsham Road, North Wales, PA 19454-1320.

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Remembering Marvin Comisky

Though Marvin Comisky was a brilliant lawyer, a hugely successful businessperson and a well-known Philadelphia personality, he was not in any way intimidating.
So, if you approached him with trepidation, your fears were immediately put to rest for he was a charming man.
To begin with, he was not physically imposing. He did not move with grand gestures or present himself as anything more than he was, a hard-working Philadelphia lawyer. And, I can honestly say that I never, ever heard him raise his voice.
He was always well-mannered and he was well trained in the old ways of respecting others, cultivating friends and doing business diligently, quietly and honestly.
He never failed to say "thank you" and frequently followed up with a personal note.
In the world that Comisky came from lawyers were not flashy or splashy or boastful. Never.
So, he did not bring attention to himself. And when he offered suggestions or made observations he did so gently and kindly.
This is the way I remember him.
But the mere mention of the name "Marvin Comisky" brought to mind a modern American success story and the ongoing role of a man who became one of the region's most influential professionals. Comisky not only whispered into the ears of the rich and powerful (and they invariably listened) but he also remembered to always give back to the community. So, he was involved in numerous civic and charitable causes. He was a generous man -- generous with time, talent and treasure.

Comisky obtained his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1941. He founded what was then  known as Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley in 1959. He went on to head the firm’s litigation department and in 1969 was elected Blank Rome’s first managing partner. He later served as firm chairman and in 1990 assumed the role of chairman emeritus. In 1994, Comisky officially retired from the firm and split his time between his homes in Cheltenham, Pa., and Florida. 

But Marvin Comisky remained a familiar figure in Philadelphia legal circles. Indeed, he continued to come into the office and offer advice and counsel to the firm and its partners and associates.

Today, the firm known simply as Blank Rome has a record of providing exceptional service to clients for more than 60 years.  It is one of America's largest law firms and continues to add leading talent and new practice areas to handle critical client matters.
But none of this would have ever been possible without Marvin Comisky -- a man whose life will forever be associated with the practice of law -- a man who epitomized the term "Philadelphia lawyer" at its very best.

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Marvin Comisky, Legendary Philadelphia Lawyer Dies

The Philadelphia Business Journal reports the death of renowned Philadelphia lawyer and legal pioneer Marvin Comisky:

Marvin Comisky, one of the founding partners of Blank Rome who led the law firm for 20 years, died Friday morning. He was 92.
Along with Samuel Blank and Edward Rome, Mr. Comisky founded what had been known as Blank Rome Comisky & McCauley in 1959. He originally obtained his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1941and went on to head the firms litigation department and in 1969 was elected by his partners as Blank Romes first managing partner. He later served as firm chairman and in 1990 assumed the role of chairman emeritus. In 1994, Mr. Comisky officially retired from the firm and split his time between his homes in Cheltenham, Pa., and Florida. Firm officials said he continued to come into the office to provide advice and guidance on important matters.
Blank Rome said in a statement that the firm's growth experienced under Mr. Comisky's leadership can be attributed to the importance placed on hiring lateral partners, pursuing additional office locations in key markets, and building the firm's expertise in emerging areas of the legal profession.
Mr.Comisky served as chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 1965 and president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1970, and was a member of the house of delegates of the American Bar Association and of the American Bar Foundation. He also was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Click here to read more from the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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