Category: General / Opinion

It was late 1995 when my then secretary Lisa suggested to me that we should consider writing a serious newsletter for our clients.  I liked the idea, but, as many of my friends and clients know I can be technologically disinclined – computers, smart-phones, GPS, instant… Continue reading →

 By this time most of us are probably familiar with the quasi-comical “Mayhem” character used in the television commercials of a certain national insurance company.  However, the original meaning of the word was far less humorous and had nothing to do with damaging, one’s car,… Continue reading →

Juliet:  “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / by any other name would smell as sweet.” (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2).  As I grew up, I came to realize that I bore the same name as the Honorable William… Continue reading →

Are a public official’s emails sent from his or her personal computer subject to disclosure under the Right-to-Know Law?   Following a 2011 decision of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (In re Silberstein), it appeared that the answer was “no.”  However, according to a more recent… Continue reading →

 We are proud to announce that J. Kenneth (Kenny) Butera was recently elected to the Board of the Phoenixville Area School District.  Kenny, who cross-filed as both a Republican and a Democrat, was the largest vote getter in both the primary that occurred last spring… Continue reading →

The best way to understand the legal concept of jurisdiction is by way of example.  Suppose a Pennsylvania resident is injured in a car accident on Route 202 literally 100 yards across the Pennsylvania-Delaware border within the State of Delaware.  And suppose the driver causing… Continue reading →

  Many of us who migrated from the cities to the suburbs and beyond had no knowledge of “sewers”except when we were fishing out rubber balls that disappeared into them.   When I moved into my first home in the outer suburbs, I do not… Continue reading →

In 2008, the Pennsylvania legislature passed a new “Right-to-Know Law,”making significant changes to prior law relating to the public’s right to obtain and review government records.   The old law consisted of only four sections.  The new law is lengthy and complex.  Among other changes,… Continue reading →

In an action filed in the US District Court in Harrisburg (Hershey Co. v. Williams Sonoma, Inc.) the Hershey Co. has asked the Court to enjoin any further sales of a brownie pan sold by Williams Sonoma, Inc.  Hershey claims that the dimensions of the… Continue reading →

As quiet as it is irrepressible, the game of “Texas Hold’em” has become universal over the past decade.  It is a form of draw poker, and it is especially popular in bars. At the start of each game, usually the players put $1 or $2… Continue reading →