Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 8

Nov 18 2011 Post-Gazette A-8 Leech Tishman recently welcomed David E. Renner to its Pittsburgh office. Mr. Renner is an associate in the employment and litigation practice groups. He started his career with Leech Tishman as a law clerk while he attended the Duquesne University School of Law.

During law school, he served as a senior staff member for the Duquesne Law Review. Prior to joining Leech Tishman as a law clerk, Mr. Renner worked as a law clerk at Cooper Owen Renner, P.C. Metz Lewis LLC said that John B. Bechtol workers compensation law (employers); Barry I.

Friedman, intellectual property; and Brian T. Must commercial litigation, were named to the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Rothman Gordon announced its inclusion in the Pittsburgh Top Workplaces a list of the best places to work in the Pittsburgh region. This is the first year the Post-Gazette has published the list, which was determined by surveying employees of 155 companies across Western Pennsylvania. McGuireWoods LLP said that Jamie Edwards joined its complex commercial litigation department as an associate in Pittsburgh.

She will focus on a variety of litigation matters, including commercial litigation and employment cases. Ms. Edwards previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Catherine Fitzpatrick, presiding judge of the Family Court, in Trenton, N.J. She earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School after graduating from Carnegie Mel- lon University, with a double major in political science and history.

Best Lawyers named Jeffrey W. Letwin as the Best Lawyers Municipal Law Lawyer of the for 2012, and Paul Titus as Best 2012 Pittsburgh Appellate Practice Lawyer of the Year. Mr. municipal law work includes counseling related to corporate finance, securities, real estate development, franchising, and government services. Mr.

appellate practice specializes in appellate law, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, and bankruptcy litigation. Edgar Snyder Associates said that Robert Fisher, attorney, joined its personal injury department. Mr Fisher earned his law degree from the Duquesne University School of Law and his bachelor of science degree from Duquesne University. While there, he participated in the Duquesne Economic and Community Development clinic and received a law school scholarship. The following attorneys from the Pittsburgh office Gates received Lawyer of the Year recognition from Best Lawyers: Donald Seymour James Kyper and Michael Pavlick were honored in their respective practice areas.

This list was compiled by conducting peer-review surveys in which lawyers confidentially evaluated their professional peers. Mr. Seymour, insurance law, has practiced with Gates his entire career, the last 25 years of which have been devoted primarily to policyholder representations in complex insurance coverage disputes. Mr. Kyper, copyright law, is a trial lawyer and client counselor with a broad range of experience in intellectual property and other commercial litigation.

Mr. Pavlick concentrates his practice in labor and employment law. On the Docket Pittsburgh appears every Monday. To propose an item, send information to Natalie Hill, On the Docket Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 34 Blvd. of the Allies, Pittsburgh 15222; or e-mail to Photos submitted for the print edition version of this column may be sent via e-mail in JPEG format, 170 DPI, to com.

Photo size should be an 8- by 10-inch or 4- by 5-inch head shot at 170 dpi. LAWYERS, LAW FIRMS, COURTS AND TORTS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2011 E-mail: Phone: 412-263-1567 Web: Editor: Brian Hyslop Questions about delivery or service? Call 1-800-228-NEWS (6397) A-8 Page on the docket pittsburgh NATALIE HILL BechtolFriedmanMust Check out Ipso Facto, the blog and online legal news page at By Gina Passarella The Legal Intelligencer A grand jury report criticizing the manner in which the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board issued licenses to operate gaming facilities in the state came out back in May, but the litigation over whether the board had attorney-client privilege protection during that investigation has continued until now. The state Supreme Court has denied the request for review of a lower court ruling that found the board, as a state agency, had no expectation of attorney-client privilege when being investigated by the attorney office. A split Supreme Court in Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board v. Office of the Attorney General issued a one-page order denying the petition for review without offering an explanation.

Three justices dissented, including Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, who issued a 19-page opinion as to why he thought an appeal should have been granted. I do not believe that government agency officials should have to suffer incarceration as the price of securing judicial review of important and novel issues involving privilege under the circumstances presented here, I respectfully dissent from the per curiam Justice Castille said. The chief justice said he would have granted review to determine whether the Commonwealth Attorneys Act authorizes the attorney office to compel production of documents from state agencies without allowing for the agencies to assert attorney-client or work-product privileges. The office issued a subpoena to the board seeking documents related to reviews and investigations by the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement or the Office of Enforcement Counsel.

The board turned over 2.3 million pages, but withheld some that it asserted were protected by attorney-client or work-product privilege. The attorney office filed a motion to compel, arguing such privileges do not operate to protect documents of a state agency from a subpoena issued by an investigating grand jury. It also argued the office had broad authority to access the books of the state agencies under the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, and that the board had waived privilege, if it did exist. The supervising judge issued an order in October 2010 in which he ruled in favor of the attorney office. The board filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court but was denied by the supervising judge a stay of the motion to compel order while the board awaited review from the high court.

The board then asked the Supreme Court to issue the stay order. Before that was decided, the attorney office filed a motion to hold the board and its executive members in contempt for not providing the documents. Facing possible jail time, members of the board decided to withdraw the application for a stay order and turn over the documents. Justice Castille said that action removed any need for the Supreme Court to expedite the case and that the justices could give considered deliberation to the issues raised in the petition for review. this court denies review based upon one or the other of the procedural Justice Castille wrote.

so doing, as to both arguments, the court apparently accepts the view that the only appropriate way for the board to secure review was to defy the subpoena and for its members and executive director to invite a finding of contempt and the potential sanction of While other cases have supported that view, Justice Castille said he questions whether it should apply in this case where SEE GAMING, PAGE A-9 Castille: Hear gaming appeal By Ben Present The Legal Intelligencer One recent development in a seemingly growing list of unanswered questions stemming from the Penn State sex abuse scandal the $100,000 unsecured bail given to defendant Jerry Sandusky earlier this month has some attorneys specializing in sex crimes nonplussed. said Christopher Mallios, the attorney adviser for AEquitas: The Resource on Violence Against Women. he get some special consideration because of his prominence in the he said. know, but it sure looks that Though prosecutors had asked for Mr. Sandusky to pay $500,000, wear a leg monitor and surrender his passport, Magisterial District Judge Leslie A.

Dutchcot decided upon $100,000 as bail for the embattled former coach. Mr. Sandusky faces a 40-count indictment on a slew of sex-related charges following a lengthy grand jury investigation that led to allegations that he abused eight victims. Mr. Sandusky, 67, would likely spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted on the more serious charges.

Philadelphia criminal defense attorney Richard Q. Hark, who said he has represented several alleged sex offenders, said he has never seen $100,000 unsecured bail for individuals charged with similar offenses. He called the decision While the bail did reflect legal by Mr. attorney, Joseph Amendola, Mr. Hark said, is not on par with the everyday alleged sex bail throughout the counties within which we Mr.

Sandusky could pose a threat to people, the community, himself included, Mr. Hark said. guy may be saying, better off killing he said, adding that a jail has the benefit of a suicide watch. Mr. Hark said the that is permeating throughout this is that of giving priority to the high-profile actors in the case rather than the safety of the community and our Mr.

case has drawn comparisons to recent charges filed against a Philadelphia baseball coach alleged to have sexually assaulted one player and supplied another with drugs and alcohol. According to a report on Philly.com, the website of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, Louis Spadaccini faced $2 million bail and was denied on an appeal to lower it. Mr. Spa- SEE BAIL, PAGE A-9 bail for Sandusky raises eyebrows By Deborah M. Todd Pittsburgh Post-Gazette I no secret following you.

Visit a website in search of a leather jacket or holiday snow globe, and ads for those items inevitably pop up at the next site you visit. Go to an out-of-state website and see advertisements touting a Western Pennsylvania wrinkle solution or auto insurance savings for Pennsylvania drivers. happening is clear: Advertisers use data acquired by monitoring Internet activity to target goods and services to individuals most likely to buy their product. What entirely clear is how advertisers are permitted to use the data and what legal limits, if any, should be imposed on the practice. Currently, there are no laws against Internet tracking or online behavioral advertising, and the scope of the practice has grown exponentially over the past three years, said Rob Shavell, president and CEO of Abine, a Boston-based Internet privacy company.

Abine is the creator of the Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-Out add-on tool, or TACO, used by Web browser Mozilla Firefox. changed the entire Internet without showing anything is Mr. Shavell said of advertisers. is different to the user, but what they realize is the whole advertising industry created a tech revolution that has gotten much more sophisticated, that works behind the scenes to track Advertisers use cookies tags traditionally left on a computer by site administrators to maintain profile information and to identify new and returning visitors to monitor consumer activity on sites where their ads appear. Once the consumer visits another site in the the advertiser can continue monitoring the activities and use data already collected to send targeted ads.

In addition to cookies, advertisers can use a IP address to determine a geographic location, can use invisible to monitor activity and can look at an browser history by using JavaScript or a cascading-style-sheet technique. The Federal Trade Commission is considering a bill introduced in May by U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, to create a Do Not Track- option similar to the Do Not Call list that would allow consumers to universally opt out of third-party tracking. The bill calls for creation of a universal tool to enable consumers to opt out of all Internet tracking and prohibits tracking of consumers who choose to opt out.

The bill also proposes that any legislation passed should consider plans to educate consumers about the right to opt out and set standards for collection, use and storage of data. Companies that violate the terms could face charges. In an effort to respond to consumer complaints and FTC concerns, the Digital Advertising Alliance, which represents more than 400 advertising companies nationwide, introduced its Self Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising in 2009. The principles discouraged data collection for purposes beyond SEE AING, PAGE A-9 INTERNET TRACKING As more advertisers monitor every click of your mouse, should someone monitor the monitoring?.