Overview
Faculty
Lam Truong Esq.
Mr. Truong is a senior legal counsel with Office of Chief Counsel, Democratic Caucus of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He earned his B.A. from Shippensburg University and his J.D. from Penn State University, The Dickinson School of Law.
Peter Klein Esq.
Mr. Klein is an Associate Counsel with the Legislative Reference Bureau where he prepares legislation, conducts legal research and writes legal opinions upon request of members of the General Assembly or Executive Branch Offices. He is a graduate of the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina and the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law at University Park. Mr. Klein is a member of the Statutory Law Committee and the Editorial Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
Raymond Pepe Esq.
Mr. Pepe is Of Counsel to the law firm of K&L Gates LLP resident in the firm’s Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Office. He has a diverse practice that involves public policy and administrative law, the representation of financial institutions, state and local taxation, unclaimed property and health care. Prior to beginning the private practice of law in 1987 he served as Legislative and Regulatory Counsel to Dick Thornburgh during his eight years as Governor of Pennsylvania. He has also served more than 20 years as a member of the Pennsylvania Delegation to the Uniform Law Commission.
Jonathan Vaitl Esq.
Jonathan Vaitl is an associate at K&L Gates’ Harrisburg office. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, including complex contractual disputes, Telephone Consumer Protection Act claims, and securities litigation. He has also worked on high-profile cases involving constitutional challenges to Pennsylvania statutes and regulations. Jonathan has represented clients in state and federal courts, as well as before administrative law judges, where he has represented clients with respect to environmental permitting requirements. He has served as second chair for trials and arbitrations, and is experienced in pre-trial work, including pleadings, discovery, and motions practice.
Juliet Moringiello Esq.
Juliet M. Moringiello is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg, PA. She regularly teaches courses in Bankruptcy, Property, Sales, and Secured Transactions and teaches a seminar on Business Law and Emerging Technologies. Prof. Moringiello is an elected member of the American Law Institute, a fellow in the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers, and a Uniform Law Commissioner for Pennsylvania. She was the Vice-Chair of the ALI/ULC Drafting Committee for the 2022 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code and is a member of the Permanent Editorial Board for the Uniform Commercial Code.
Stephanie Latimore Esq.
Stephanie Latimore is the Assistant Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau in Harrisburg, where she serves in an executive management role, prepares legislation and conducts legal research for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. She is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Maryland School of Law. Ms. Latimore is an active member of the PBA and has served in many key leadership roles, including past Co-chair of Women in the Profession, for which she was awarded the PBA President’s Award for Excellent Programming, past president of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, a former Minority Governor-at-Large on the PBA Board of Governors, past chair of the PBA Minority Bar Committee and past chair of the Editorial Board. She serves as immediate past co-chair of PBA Bar Leadership Institute and served on the Judicial Evaluation Commission for over a decade. Ms. Latimore has also taught at the Penn State University Middletown Campus as an adjunct professor for the Paralegal Program. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Michael Dimino
Prof. Dimino is Professor of Law at Widener University Commonwealth Law School, where he teaches courses related to constitutional law, election law, federal courts, statutory interpretation, and criminal law. Prof. Dimino graduated summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1998 with degrees in political science and history. He then attended Harvard Law School, where he was Articles Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and from which he graduated cum laude in 2001. Prof. Dimino served as Chief Clerk to Associate Judge Albert M. Rosenblatt of the New York State Court of Appeals, and then clerked for Senior Circuit Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Judge Paul L. Friedman of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, before joining Widener in 2004. A two-time recipient of Widener’s Douglas E. Ray Award for Faculty Scholarship, a two-time recipient of Widener’s Outstanding Professor Award, a member of the American Law Institute, and a Fulbright Scholar, Prof. Dimino has written extensively on constitutional law, election law, and judicial behavior, and has co-authored Voting Rights and Election Law (3d ed. 2020); The Best Candidate: Presidential Nomination in Polarized Times (2020); Understanding Election Law and Voting Rights (2016); The Mueller Investigation and Beyond (2020); and Sports Law: Cases and Materials (2d ed. 2007). Prof. Dimino and his wife, Jennifer, live with their four children in Carlisle. In his spare time, Prof. Dimino referees hockey and umpires baseball.
Laurie Besden Esq.
Laurie Besden is the Executive Director of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers of Pennsylvania, Inc. (LCL PA). She served as its Deputy Executive Director, overseeing its Helpline operations, serving as primary contact for intervention requests, expanding its law school outreach, and increasing LCL PA’s presence within the organized bench and bar, from 2011-2015. After becoming LCL PA’s Executive Director in 2015, Laurie continued to serve in most of these capacities and assumed responsibility for the organization’s administrative and financial operations, as well as its judges’ assistance program (Judges Concerned for Judges). Laurie is a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania (1999) and New Jersey (1999). She practiced law from 1999 through 2001 and 2009-2011 in several capacities including: Attorney-at-law (general civil and criminal practice), East Norriton, PA, Law Clerk (Pennsylvania Superior Court), Philadelphia, PA, and Law Clerk (Philadelphia Municipal Court), Philadelphia, PA. She received her B.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD (1995) and her J.D. from The Dickinson School of Law of Pennsylvania State University (1999). Laurie was the 2015 recipient of the Montgomery Bar Association’s Henry Stuckert Miller Award for her dedication to public service in the legal profession and the 2019 recipient of Caron’s Legal Professional/Uniformed Public Service Award for the Greater Philadelphia Region.
Vincent DeLiberato Jr., Esq.
Mr. DeLiberato is the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau. Since 1975, he has served as counsel for the Bureau: preparing proposed legislation and regulatory material, classifying enacted law, rendering legal advice to executive and legislative officers and employees, annotating court decisions on constitutional law and statutory construction, and responding to public inquiries on statutory and regulatory materials. In private practice, he has done legal research, brief writing, and document drafting for attorneys in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. Additionally, Mr. DeLiberato is a member of Pennsylvania’s delegation to the Uniform Law Commission; teaches Legislation, Legislative Drafting, and State Constitutional Law at Widener University Commonwealth Law School and works with Widener’s Law and Government Institute; and serves on the Statutory Law Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He has authored and co-authored materials on statutory construction, legislative procedure, separation of powers, and judicial history. Mr. DeLiberato received a J.D. from Villanova University in 1975, an M.A. from Villanova University in 1976, and a B.A. from Saint Joseph’s University in 1971.
Anthony Holtzman Esq.
Anthony Holtzman is a
partner with K&L Gates, LLP. His practice is focused on
constitutional law, environmental law, appellate litigation, utilities law,
and commercial litigation. Anthony regularly represents private and public
sector clients, including legislative bodies and legislators, on issues of
Pennsylvania and federal constitutional law. He has significant experience
with the Pennsylvania Constitution’s Bill of Rights, along with its
provisions regarding the structure and powers of the Pennsylvania General
Assembly and requirements for the enactment of legislation. On the federal
side, he has represented clients with regard to First Amendment, Second
Amendment, Tenth Amendment, Eleventh Amendment, dormant Commerce Clause,
Takings Clause, Due Process Clause, Equal Protection Clause, and Speech or
Debate Clause issues, among others. In addition to his constitutional law
activities, Anthony regularly represents industry clients, including oil and
gas production companies, pipeline operators, power plant owners, and trade
associations, in litigation matters that involve agency enforcement
activities, challenges to statutes and regulations, allegations of water and
surface contamination, property rights disputes, contract interpretation issues,
challenges to permits, and issues that arise under freedom of information
laws. He also advises industry clients on a broad range of Pennsylvania and
federal environmental regulatory compliance issues. Anthony has argued cases
before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, various Pennsylvania
and federal trial courts, and the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board –
including en banc arguments before the Third Circuit, Commonwealth Court, and
EHB. Beyond practicing law, Anthony routinely lectures on principles of
constitutional law, environmental law, and statutory construction. And he has
authored or co-authored more than 70 scholarly articles and book chapters in
the past decade.
Eric Fillman Esq.
Eric S. Fillman, Esq. is a graduate LaSalle University (B.A. Political Science, 1984) and Widener Law Commonwealth (J.D., 1993). Now retired, he completed 36 years of public service with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1984-2020), including 1.3 years with the PA Department of Transportation, 2 years with the Office of the Governor as Deputy General Counsel, 29 years with the Pennsylvania General Assembly including 7 years as Counsel to the Bipartisan House Ethics Committee, and 3.7 years with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General as that Agency’s first Chief Integrity Officer. Fillman continues to serve as a volunteer Instructor with the Office of Attorney General, teaching Ethics at New Employee Orientation programs held monthly, and New Agent Ethics programs twice a year. He also teaches programs twice each year in both Ethics and in Bias & Procedural Justice for the Commonwealth Investigators’ Training Program (CITP).
Michael Schwoyer Esq.
Mr. Schwoyer serves as Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislation and Policy and Special Counsel to PA House Speaker Joanna McClinton. He drafts legislation for, and provides advice and counsel to, the Speaker, and Members and staff of the House Democratic Caucus. Before holding his current position, Mr. Schwoyer held similar positions with Democratic Leader Frank Dermody, Speaker Keith McCall, and Speaker Dennis O’Brien, and served as Chief Enforcement Counsel to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Chief Counsel and Executive Director of the House Judiciary Committee and Chief Deputy District Attorney of Cumberland County. Mr. Schwoyer also served as Chairman of the Cumberland County Victims of Crime Act Policy Board and in 2004 was honored for his efforts in support of crime victim services as the recipient of the Governor’s Victims Service Allied Professional Pathfinder’s Award and the Cumberland County Victim Advocacy Award. Mr. Schwoyer is a Pennsylvania Uniform Law Commission Member where he currently serves on the ULC’s Criminal Justice Reform Monitoring Committee. He received his B.A. in Political Science from The Pennsylvania State University and his J.D. from Penn State The Dickinson School of Law.
James Mann Esq.
Jim serves as Senior Deputy Chief Counsel to the Republican Caucus in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. His duties include providing legal counsel to leadership, members and staff; developing legislation and policies; and representing the Caucus’ interests in proceedings at the state and federal level. Jim serves as the Speaker’s appointee to the Pennsylvania Delegation of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, where he received his B.S. in Public Policy in 1995; and the Widener University School of Law, where he received his Juris Doctor in 2000. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as well as the U.S. District Courts for Middle and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania.
J. Andrew Crompton
Drew Crompton, former Commonwealth Court judge, is a member of McNees’ Public Finance & Government Services Practice Group who leverages nearly 30 years of experience in all three branches of Pennsylvania government to assist clients across multiple areas of law and government relations. Crompton joined McNees after serving on the Commonwealth Court, where he heard administrative and civil public law cases and wrote more than 150 published and unpublished opinions that are straightforward, thoughtful and objective. He was confirmed to the position by a strong bipartisan Senate vote. Previously, Crompton spent 26 years serving the Pennsylvania Senate. Named one of the 10 Titans in Pennsylvania by City and State Magazine, he began in the Senate Republicans’ policy office in his early 20s, quickly became former Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer’s chief counsel and departed as general counsel to the Senate Majority Caucus and chief-of-staff to former President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati in 2019. Crompton managed dozens of high profile and extensive civil and criminal litigation cases in front of the Commonwealth and Supreme Courts — including redistricting cases, the NCAA matter, budget disputes and separation of power cases, to name a few — and drafted hundreds of state statutes affecting local and state tax laws, state agencies, education, health care, transportation and business development. He also served as chief-of-staff and counsel to Scarnati when he assumed the role of Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor in 2008. Over the course of his career, Crompton delivered speeches at hundreds of public and private forums and spoke to a large variety of media outlets on behalf of the Pennsylvania Senate – he has been quoted in over 500 news reports over the past decade. Crompton has also established extensive contacts with individuals and organizations across the Commonwealth during his career. When he is not practicing law, the Montgomery County native coaches the Cumberland Valley Youth Basketball Association’s girls’ team and plays on the West Shore Country Club mens’ tennis team.
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