October Newsletter

Recent Awards

Congratulations to all eight Hangley Aronchick shareholders who were ranked among the nation’s best in the 2025 edition of Benchmark Litigation : The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys.

Shareholders Mark Aronchick , William Hangley , Barry Refsin, Ronald Schiller , Daniel Segal , and John Summers were named Litigation Stars, meaning they are consistently recommended by competitors, peers and clients. Additionally, Jason Levine was named a Future Star and Cary Rice was named to Benchmark’s 40 under 40 list, which honors the best up-and-coming litigators in the country.

Along with the individual honors, Hangley Aronchick was once again noted as “highly recommended” for dispute resolution in Pennsylvania, based on the stellar quality of its litigation work.

Read more here.

Shareholders John Summers , Andrew Erdlen and Matthew Hamermesh successfully represented Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner in a litigation challenging the legality of impeachment efforts by the state General Assembly. The high-profile case has rapidly gained attention in regional and national media, including the Pennsylvania Capital-Star , The Philadelphia Inquirer , The Legal Intelligencer and Law360 .

“The impeachment effort of DA Krasner is dead, null, void, over,” said John in an interview with the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

The ruling is a double win for DA Krasner. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the House Republicans’ impeachment articles had expired in 2022.? Also, the ruling left fully intact the Commonwealth Court’s conclusion that the articles of impeachment failed because they did not allege that DA Krasner actually engaged in conduct amounting to “misbehavior in office,” the Pennsylvania Constitutional requirement for impeachment.

Read more about the Supreme Court’s decision and find additional coverage here.

We are proud to announce that our talented team, led by shareholder Matthew Hamermesh , associate Tom Brown , and paralegal Maria Hunter , has successfully defended Offit Kurman, P.A. in a legal malpractice lawsuit after over a decade of litigation.

The case, which stemmed from a failed real estate development in Sussex County, Delaware, sought to recover $40 million in alleged losses that the project’s developer claimed to have suffered due to an ill-fated bankruptcy petition in 2012. A Philadelphia judge, however, granted summary judgment in favor of Offit Kurman on Oct. 10, calling the plaintiffs' allegations “self-serving and unsubstantiated.”

As Offit Kurman’s General Counsel Russell Berger remarked, "The wheels of justice sometimes move slowly. But this decision shows that the process does work."

Read more about the case, which was covered by The Legal Intelligencer , here.

Insights from the Family Law Blog

Families in Pennsylvania are changing, and so is the way we support them. Shareholder Kelley Fazzini explores how shifting family dynamics are reshaping the practice of family law and how Hangley Aronchick is adapting to meet the diverse needs of today’s families. Read more here.

The holiday season can be a stressful time for families, especially for those whose parents are divorced or separated. Associate Dori Green provides recommendations for splitting time and coordinating travel plans. Read more here.

As we mark our 30th anniversary, we also reflect on three decades of commitment to our clients, community, and the legal profession. Since our founding in 1994, our team has grown from a small group of passionate attorneys to a nationally-ranked firm.

We're very proud to recognize and celebrate the October work anniversaries of several of our Hangley Aronchick team members. Thank you for your years of hard work and dedication to the firm!

Five of our attorneys have been here since the beginning. Happy 30th HASPSiversary to William Hangley , Mark Aronchick , Daniel Segal , David Pudlin and John Summers ! We are thankful for your leadership.

Shareholder Robert Wiygul (14th year) heads the firm's election law team, which has represented state and local election officials in high-profile cases involving redistricting, mail-in voting, electronic voting systems and other election-related issues, including in proceedings before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Supreme Court of the United States. Robert is also co-chair of the firm’s appellate practice. He excels in commercial and environmental litigation, combining a trial lawyer's sense of strategy with an appellate lawyer's deep knowledge of the law to achieve favorable outcomes for clients in both federal and state courts. Robert currently serves as Secretary of the Public Interest Law Center 's board of directors.

Shareholder Jason Levine (10th year) provides exceptional legal counsel to executives, entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes, including small and mid-sized family-owned businesses. His extensive experience in litigating complex shareholder, partnership, breach of fidicuiary duty, restrictive covenant and joint-venture disputes showcases his dedication to clients and the firm's success. Beyond his litigation practice, Jason serves on the Boards of Directors of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of the Greater Philadelphia Region and the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey and Our Family of Agencies .

Associate Isabel Naveira López (4th year) litigates commercial disputes as well as insurance coverage and bad faith matters. As a member of the firm's Insurance Coverage practice, she helps advise insurers on complex coverage issues and resulting disputes. As Hispanic Bar Association of PA 's Vice President, a Legal Education Fund board member, a member of the firm’s Hiring Committee and co-chair of the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, Isabel plays a key role in fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment.

Other associates celebrating work anniversaries this month include Michael Masciandaro (4th year), Nicholas Bellos (3rd year) and Jackson Teague (2nd year).

Michael Masciandaro's practice encompasses a variety of topics, including constitutional law, tort and contract law, unfair competition, insurance law, legal malpractice, environmental law, the law of nonprofit organizations and legal ethics. With a distinguished academic background from Yale Law School , the University of Cambridge and the University of Pennsylvania , Michael brings a strong intellectual foundation to the firm and clients. This year, he was named to Law360 's 2024 Pennsylvania Editorial Advisory Board.

Nicholas Bellos is a valuable member of the firm's litigation department. With experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants, his practice spans public and private law, including contractual disputes, business torts, employment discrimination, election litigation, internal investigations and public bidding.

Jackson Teague has made significant contributions to complex commercial litigation matters, which include adversary bankruptcy proceedings, breach of contract actions and shareholder disputes. Jackson’s academic background from Georgetown University Law Center and his clerkship with Judge Sarah A.L. Merriam underscore his work at the firm.

This year, in celebration of Hangley Aronchick's 30th anniversary, we also celebrate 30 years of meaningful cases for our firm and the greater community with our 30 Years of Impact campaign.

As we near the 2024 presidential election, we highlight Hangley Aronchick's election law team, which has successfully represented state and local election officials in high-profile cases upholding and ensuring the continued availability of mail-in voting, obtaining fair and constitutional election district maps, protecting the integrity of voting systems, and addressing a wide array of other election-related issues.

These cases have reaffirmed the right of all eligible voters to make their voices heard, whether at the polls or through the convenience of a mail-in ballot.

We celebrate these victories for democracy and remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting free, fair, and secure elections.

This month we also recall the pro bono immigration case in which attorneys Michael Carlson and Isabel Naveira López helped a Venezuelan woman and her family obtain political asylum in the United States.

Our client, an active member of several political organizations that oppose Venezuela’s current government, experienced years of near-constant threats and harassment for her political activities and associations, including several brutal physical attacks. In 2018, she escaped to the United States with her daughter and applied for political asylum. After a four-year process, which culminated in a three-hour merits hearing before an immigration court judge, our client and her family were granted political asylum. The government agreed to waive its appeal.

In Our Community

In recognition of Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month, we proudly highlighted the Hispanic Bar Association of PA (HBAPA) and their ongoing contributions to the legal community.

Established in the mid-1970s to address the growing legal needs of the Spanish-speaking community, HBAPA has played a pivotal role in advancing diversity and inclusion within the legal profession. Led by esteemed founders such as Judge Nelson A. Diaz and Ambassador Mari Carmen Aponte, the organization formalized in 1983 and has since been committed to mentorship, continuing legal education, and advocacy for human rights.

We also applauded the efforts of the Hispanic Bar Association of Pennsylvania Legal Education Fund (HBALEF), a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing Latino representation in the legal field by awarding scholarships to deserving law students in the region.

HBALEF awards scholarships to talented law students in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Since its inception in the late 80s, the fund has awarded more than 200 scholarships, promoting not only the academic success of Latino students but also strengthening their representation in Pennsylvania's legal community.

Learn more about the fund and its impact by reading last year’s Q&A with associate Isabel Naveira López , here.