Nariman P. Dastur is an attorney with Carpenter, McCadden and Lane in Wexford, PA. He is an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section having served as its Chair for the 2021-22 term. He has also served as a Proofer/Editor for their Workers’ Compensation Newsletter since 2002. In addition, he is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association, serving on their Workers’ Compensation Section Counsel including as Chair for the 2009-2010 term. Mr. Dastur received his B.A. from Westminster College and his J.D. from Case Western University School of Law. His practice is devoted exclusively to the workers’ compensation litigation. He was among the first to be certified as a workers’ compensation specialist in Pennsylvania, having met the requirements and passing a comprehensive exam in 2013. In 2020, he was elected a Fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. Mr. Dastur is a frequent course planner and lecturer for PBI including its Fall Section Meeting, Tough Problems in Workers’ Compensation and Handling the Workers’ Compensation programs. Mr. Dastur has also served on the Board of Directors of Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania since 2016.

Judge McTiernan served as a member of the course planning committee, the team that plans and presents the biennial PBI program Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Practice & Procedure, and writes the manual from 1989 through 2014. He has served on the Workers’ Compensation Rules Committee, appointed by the Secretary of Labor and Industry, and its predecessor, the Committee for Referees’ Rules and Procedures from 1993 to 2016. He is a past chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Law Section. He is also past chair of the Allegheny County Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section. Judge McTiernan was a member of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County and is a Fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. He is the recipient of the prestigious Irvin Stander Award, 2011, from the Pennsylvania Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Law Section. Judge McTiernan was listed in The BestLawyers in America, published by Woodward & White from 1997 through 2017 and was named in the Best American Lawyers in Workers’ Compensation. He was also listed as one of Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers from 2005 through 2017. He has also been a member of the board of Kids’ Chance of Pennsylvania, and served as its president from 2014-2015. A former partner in the Pittsburgh firm of Caroselli, Beachler, McTiernan & Coleman, he currently serves as a workers’ compensation judge in the Brookville WCOA office.

Danielle R. DeRosa is a shareholder of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, P.C. She concentrates her practice in the area of workers’ compensation, specifically in defense matters on behalf of insurance carriers, self-insured entities, and third-party administrators. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. DeRosa practiced with a local firm in Philadelphia.

Judge Beck has been a Workers’ Compensation Judge in Philadelphia since 2012. Judge Beck received his B.A. from Elizabethtown College in 1994 and his J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law in 1997. In private practice, Judge Beck represented primarily public and private employers, carriers, and third-party administrators in workers’ compensation matters for nearly fifteen years, culminating in a position as chief in-house workers’ compensation counsel for GUARD Insurance Group (now Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies). Judge Beck has authored and co-authored numerous articles for the Legal Intelligencer and taught and prepared materials for continuing legal education seminars, including the annual Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Conference, on the subject of workers’ compensation.

Saad Aslam resides in Cressona, Pennsylvania with his wife Shanza. Mr. Aslam graduated cum laude from American University in 1999 with a BA in Economics. He received his law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University in 2005 and is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. He formerly worked at the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in the legal logistics department. His areas of interest include civil litigation and workers’ compensation. Saad is a proven powerhouse in the courtroom and is dedicated to getting injured workers’ the compensation they deserve.

Judge Martin graduated from Marist College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. After working as a paralegal at a New York City law firm, Judge Martin attended Fordham University School of Law, graduating in 2010.  Following graduation, Judge Martin served as a judicial clerk in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.  In 2012, Judge Martin joined Carpenter, McCadden & Lane, and in 2015, Judge Martin moved her practice to Hill Wallack, LLP.  On April 11, 2022, Judge Martin was appointed as a Workers’ Compensation Judge. Judge Martin is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Central Bucks County and serves as a Troop Leader for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania.  She currently co-chairs the Continuing Legal Education sub-committee of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association and is also co-chair of the Bucks County Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section.

Marla A. Joseph, Esquire, an AV-rated lawyer and Principal of the Law Offices of Marla Joseph, LLC, has been representing workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability claimants for over a quarter of a century.  Ms. Joseph earned her B.A. from Pennsylvania State University in 1991, majoring in Psychology, and minoring in Business. In 1994, she earned her J.D. from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law, where she was honored with an award for achievement in trial advocacy and had the privilege of working as a Teaching Assistant for Lynn Abraham, who was the Philadelphia District Attorney at that time. She is certified as a workers’ compensation specialist by the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section, as authorized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.  The Best Lawyers of America just named Ms. Joseph the 2025 Lawyer of the Year, an honor she also earned in 2023 and 2020. This is a distinction earned by only .4% of lawyers. She was honored to receive the Philadelphia Bar Association’s prestigious Martha Hampton Award, for her dedication and leadership to the Bar, the respect she has earned from her peers, and her mentorship she has offered to younger attorneys. In 2022, Ms. Joseph was inducted as a Fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, a national organization that honors workers’ compensation lawyers who have exhibited the highest professional qualifications, ethical standards, character, integrity, professional expertise, and leadership.  In 2019 Philadelphia City Council honored Ms. Joseph with a Citation, acknowledging her selection in the Philly Labor Who’s Who in Injured Workers Advocacy. She became a Kids’ Chance of PA Board member in 2018 and instituted an annual Silent Auction, for which she was honored with the PA Merit of Achievement Award. The auction has raised over $60,000 in scholarships for students whose parents died or were catastrophically injured in a PA work accident. She is a former Chair of PBA’s Workers’ Compensation Executive Council, has been a course planner for their premier Fall Section Meeting for decades, and was the 2021 Co-chair of the Section’s Electronic Deposition Committee. Ms. Joseph was voted by her peers and a Blue Ribbon Panel as one of Pennsylvania’s Top 50 Women Lawyers by the Super Lawyers and has continued to be voted a  “Super Lawyer” in the field of workers’ compensation since its inaugural year. She received the 2004 Lawyers on the Fast Track Award from The Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly.  She frequently lectures on workers’ compensation issues and received an award from the American Bar Association (ABA) for her program on Civility in the Law. She served in numerous leadership roles with the Philadelphia Bar Association, including serving as YLD Chair in 2002, an elected member of its Board of Governors from 2003-2006, Chaired its Women’s Rights Committee in 2001, was a member of its Workers’ Compensation Executive Committee in 2003 and the Judicial Commission in 2001. 

Amit J. Shah is a partner at Martin Law and focuses his practice exclusively on Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation law. Mr. Shah has been with the firm since 2007. In the Spring of 2014, Mr. Shah became a certified specialist in Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation by the PA Bar Association’s Section on Workers’ Compensation Law as authorized by the PA Supreme Court.* Mr. Shah has spoken at continuing legal education seminars on various issues related to Workers’ Compensation. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Shah worked at a boutique defense firm handling Workers’ Compensation litigation in Pennsylvania. He also previously served as a legal intern in the immigration department at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In 2004, Mr. Shah earned his law degree from the Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University, where he was a member of the Minority Law Student Association. In 2001, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from The Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Shah is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, and is a member of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Section. In January 2015, Mr. Shah became an ex officio member of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia. In 2017, Mr. Shah served as a co-chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. In 2022, Mr. Shah was elected to the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Workers’ Compensation Council. Mr. Shah has been designated by the National Football League’s Players’ Association (NFLPA) to represent the players of the Philadelphia Eagles. In addition, Mr. Shah is associated with the National Hockey League’s Players’ Association (NHLPA), Major League Baseball’s Players’ Association (MLBPA), Major League Soccer’s Players’ Association (MLPSA), and Professional Hockey’s Players’ Association (PHPA) to handle Workers’ Compensation matters for professional athletes in Pennsylvania.

Judge Crilley began serving as a Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) in 2015 in the Pittsburgh Workers’ Compensation Office of Adjudication.   She currently hears and mediates cases in Allegheny, Beaver, Fayette and Greene counties. Judge Crilley graduated from Duquesne University with a B.A. in English and Communications in 2000.  She earned her J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law in 2003.  Prior to taking the bench, she practiced workers’ compensation in both claimant and defense-oriented law firms. Judge Crilley is a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section where she serves at the chair of the CLE committee.  

Dawn M. Nicholson is a partner with Weber Gallagher. She concentrates her practice on the defense of national and regional insurance carriers, third-party administrators, and self-insured in workers’ compensation matters throughout Pennsylvania. She has successfully litigated clients in a variety of industries including commercial transportation, food and hospitality, retail, and manufacturing. Dawn has handled all aspects of litigation from utilization review, depositions, mediations, hearings, and testimonies. Additionally, she has obtained favorable decisions before workers’ compensation judges, the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, and the Commonwealth Court. Dawn was a judicial clerk to the Honorable Richard J. Geiger, New Jersey Superior Court – Civil Division, Cumberland County, and twice served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Reneé Marie Bumb, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. She holds a dual JD degree/Masters in Public Affairs and Politics. Dawn was selected by her peers for inclusion in the 2022 edition of Best Lawyers in America for her workers’ compensation practice. “Ones to Watch” awards recognize extraordinary lawyers who have been in private practice for less than 10 years in the United States and is based entirely on peer review. Dawn is a member of Weber Gallagher’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee and the Professional Development Committee. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She is a graduate of Rutgers School of Law -Camden, J.D.; The State University of New Jersey-Rutgers, M.P.A.P., summa cum laude; and University of Pittsburgh, B.A., summa cum laude. She is actively involved in the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the New Jersey Bar Association. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Gress Mountain Ranch. Dawn in on the UCC Appeals Board for Springfield Township and is Chairwoman of the Planning Commission for Springfield Township. She is a past Board member for the Southern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce.

Judge Sheldon has served as a Workers’ Compensation Judge with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 2012. He has heard petitions arising in Cumberland, Dauphin, Juniata, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry and York counties. Additionally, he has heard medical fee disputes from across the Commonwealth in his capacity as a Fee Review Hearing Officer. Prior to becoming a Workers’ Compensation Judge, he practiced workers’ compensation from the Pittsburgh office of O’Brien, Rulis & Bochicchio, LLC. He obtained his B.A. from Allegheny College in 1999 and his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2002.

Judge Sabatino serves as a Workers’ Compensation Judge in Lehigh County. Prior to her appointment in 2012, she focused her practice primarily on workers’ compensation defense. While in private practice, she lectured to large insurance companies and employers regarding complex workers’ compensation issues. Since her appointment, she has lectured extensively to judges regarding the implementation and use of WCAIS. She has presented on the use of interpreters in the courtroom. Judge Sabatino has served as chairperson for the annual Workers’ Compensation Judges’ Retreat for the last ten years. She served as president of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Judges’ Professional Association from 2018 to 2022 and is a member of the Workers’ Compensation Rules Committee. She is a 2018 graduate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Leadership Development Institute. Judge Sabatino graduated from DeSales University with a B.A. in Theater and from Villanova University School of Law.

Steve Ryan is an associate with Martin Law who practices workers’ compensation law. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Ryan worked for a regional firm that helped claimants secure Workers’ Compensation benefits in the Susquehanna Valley. Before practicing claimant’s workers’ compensation, he had worked at a top defense firm, but he left to focus his practice on injured workers after observing the difficulties that many workers faced in the workers’ compensation system. In the Spring of 2015, Mr. Ryan became a certified specialist in Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation by the PA Bar Association’s Section on Workers’ Compensation Law as authorized by the PA Supreme Court. In addition to his workers’ compensation practice, Mr. Ryan is an accredited attorney by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and is authorized to assist veterans and their families seeking to appeal denials of veterans’ benefits claims.  He is an active member of the National Organization of Veterans Advocates (NOVA). Mr. Ryan is an active member of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (PAJ), Dauphin County Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He has held various positions on the executive committee for the Dauphin County Bar Associations Workers’ Compensation Committee, including Chair of the section. He regularly speaks and writes on the topic of workers’ compensation. Mr. Ryan received his law degree from Widener University School of Law in 2007. During law school, he was a Senior Staff Member of the Widener Law Journal. He received his undergraduate degree in English from Brooklyn College in 2002.

Judge Minnich was appointed as a Workers’ Compensation Judge in January of 2010. He is based in the Pittsburgh Office, and conducts hearings and mediations in Pittsburgh and Johnstown. Prior to his appointment, Judge Minnich was a partner in the Pittsburgh law firm of Walsh, Collis & Blackmer, P.C. He concentrated his practice in field of workers’ compensation, and also handled commercial, tort, and employment/labor-related cases. Earlier, he wrote for the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board. Judge Minnich is a 1989 graduate of Mansfield University and a 1992 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Stephen R. Miller leads Pond Lehocky’s Pittsburgh office. Since his admission to the Pennsylvania bar in 2000, he has dedicated his practice to workers’ compensation law and has litigated countless cases throughout central and western Pennsylvania. Mr. Miller spent the first 15 years of his legal career as a workers’ compensation defense litigator, representing employers and insurance companies at a large regional firm where he quickly advanced to partner. These many years of defense practice and corporate consultation provided Mr. Miller with extensive knowledge of Pennsylvania workers’ compensation law and how the insurance industry manages claims. In 2016, Mr. Miller concluded that he wanted to advocate for injured workers and left his long-time position to open Pond Lehocky’s Pittsburgh office. Since then, he has exclusively represented claimants. Mr. Miller speaks regularly on workers’ compensation issues. He has been selected as a Super Lawyers® Rising Star and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® on multiple occasions and was named to the Best Lawyers in America® 2018, 2019, and 2020 lists.

Kaitlin Files is experienced in representing injured workers throughout all of Pennsylvania while primarily based in Philadelphia and Bucks County. She has focused solely on this area of the law since she was in law school. Since graduating law school, Kaitlin Files has been serving injured workers throughout Pennsylvania with proven success. Representing her clients with grit and grace, Kaitlin gives each new case her undivided attention whilst walking you through each step of the process. Kaitlin spent the last six years working at a high volume law firm practicing workers’ compensation. She now runs a small law office continuing to represent injured workers throughout the region.

Workers’ Compensation Judge Daniel Snyder currently sits in Allentown. Judge Snyder, from Titusville, PA, is a graduate of Penn State University and, after a brief pause to experience the real world, returned to school at Widener School of Law in Harrisburg where he obtained his JD. Judge Snyder then embarked on his legal career which took him from the office building in corporate America, to a small law firm practicing family law and workers’ compensation on the Claimant’s side of the aisle, to a tour of a few of the defense firms of the Lehigh Valley, only pausing his workers’ compensation work for a brief period to foray into medical malpractice defense. After 14 years on the defense side of the aisle, Judge Snyder was appointed to the bench in Wilkes-Barre before he was brought back closer to home in the Lehigh Valley.

Allison C. Stouch is a partner in the firm’s Philadelphia office. She concentrates her practice in representing employers, insurance companies and third-party administrators in workers’ compensation matters. Prior to joining Cipriani & Werner, Ms. Stouch worked for a Philadelphia area workers’ compensation defense firm for five years. She also served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable David R. Workman at the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for two years immediately following graduation from law school. Ms. Stouch has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star annually since 2018 for Workers’ Compensation. Ms. Stouch is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Bar Associations, as well as the Judge Alexander F. Barbieri Workers’ Compensation American Inn of Court. Ms. Stouch received her B.S., magna cum laude, from Ursinus College in 2008 and her J.D. from Chapman University School of Law (Orange, California) in 2011. During law school, she was a law clerk for the Children’s Law Center of Los Angeles and for the Honorable Theodor C. Albert at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana. Ms. Stouch was also a member of the Nexus Journal of Law and Policy, as well as the Student Bar Association and the Family Law Society.

David W. Warburton, Jr. is a Principal in the Firm’s Workers’ Compensation Department. Mr. Warburton focuses his practice on workers’ compensation defense, handling all types of claims up to and including the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board level. His decade of trial and litigation experience includes hundreds of judicial proceedings and depositions, as well as appellate experience. Mr. Warburton’s clients include third-party administrators, as well as companies in the trucking, long-term care, manufacturing, and temporary staffing industries. He is an approved counsel for a major global freight and transportation company and a leading, global temporary employment/staffing agency. He is a graduate of Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law and was an associate with Arthur Andersen LLP prior to attending law school.

On November 12, 2018, Secretary of the Department of Labor & Industry Jerry Oleksiak appointed Joseph DeRita as the Director of the Workers’ Compensation Office of Adjudication. Director DeRita was formerly a Workers’ Compensation Judge at the Allentown hearing office adjudicating and mediating cases in Allentown, Easton and Doylestown. Prior to that, Mr. DeRita represented injured workers for 30 years as a partner at the firm of Shor, Levin and DeRita, PC in Jenkintown, Pa. and later as a sole practitioner before assuming the bench. He graduated from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia with a B.A. in Industrial Relations in 1983. He earned his J.D. from Widener University School of Law in 1987, and an LL.M. in trial advocacy from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2005 and was presented with the Faculty Achievement Award. He chaired the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers (now the Pennsylvania Association for Justice) from 1997-1998. He co-chaired the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association in 2002 and served on its Executive Committee from 2001-2003. Before taking the bench, he earned the Workers’ Compensation Law Certified Specialist designation in 2013 from the PBA Workers’ Compensation Law Section. He has served as a member of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Annual Conference Planning Committee since 2019 and has been a frequent presenter. He has co-chaired, with Matt Wilson, the Planning Committee for the the biennial WC Section Bench/Bar CLE presentation. He is on the executive committee of the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute, a member of the International Association of Industrial Accidents Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) and the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary. In March, 2022, he was inducted into the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers (CWCL).

Katherine E. Bavoso is a Partner at Chartwell Law in the Camp Hill office. She concentrates her practice exclusively in the defense of workers’ compensation claims for carrier’s, TPA’s, and self-insured employers. With over twenty years of experience, she has practiced before most of the Judge’s statewide, the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, and the Commonwealth Court. Ms. Bavoso is a 2002 graduate of the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University where she was a member of both the appellate and trial moot court boards. She was also on the environmental law review. While at Dickinson, she clerked for Judge Geoffrey Berry of the 9th Judicial District in Goshen, New York and clerked for an insurance defense firm. Prior to Dickinson, Ms. Bavoso graduated from the University of Florida summa cum laude. She was a sister with the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Ms. Bavoso is rated “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell. She was listed as a Super Lawyers Rising Star and was chosen as a Select Lawyer and a Local Legal Leader. Ms. Bavoso was named a Lawyer of Distinction in the practice of Workers’ Compensation and as one of Pennsylvania’s “Top 10” Workers’ Compensation Attorneys. Ms. Bavoso was Chair of the Worker’s Compensation Section statewide through the Pennsylvania Bar Association from May 2019 to May 2020. She also sat/sits on the Certification Committee, Membership Committee, Fall Section Meeting Planning Committee, and Stanley Siegel County Bar Award Committee. In 2020 she was chosen to sit on a multi-practice committee with the Pennsylvania Bar Association to discuss and implement policies during COVID. Ms. Bavoso has presented at numerous seminars including the Pennsylvania Bureau Conference, Fall Section Meeting, Tough Problems in Workers’ Compensation, and Best Practices in Workers’ Compensation. She is also a member of the Dauphin County Bar Association. 

Mr. Quatrini is an attorney with Quatrini Law Group, working out of the firm’s offices in Greensburg, Pittsburgh, Latrobe, and Altoona. He represents individuals in claims for Workers’ Compensation, Veterans Disability Compensation and Social Security Disability/SSI. Mr. Quatrini is admitted to practice before the courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Social Security Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is an active member of, and speaker for, two national organizations, the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives (NOSSCR) and the Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG).