The Women in Law & Leadership Summit: Philadelphia

Erika is Vice Preisdent and Associate General Counsel at Pernix Therapeutics. Pernix Therapeutics is a specialty pharmaceutical business with a focus on acquiring, developing and commercializing prescription drugs primarily for the U.S. market. Erika brings over a decade of legal experience and insights.

Monica Hennessy, Senior Corporate Attorney, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. 

Monica Hennessy presently serves as the lead attorney of the legal department’s Corporate Affairs division at Otsuka, with areas of responsibility including litigation, labor & employment, compliance, complex commercial contracts, IT, and PV.  Monica has litigated, provided counsel, designed policies, training programs, and strategies in the area of labor and employment for over 20 years. Prior to Otsuka, Monica was a Partner with Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, L.L.C.’s Litigation group, where she also established a Sustainable Business Practice, advising businesses on sustainable or “green” practices and policies that promote profitability and productivity. Monica has served on local boards and organizations in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including serving as an Executive Board Member of Sustainable Cherry Hill, a founding board member of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, and a board member of the Alice Paul Foundation and Brian Sanders’ JUNK. Monica has authored or co-authored scholarly works including “Toward a Protean Workplace: Diversity and Affirmative Action,” and “Paid Family Leave in New Jersey - Are we creating a structure for success?”

Monica's career path has provided many opportunities for working in both the public and private sectors at the local, state, federal, and international levels, including facilitating training regarding affirmative action, equity in the workplace, and use of mediation in dispute resolution.  Her commitment to equity and women's issues earned her appointments to the Delaware River Port Authority Green Ribbon Panel on the DRPA Green Ports Initiative, 2009, and the Committee on Civil Pro Bono Litigation for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, 2005 - 2009.

Lisa Kobialka counsels and represents clients in complex intellectual property litigation, including trials and evidentiary hearings in numerous jurisdictions across the United States involving claims for patent infringement, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition and trademark infringement. Ms. Kobialka represents clients in a variety of technology-related industries, with a particular emphasis on the energy, computer science and pharmaceutical sectors. She also represents clients in general litigation, including breach of contract and tort claims. 

Ms. Kobialka represents both plaintiffs and defendants, and has handled more than 150 litigations throughout the country. In the past year, she successfully tried several different multipatent cases, including one in the Northern District of California involving antivirus software and computer products, and two separate trials in the District of Nebraska involving wireless carriers. She also handled a Lanham Act dispute for a Fortune 500 company in the District of Delaware that settled just hours before opening statements. 

Managing Intellectual Property named Ms. Kobialka California Litigator of the Year, Patent Star and Trademark Star for 2016, and one of the Top 250 Women in IP in its 2013 Edition of IP Stars. Silicon Valley Business Journalpresented Ms. Kobialka with the 2016 Women of Influence Award.

Lori Mihalich-Levin is both a Partner in the Dentons Health Care practice and the Founder of Mindful Return LLC, a program that helps companies retain their new parent employees, and helps new working parents navigate the transition back to work after parental leave.

At Dentons, Lori is a resident of the Washington, DC, office, where she focuses her practice on Medicare reimbursement counseling, with a special focus on Medicare graduate medical education (GME) payments to teaching hospitals. She represents academic medical centers, teaching hospitals, community hospitals, and health systems, as well as a broad array of other health care organizations.  At Dentons, Lori also the Co-Chair of the Firm's Parent Professional Network, which she helped to found this past year.

Through Mindful Return, Lori leads a cohort based, online program that more than 30 employers offer to their new parent employees as a parental leave benefit.  She is also the author of the book, Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave.  The Mindful Return program has been featured in the Washington Post, and Working Mother Magazine recently called Lori a “working mama guru.”  Lori holds a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.  Lori loves tickling her cuddly redheaded boys (ages 5 and 7) and sharing parenting adventures with her amazing husband.

Evette Stair centers her practice on commercial transactions, technology transactions and intellectual property with a focus on licensing and complex technology distribution transactions.

Evette has extensive negotiation and drafting experience across a range of agreements including software agreements (SaaS included), IT outsourcing, technology development, and professional services.

Currently, Evette Stair is the Associate General Counsel at Schrödinger, Inc. In this role, Evette advises domestic and international internal clients on balancing legal risk against business needs and goals. Evette represents Schrödinger in a vast range of corporate transactional and intellectual property matters related to Schrödinger’s software and professional services business.  Prior to joining Schrödinger, Evette was an Associate at Venable LLP in the Technology Transactions and Outsourcing group focusing on the identification, protection, transfer, and commercialization of intellectual property and technology assets.  Evette was also previously an elementary school teacher in Newark, New Jersey as a Teach for America Corps Member. 

Cheryl Givner is senior vice president, assistant general counsel for Mastercard.  In this role, she leads and manages the worldwide legal support for marketing, media and sponsorships as well as the development and commercialization of new payment products, financial technology solutions, merchant acceptance solutions and card linked benefits.

Prior to assuming this role, Ms. Givner was vice president and managing counsel for global marketing, loyalty solutions, core payment products and merchant acceptance.  Earlier, Ms. Givner was vice president and senior counsel providing commercial transactions and marketing legal support to the North America region.

Before joining MasterCard in 2003, Ms. Givner was vice president, general counsel & secretary for Colomer USA, Inc., a mid-size beauty care corporation, where she developed the legal function in a dynamic, start up environment.  Prior to Colomer, Ms. Givner served as senior counsel for Revlon Consumer Products Corporation providing legal services for business operations, marketing and intellectual property licensing worldwide.  She was also an associate in the former New York office of Hall Dickler Kent Goldstein & Wood, focusing on marketing law, corporate transactions, intellectual property and litigation.

Ms. Givner is a member of the Bar in New York.  She is currently on ANA’s Brand Activation Board of Advisors and formerly was co-chair of the  Promotion Marketing Association Marketing Law Conference and chair of the Marketing & New Media Committee of the Westchester/Southern Connecticut Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. She is a regular speaker at industry conferences on social media, advertising and promotion law.

Ms. Givner earned a Juris Doctorate from the Washington College of Law at American University, where she graduated cum laude.  She graduated magna cum laude from Lehigh University and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa at Lehigh.

She currently resides in New York and is the proud mother of a son in college and a daughter in high school. 

Kelly Morgan is an IP attorney at Flagship Pioneering. Before holding this position she worked as a patent agent and associate at Saul Ewing LLP and held technical specialists positions at Pepper Hamilton LLP and Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP. Kelly earned her JD in IP Law from Suffolk University Law School, after earning a BS in Biology, followed up by a PhD in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Pathobiology from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. 

Amy Piccola represents clients facing complex commercial litigation particularly for the insurance and higher education industries. Her work for insurers and reinsurers includes matters related to bad faith, failure to pay, and breach of contract. She also collaborates with other insurance attorneys in the firm to keep the industry apprised of developments in the law of insurance bad faith claims through the publication of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr's monthly Bad Faith Sentinel.

In addition to representing colleges and universities in litigation, Amy provides them with advice on issues of compliance, policy, and liability. She also provides counsel to higher education institutions during investigations, particularly those involving the Clery Act and Title IX.

In addition to her bar admission in Pennsylvania, Amy is barred in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

On the pro bono front, Amy assists veterans in obtaining benefits from the Veterans' Administration. She has also represented multiple criminal defendants pursuant to Criminal Justice Act appointments. 

Anne Schmidt Frankel is a Member in the Philadelphia office of Burns White, concentrating her practice on defending hospitals, physicians, and long-term care facilities against professional and general liability claims. She also represents these clients in premises liability, corporate liability, and employment matters.

More specifically, Ms. Frankel has assisted human services clinics, personal care homes, hospitals, physician groups, and corporate entities with a variety matters, including slip and fall claims, grand jury subpoenas, employment disputes, and disruptive physician actions.

Prior to joining Burns White, Ms. Frankel worked as an Associate at a civil litigation and medical malpractice defense firm in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, where she successfully protected privileged client information from discovery through her knowledge and application of the Peer Review Protection Act, as well as assisted with pre-trial preparations and expert retention. In addition, Ms. Frankel clerked for the Hon. Richard F. Wells, J.S.C., of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Camden County.

A graduate of Widener University, Ms. Frankel received a Juris Doctor in 2008 and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, cum laude, from Northeastern University in 2005. While attending Northeastern University, Ms. Frankel was a Division I scholarship athlete for the Women’s Varsity Rowing Team. She later became co-captain of the team in her junior year.

Ms. Frankel is actively involved in the Women’s Initiative at Burns White and oversees efforts of the Philadelphia office.

Cathy has been responsible for legal issues with respect to Worldwide Marketing and ecommerce at MasterCard. Prior to working at MasterCard, Cathy was General Counsel for Agency.com, a digital marketing and technology company, (Agency.com was initially a start up when Cathy joined the company and then became part of the Omnicom Advertising Network). Prior to working for Agency.com, Cathy worked as Counsel for Computer Associates International, Inc., a software company where Cathy worked on a variety of issues including those related to marketing, public relations, development agreements and software licensing. Cathy started her career a deKeiffer, Dibble and Horgan, an international intellectual property law firm in the District of Columbia and held clerkship in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Cathy graduated with honors from Washington College of Law at American University and Smith College.

As Senior Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs and Chief Legal Officer for Complex Networks, Rhonda Powell leads a team of professional and administrative staff that supports all areas of the company’s rapidly growing digital media business. In her role, Rhonda provides strategic and legal guidance to the organization on a range of topics, including content creation, intellectual property protection, content distribution, advertising and social media.  She also oversees compliance and litigation matters for the company, including development of applicable internal policies and processes, and acts as the company’s Corporate Secretary. Ms. Powell joined Complex in January 2017 after twelve (12) years in various roles at Scripps Networks.

At Scripps Networks, Ms. Powell spent three years as Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs, managing the team providing negotiation and documentation support to the Digital Content Creation and Digital Advertising Sales teams across all Scripps Networks’ digital properties, including network-branded websites and Ulive.com.  Ms. Powell utilized her analytical skills and judgment to assist clients in the development and implementation of their strategic and tactical plans and to provide transactional support.  Rhonda assumed this role after five years leading the Business Affairs team serving Food Network, one of Scripps most popular and widely-distributed programming networks as well as Scripps’ newest network, Cooking Channel.

Ms. Powell joined Scripps Networks in late 2004 as Director in the Legal Affairs department, where she was responsible for negotiating and drafting agreements on behalf of her clients in the New Media, Business Development and Information Technology units.  Her skills and dedication were vital to Scripps Networks’ successful completion of groundbreaking deals in its Business Development unit, including the licensing agreement with Kohl’s Department Stores.  In addition, Rhonda’s significant contributions of knowledge and support assisted the Information Technology unit in negotiating agreements and developing internal policies in connection with a myriad of initiatives designed to upgrade and expand the company’s capabilities for its online properties and internal operations.

Ms. Powell’s legal career began with law firm practice, including practice in the corporate departments of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae and Proskauer Rose LLP, where she gained significant experience working on transactions in the communications, media, biotechnology and e-commerce areas, many of which involved the transfer and valuation of significant intellectual property assets.  It was at Proskauer Rose that Ms. Powell began to develop her expertise in counseling clients with regard to intellectual property issues in the corporate law context.  Ms. Powell left Proskauer Rose in 2000 to join the legal department of Reuters America Inc.  While at Reuters, Ms. Powell wasresponsible for managing the company's non-standard transactional agreements and commercial relationships relating to the licensing of content and news, strategic relationships, acquisitions, procurement and outsourcing, as well as for counseling various operational and client-facing groups on topics ranging from use of open source code to rights management.

Ms. Powell is graduate of Harvard University (magna cum laude w/ summa honors in major) and The University of Michigan School of Law, where she was named a Clarence Darrow Merit Scholar.  A member of both WICT and NAMIC, Ms. Powell has taken an active role in efforts to celebrate and enhance diversity in the corporate workplace and workforce.   Ms. Powell serves on the Boards of Directors of  PowerMyLearning, which has as its core mission the use of technology and creation of partnerships among parents, teachers and children to enhance and enrich the learning experience and the Food Education Fund, which supports Food and Finance High School, the only New York City public school providing students with a comprehensive culinary education. She is a mentor to several young women and men throughout the New York metropolitan area, including high school, college and law school students, as well as junior lawyers. 

Nancy A. Del Pizzo is a partner in Rivkin Radler’s Intellectual Property; Privacy, Data & Cyber Law; and Commercial Litigation Practice Groups. She resolves commercial disputes, litigates when necessary, and counsels on business issues. Her practice also includes transactional work, particularly in the intellectual property space, including prosecuting federal trademark applications and drafting various business agreements. Nancy is a core member of the Rivkin Radler team that was awarded IP Litigation Department of the Year in 2018 by the New Jersey Law Journal.

Carrie Sarhangi Love focuses her practice on white collar and government investigations and complex commercial litigation. She defends individual, corporate, and higher education clients in criminal, civil, and regulatory proceedings, including FDA and SEC enforcement actions and state and federal grand jury investigations and prosecutions of anti-bribery and bid-rigging laws, anti-kickback statutes, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, securities regulations, environmental regulations, and other federal offenses. She has extensive experience in trying cases, both civil and criminal, and her prosecution background allows her to provide both trial representation and valuable guidance to individuals and corporations who are subjects of government investigations. She regularly advises corporate and university clients conducting internal investigations and developing or updating compliance and training programs.

Previously, Carrie served as an Assistant District Attorney with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. There, she first-chaired more than 25 jury trials as lead counsel and litigated hundreds of other nonjury trials.

She was selected for inclusion in the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Philadelphia Magazine’s “Pennsylvania Super Lawyer – Rising Stars” in the White Collar Defense group and serves as an editor of the firm’s  White Collar Alert blog.

Carrie is fluent in Farsi.

Anthony & Sylvan Pools is America’s largest builder of in-ground swimming pools, a privately-held company on the cutting edge of swimming pool design and innovation, having designed and built pools nationwide for over 70 years. Quality construction and excellent customer satisfaction are the company's hallmarks, as it builds pools that last a lifetime and backyards that amaze and provides aftermarket goods and on-line services to existing pool owners with professional and skilled pool designers, builders, and craftsmen.

Melissa Sullivan is Associate General Counsel at Ascensus, a technology-enabled solutions provider that helps more than 7 million Americans save for retirement, college, and healthcare. She is the lead counsel on legal matters for Ascensus’ retirement business, providing guidance on risk management, data privacy, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, employment, and compliance.  

Prior to joining Ascensus, Melissa worked as an associate at Lowenstein Sandler, specializing in private M&A and technology start-ups. She received a degree in English from Rutgers University and her law degree from Boston University, where she served as an editor of the International Lew Review. Melissa is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.

Erin M. Dunston is the Biotechnology practice group leader of the firm's Intellectual Property section and a member of the firm's Associates Committee. She focuses on inter partes reviews, interferences, district court litigation, opinions, and prosecution — primarily in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. Her litigation practice includes classic infringement and declaratory judgment cases, as well as Paragraph IV cases.

In 2014, 2015, and 2016, Erin was recognized in IAM’s Patent 1000 list – the best-in-class listing of patent prosecution, licensing, and litigation practitioners and as an IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property. From 2014 to 2016, Erin has been named a Leading Intellectual Property Lawyer by Chambers USA. Erin also received Lawyer Monthly’s Women in Law 2016 Award for her contributions to the practice of biotechnology law.

Erin has assisted in more than 40 interferences before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. As a result, she is knowledgeable on all phases of interference work, ranging from pre-request analyses to preparation for and participation at final hearings and subsequent appeals to the Federal Circuit.

Erin’s significant interference experience before the PTAB serves as a useful backdrop to the America Invents Act post-grant proceedings, including inter partes reviews, post-grant reviews, covered business method patent reviews, and derivation matters. Erin has handled IPRs for both patent owners and petitioners.

In addition to the IPR matters that Erin is working on, she was also a panelist on the inaugural PTAB AIA Roundtable, held on April 15, 2014 at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The panel discussed AIA trial statistics, lessons learned and techniques for successful motions practice. The fact pattern used at that roundtable, and all subsequent PTAB roundtables throughout the country, was initially drafted by Erin for a Pauline Newman Inn of Court meeting titled “Concurrent Post-Grant Proceedings: Dos, Don’ts, and Tips for Creating a Strong Record for Appeal or Civil Action,” where Erin moderated a panel of judges and practitioners. Erin served as a panelist in April of 2016 for a PTO 'Boardside Chat' on the recent rule amendments.

To help to ensure familiarity with current patent practice and to complement her litigation, post-grant, and interference work, Erin maintains a significant patent prosecution docket. Erin has experience in all phases of patent prosecution, from pre-filing investigations and application drafting to appeals to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and Federal Circuit.

Mu draws on over 10 years of experience in patent procurement, portfolio management and infringement analysis, with emphasis on software, telecommunication, video compression and streaming, consumer electronics and medical devices.

She is a frequent speaker at conferences, universities and seminars on patent law and women’s career advancement. Mu is also very passionate about supporting and empowering women and founded the Philadelphia Women in IP Mentorship program in 2015.

She specializes in managing large patent portfolios and advises clients on strategic prosecution of standard essential patents (H.265, H.266 (VVC), MPEG DASH, LTE, 5G/NR, IoT, etc.).

Mu attributes her technical expertise to her “tech years” before her legal career. “I spent years climbing the corporate IT ladder,” Mu said, “I started off as a programmer, then managed a portion of a multi-million-dollar software development project, and towards the end of my IT tenure, I managed a team of system analysts.” When she interviews new associates, she likes to ask the interviewees whether they could read source code. “We pride ourselves on being the best in software and telecommunication industries. That requires us to recognize and recruit highly technical attorneys,” Mu adds.

At Condo Roccia Koptiw, we believe expert knowledge and informed dialogue fuels our mission to make our clients’ lives easier and our people’s lives more fulfilling. As a 20-attorney IP boutique in Center City Philadelphia, we represent clients in all intellectual property disciplines, with expertise in electrical engineering, computer software, biochemistry, chemistry and mechanical engineering.

Sarah Galbraith currently serves as the Corporate Compliance Manager for Aramark, a publicly traded food, uniforms, and facility services company with nearly $15 billion in revenue.  She works with stakeholders across the entire enterprise to establish and reinforce the global policies and procedures that support the company’s ethical culture.  Prior to moving into the compliance function, she was Counsel for Aramark, supporting contracts and transactional legal work for multiple lines of business by interacting directly with the teams in the field and corporate leadership.

Prior to that, she was counsel for a group of pharmaceutical packaging manufacturing companies and in private practice with Volpe & Koenig, P.C., an Intellectual Property firm in Philadelphia.  She is passionate about connecting her network with leadership and learning opportunities, focusing on cultivating mentorships, and supporting women in technology and law.

Jane Leopold-Leventhal, Esquire serves as general counsel for all Bohler Engineering locations. Bringing more than 27 years of legal experience, Jane began her career as a law clerk to the Honorable Phyllis Beck of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. After her Clerkship, she worked in the Litigation Department of Duane Morris’ Philadelphia office followed by her time as a Litigation Attorney at the law firm of Eastburn & Gray in Doylestown, PA where she became a Partner and served for several years on the firm’s Management Committee. During her tenure with Eastburn & Gray, Jane managed complex commercial transactions, construction litigation, real estate matters, commercial and residential construction litigation and business dealings, while also representing various suppliers in the construction trade and clients within the retail, architectural, and healthcare markets.

After several years as legal counsel to Bohler’s Pennsylvania offices, Jane accepted a position as Bohler’s General Counsel in 2012. Her responsibilities now include the oversight of commercial litigation, contract negotiations, lease negotiations, and employment issues. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania, and her Juris Doctorate from the Temple University School of Law, where she was a staff writer and then editor for The Law Review.

Lisa Detwiler is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of FS Investment Solutions, FS Investments’ wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary, responsible for both legal and compliance functions.

Prior to joining FS Investment Solutions, Ms. Detwiler served as Senior Managing Counsel of BNY Mellon’s managed account business and General Counsel of Lockwood Advisors, a BNY Mellon subsidiary, and a member of its investment committee. Her prior experience includes serving as a partner at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis, LLP, as Chief Counsel of the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and as an attorney at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. She has more than 25 years of experience representing a variety of financial institutions in regulatory, transactional and governance matters.

Ms. Detwiler received her JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she was an executive editor of the Law Review and her BA cum laude from Mount Holyoke College.

Ms. Detwiler has been active in federal, state and local bar associations, including serving as Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Business Law section and Co-Chair of the Women in the Profession Committee. In 2016 she was recognized with the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Women of Distinction Award. She is also active in her community, serving on numerous civic and charitable boards, currently including the executive leadership team for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign, the Board of Directors of The Forum of Executive Women, the Board of Directors of Philadelphia VIP, and as a Trustee of Westover School.

Doreen E. Lilienfeld is Global Head of the Governance & Advisory Group and the Team Leader of the Compensation, Governance and ERISA practice.

She focuses on a wide variety of compensation-related matters, including the design and implementation of retention and compensation plans, disclosure and regulatory compliance, and employment negotiations with senior executives. She has advised both U.S. and non-U.S. issuers on corporate governance and regulatory requirements relating to compensation and benefits matters and high profile individuals in their employment and severance negotiations. 

Doreen has been a resident in the Frankfurt, London and Bay Area offices of Shearman & Sterling.  For the past sixteen years, Doreen has spearheaded the publication of the Shearman & Sterling survey of the compensation-related corporate governance practices of the largest 100 domestic issuers.  She is a lecturer in Executive Compensation at the Berkeley School of Law.   

Doreen is the winner of the Euromoney Americas Women in Business Law Award for Best in Corporate Governance (2018) and was included in the “Notable Women in Law” list by Crain’s New York Business (2019). 

Lori Armstrong Halber is a partner in the firm's Philadelphia office. With an eye towards practical results, she has been representing management in all aspects of labor relations and employment law for over 20 years.

Lori has extensive experience defending employers before federal and state courts and administrative agencies in matters involving Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), with particular class and collective action experience.

With respect to traditional labor matters, Lori provides labor relations counseling (including formulating comprehensive and strategic union avoidance tactics), defends clients in grievance arbitrations and represents employers before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Lori regularly provides preventive counseling and training for executives, supervisors and employees on topics such as harassment prevention, the respectful workplace, effective communication, performance management, diversity and inclusion and union avoidance.

Lori is a member of the firm’s Women’s Initiative & Leadership Council Steering Committee.

Lori was listed in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers - Rising Stars in 2007 and has been regularly selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers since that time. In 2006 she was selected as a “Lawyer on the Fast Track” by The Legal Intelligencer.

Leigh-Ann Durant is a senior legal and business executive with over 20 years of experience in the global biopharmaceutical industry, 10 of those years were with a major Boston law firm (partner) and 11 years have been in-house at a fast paced, dynamic global biopharma company.

Leigh-Ann currently oversees the day-to-day legal affairs for all US research, development and medical activities for EMD Serono, Inc., the US division of world’s oldest chemical and pharmaceutical company, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.  She has demonstrated expertise in oversight, provision and management of legal services to global clients, turning legal strategy into business action, analytical problem solving, strategic thinking, corporate governance, commercial and corporate transactions, legal and regulatory compliance, risk mitigation, business operations, and executive leadership and management skills.

Prior to going in-house, Leigh-Ann was a Partner at Nixon Peabody, LLP, where she was responsible for complex commercial litigation, healthcare litigation, medical privacy issues, FDA issues, HIPAA and regulatory compliance for companies in the health care, pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology sectors.  She also successfully litigated various high profile cases, including the first medical privacy class action case in Massachusetts.

Leigh-Ann has a lengthy history of service to and leadership on women’s issues and civil rights.  Leigh-Ann currently serves as the Massachusetts Delegate and Board Member to the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations (“NCWBA”).  She served as the Chair of the NCWBA’s 2014 National Gender Equity Summit, and has served as its Chair of Awards Committee for the past three years.

She also serves on the NCWBA’s Guys Overcoming Obstacles to Diversity (“GOOD”) Guys Committee which leads programs designed to break the impasse in women’s advancement by engaging people who have been missing from the conversation for too long – the GUYS!  The GOOD Guys program presents the financial case for diversity and inclusion and provides up-to-date information about bias interrupters.

Leigh-Ann was the 2001-2002 President of the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts, one of the largest and most influential women's bars in the country.  One of the signature initiatives of her Presidency was passage of the Massachusetts Contraceptive Coverage Bill.  She served on the WBA’s Board of Directors for over 16 years. She also served on numerous WBA committees including as Chair of its In-House Counsel Committee, its Leadership Initiative Task Force, its Law Firm Advancement Committee, Pro Bono Committee, Publication Committee and Gala Chair, its Emeritus Board, and as a mentor on the WBA’s Women’s Leadership Initiative. For a number of years, Leigh-Ann served on the Board of the Woman’s Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the WBA.

While at Nixon Peabody, she founded, developed and implemented the Nixon Peabody’s Women’s Initiative, leading the program and developing curriculum to provide business development and advancement skills to women lawyers at the law firm.

Leigh-Ann also served on the Massachusetts Government Appointments Project (MassGAP) Steering Committee for Governor Mitt Romney, a group whose purpose was to increase the number of women appointed by the Governor to senior-level cabinet positions, agency heads and selected authorities and commissions in the Commonwealth. This Committee provided Governor Romney with the infamous “binders of women” for potential Gubernatorial appointments.

Leigh-Ann is a Charter Member of the National Women’s History Museum in Washington, D.C. The Museum researches, collects and exhibits the contributions of women to the social, cultural, economic and political life of our nation in a context of world history.

Leigh-Ann was a speaker at the 2008 Gender Equity Conference and has spoken numerous times at the Massachusetts Women’s Conference.

She served on the Executive Committee of the Boston Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights and on its Board of Directors for a number of years.  In 2009, the Lawyer’s Committee awarded her its Outstanding Civil Rights Leadership Award.  In 2007, the Supreme Judicial Court awarded her the Adams Pro Bono Publico Awards.

Kajal Alemo is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is a member of both the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Bar Associations.

Before joining Pond Lehocky, Ms. Alemo practiced for a large Philadelphia law firm, where she assisted senior counsel with the coding of potentially discoverable corporate documents, including privilege determinations. Previously, Ms. Alemo practiced as a contract attorney for Comcast Corporation in Philadelphia.

Ms. Alemo has been recognized by The Legal Intelligencer for her pro bono work. She has also been recognized by the Philadelphia Bar Association for outstanding work in public service and is a recipient of the Dorothy Day Public Service Award. In 2016, she joined The Legal Intelligencer’s Women in the Profession Roundtable to discuss the issues women face in the legal profession today and proposed solutions.

A graduate of Villanova University School of Law, Ms. Alemo was the Villanova Law student director of Face to Face Legal Clinic for the Pro Bono Society. She interned at the Face to Face Legal Clinic during all three years of law school. Ms. Alemo was the President/Justice of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity’s King Chapter and a Villanova Law student ambassador. In addition, she was a student attorney at the Villanova Law Civil Justice Clinic and one of the editors of a legal textbook regarding law and business enterprise.

Prior to law school, Ms. Alemo obtained a B.A. in Psychology from George Washington University, graduating in 2008 on the Dean’s List. She is also a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International. Under her leadership, Phi Alpha Delta’s King Chapter was awarded most improved chapter in its district.

Allyson Angelo is a partner in the Newark and Philadelphia offices of Lewis Brisbois who primarily focuses her practice on a broad range of litigation matters involving the long-term care and financial industries. She has a long track record of representing clients in the health care industry including nursing homes, hospitals, physicians, and pharmaceutical companies in medical malpractice and product liability matters. Ms. Angelo has also successfully represented clients in the financial services industry in a variety of matters involving general liability, employment law, and commercial litigation.

Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Angelo served in-house at a top financial institution handling global regulatory initiatives. Leveraging her in-house experience with her diverse litigation background, Ms. Angelo provides a unique approach in the oversight of a variety of complex litigation matters involving financial institutions.

Ms. Angelo served as a law clerk to the Honorable Paul Innes, Presiding Civil Judge, Superior Court of New Jersey. Ms. Angelo received her J.D. law degree from Rutgers University School of Law- Camden, where she served on the board of the Hunter Moot Court Competition. During her undergraduate studies at Rider University, Ms. Angelo was on the Dean’s List, the captain of the Women’s Division I Track and Field Team, and an eight-time member of the MAAC All-Academic Team. Ms. Angelo was recently inducted into the 2017 Rider University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Ms. Angelo has been selected to the distinguished New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars list, an honor reserved for only 2.5% of those lawyers in New Jersey who exhibit excellence in practice.

Malinda A. Miller is a partner in the Newark office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Long-Term Care & Elder Law Practice. Ms. Miller has a depth of experience in the defense of long-term care and assisted living facilities. She has represented numerous facilities in claims involving falls, decubitus ulcers, elopement, medication errors, abuse/neglect, dehydration/malnutrition, contract and fraud based claims obtaining successful results through all phases of litigation. She is the preferred counsel for some large, regional long-term care operators as well as many operators in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Ms. Miller regularly presents at seminars educating other lawyers on different issues and trends in long-term care litigation and provides in-service training to management and staff of nursing homes, assisted living operators, and other care providers with the goal of risk reduction.

In addition to long-term care and assisted living facilities, Ms. Miller has experience representing physicians, nurses, CNAs, medical groups, and healthcare facilities in medical negligence and related claims involving a wide array of medical specialties.

Ms. Miller is experienced in the defense of cases in both state and federal courts. She has first chair trial experience and has vast experience in alternative dispute resolution including administrative proceedings, mediations and arbitrations. This experience includes not only long-term care and medical malpractice matters, but also those involving issues of premises liability, automotive liability, construction litigation, products liability, employment discrimination and property damage.

Caitlin Piccarello Strauss is a litigator who represents companies in disputes involving insurance, employee benefits and ERISA, real estate, and restrictive covenants. Insurance companies rely on her to defend them in coverage disputes particularly involving claims for benefits under group employee benefits policies governed by ERISA.  The litigation experience Caitlin has gained from representing insurance companies dovetails with her experience litigating commercial disputes involving food, beverage and consumer products companies. Caitlin also represents clients in the real estate industry as well and defends property managers, real estate brokers and agents in professional liability disputes stemming from residential and commercial real estate transactions. She also represents title insurance companies and their insureds in cases involving title insurance claims and title agent defalcations.

Beyond her legal practice, Caitlin is a leader and advocate for the development and advancement of women attorneys both inside the firm and in the larger legal community. As a founding member and co-chair of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Women's Development Initiative (WDI), she provides women attorneys with opportunities for networking and business development. She also serves as chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Women in Law Firms Initiatives Task Force and regularly participates in panel discussions about women’s initiatives in law firms.

The Honorable Phyllis W. Beck has served as the Chair of the Independence Foundation, a philanthropic organization investing in people and programs that enrich the life experiences of the residents of the Philadelphia area, since 1993. It is one of the many roles in which Judge Beck has dedicated her life and career to serving the people of Philadelphia.

After graduating first in her class from Temple Law School, where she studied in the evening division, Judge Beck worked in the private sector for several years before returning to Temple as a member of the faculty. She later served as Vice Dean at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She left that post in 1981 to become the first woman to serve on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania since the court’s founding in 1896. After retiring from the Court in 2006, Judge Beck took on several public roles, including service as general counsel of the Barnes Foundation, chair of the advisory board of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, an Appellate Master for the Chester Housing Authority, and mediator for the Superior Court and in asbestos cases for the First Judicial District. She currently serves as the vice-chair of the Ethics Board of the City of Philadelphia.

Judge Beck is an active and generous member of the Temple Law community. In addition to establishing the Beck Chair in Law, Judge Beck is a member of the Temple Law School Board of Visitors and a 2003 recipient of the Temple Law Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Award.

She is the recipient of numerous other awards and honors as well, including a 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Legal Intelligencer, the 2005 Sandra Day O’Connor Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the 1997 Anne X. Alpern Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association. In 2000, she was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania by then-Governor Tom Ridge.

Linda Shi is the General Counsel and head of compliance at Red Spark, LP, a diversified digital media and technology company based in Philadelphia, as well as its affiliated entities.  In this role, she serves as chief legal counsel and an executive team member of the organization, with her practice focusing on technology, privacy, and intellectual property law issues.  In addition to her legal function, she also holds significant operational and management responsibilities.  She was recently recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal with its 2016 Women of Distinction Award, and its 2015 Top Corporate Counsel Award for her advisory work.  She is also a recipient of the Penn Law Women's Summit Rising Star Award.

An engineering as well as a lawyer by training, Linda is the co-founder of Noria Technologies, a Philadelphia-based consumer product company in the process of bringing to market an innovative compact window AC.  Prior to joining Red Spark, she served as the assistant general counsel of IP for an international business software and services company, and prior to that, as an intellectual property associate with a premier intellectual property boutique law firm.

Linda received dual degrees in Mechanical Engineering and English from Rutgers University, and her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she served as an editor of the Law Review.  She is a registered patent attorney with the USPTO, and licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  Linda takes an active part in the startup community and various bar associations, and is a frequent speaker on issues of diversity and inclusiveness.  

Monique Ferraro provides legal and technical expertise in support of cyber efforts undertaken by Munich Re's U.S. Property & Casualty Operations. She is Counsel in the Cyber & Privacy Practice at Harford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. Ms. Ferraro's cybersecurity and privacy experience spans more than twenty-five years in digital forensics, ediscovery, information security and privacy. Ms. Ferraro holds a master’s degree, and a JD. She is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), a Fellow of Information Privacy, Certified Information Privacy Professional/US (CIPP/US) and Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM).

Alison Lazerwitz has over twenty five years’ experience with international legal issues, including leading compliance functions, and the development of international corporate integrity initiatives.

Alison began her career in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as a litigator with the law firm, Duane Morris. She then worked in the in-house legal departments of ARAMARK and the Wood Company in the U.S., where she was the company’s General Counsel, reporting to the CEO and to the Board of Directors. In 2002 Alison left the US and spent nine years in Paris working for Sodexo, the international leader in outsourced services. Alison was first the Chief Legal Officer for Sodexo and then the Senior Vice President for International Development. In 2010, Alison joined Swarovski as Executive Vice President and General Counsel.

Alison is a member of the Board of Directors of the Women’s Network for a Sustainable Future. Alison’s hobbies include exploring the countryside, different cultures, art, ballet, opera and food.

Erin J. McLaughlin's practice involves a wide variety of labor and employment issues. Most importantly, this includes helping clients avoid litigation through counseling. Erin regularly counsels and assists employers in developing and implementing practical and legal approaches to labor and employee issues. Erin defends employers in employment litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies.

Erin's practice also includes counseling employers on diverse personnel-related issues including: negotiating and administering collective bargaining agreements; compliance with discrimination laws; compliance with military and other medical and family leave laws; hiring, evaluating and discharging employees; drug and alcohol testing; developing personnel policies and employee handbooks; pay practices and employee benefits; and health and safety issues.

Additionally, she has experience advising employers in such union-related matters as collective bargaining, grievance arbitrations, union organizing campaigns and unfair labor practice proceedings.

Erin has been selected for inclusion in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® list under the Employment Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment categories.