We are very proud to announce the addition of Thomas P. Donnelly as a Partner of the firm.  Tom joins the firm's  Litigation, Business & Finance and Employment Practice Groups.    His practice focuses primarily  on commercial litigation and transactions. Throughout his career, he has undertaken the representation of both individual and corporate clients in subject matters concerning fraud, contracts, employment agreements, breach of fiduciary duty, securities violations, real estate and insurer bad faith.

Tom’s clients include individuals and businesses local to the Philadelphia area, as well as national corporations.  In commercial transactions, Tom is experienced in businesses purchases, financing, asset and stock sales, real estate and employment issues. Restrictive covenants attendant to business and employment agreements are a focal point of Tom’s practice.  Tom has also been appointed a corporate receiver in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

Tom is an active member of the Bucks County Public Service Community.  In this regard, Tom has been appointed a lifetime member of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Bucks County.  In addition, he is past President of the Bucks County Bar Association, past President of the Young Lawyers Division, and a member of the Board of Directors.
 
Tom Donnelly has deep roots in our community, and he is a well-respected member of the Bar, he is a perfect complement to our team.

Partner
215-230-7500, ext. 129
tdonnelly@ammlaw.com

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CONTACT CARD

Practice Groups: 

• Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Business & Finance
• Labor & Employment
• Personal Injury

Education

• Pennsylvania State University, B.S., 1990
• Widener University, J.D., 1993

Bar Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• U.S. District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania & the District of New Jersey

Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP is proud to support the 12th Annual Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce Bucks Fever FilmFest.  This is a wonderful local celebration of emerging filmmakers, so if you are a film buff, please come to Doylestown to participate in an evening of stimulating discussion, networking and the screening of the winning films.

On Sunday, October 14th, 2012 there will be three exciting events in Doylestown which are open to the public:

Filmakers Seminar / Panel Discussion - 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Oscar Martin Room, Moose Lodge - 127 E. State St., Doylestown, PA

VIP Wine & Cheese (VIP ticket required) 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. - County Theater, Doylestown, PA

FilmFest Screening of Winning Films - 7:00 - p.m. - County Theater, 20 E. State Street, Doylestown, PA

For more infomation: 2012 CBCC Bucks Fever FilmFest

The Bucks Fever FilmFest is an annual, juried festival. Winning short films submitted by high school, college and emerging filmmakers are screened at the County Theater in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

For an overview of this event and a look at some clips from winning features of the past few years, click here

You are invited to join us:

When: Sunday, September 16th, 2012: 12:30 – 3:00.
What: Antheil Maslow & MacMinn's Annual Client Appreciation BBQ.
Where: AMM's Doylestown Office, 131 West State St. Doylestown.
We hope you’ll join us to help celebrate our 20th Anniversary!

This is a fun event with BBQ lunch and offering a front row seat to the Doylestown Arts Festival and Bike Race. All of our clients and friends are welcome. We hope to get a great turnout to help us celebrate our 20th Anniversary Year!

Antheil Maslow & MacMinn attorney Michael Klimpl has been appointed County Solicitor for Bucks County.  He has served as Acting Solicitor since the announced retirement of County Solicitor Glenn D.  Hains on January 3rd.  Michael has served as Assistant Solicitor for the County since 1984 and will now head Bucks' legal team of five government lawyers.

The Bucks County Solicitor’s Office serves as general counsel for the County of Bucks and  represents the Commissioners and all divisions and departments under the direction of the Commissioners.  The Solicitor’s Office defends lawsuits against the County, and initiates lawsuits brought by the County.  These include civil rights litigation and suits involving construction matters.

Solicitors prepare, review and/or supervise contractual obligations within the County. They handle state and federal compliance issues relating to the County, human resource/employee issues, real estate transactions from agreement through settlement, ADA observance and general employment law. The Solicitors advise on open space and agriculture preservation programs by evaluating properties, determining the scope and extent of easements, and reviewing appraisals.

The Office also coordinates and supervises all outside counsel and the activities of individual department solicitors.

John D. Trainer, Of Counsel for the Firm, has again been tapped to teach a five-week seminar on Estate Planning & Administration at Delaware Valley College’s Center for Learning in Retirement (“CLR”), beginning March 22, 2012 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.  Trainer’s annual class provides presentations and discussions focusing on what criteria are considered necessary to prepare estate documents, in order to minimize federal and state death taxes.  Also covered are: recent repeal of the Federal Estate Tax and how this will impact estate planning; powers of attorney; the benefits of living wills; and processes involved in the administration of a decedent’s estate.  Timothy M. White, Esquire and Paralegal Sheila Kyle, also of Antheil Maslow and MacMinn, LLP, will instruct during the course.

Trainer, Of Counsel for Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP, concentrates his practice in estate planning, estate administration, and elder law, and is a member and past president of the Bucks County Bar Association, a former member of the Disciplinary Board and Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates, and serves on the Bucks County Estate Planning Committee.  He received a Bachelor of Arts from Bucknell University, and his Law Degree from Villanova Law School.

Tim White, a member of the Bucks County, American and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, an Associate with Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP will teach one session dealing with Pennsylvania Inhertance Tax and Federal Estate Taxes.  Tim specializing in the areas of taxation, estate planning and administration, estate and trust litigation, family wealth preservation, business succession planning.  He received a Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University, and his Law Degree and LL.M. Taxation from Temple University School of Law.   

Celebrating 20 years in business, Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP is a full-service law firm with practice areas in Business & Finance; Death & Serious Injury;  Estates & Trusts; Health Care; Labor & Employment; Litigation; Nonprofits; Real Estate & Land Use; and Tax.  The Firm works with high net worth individuals, small to mid-sized, privately-held companies, nonprofits and heath care organizations in the Greater Philadelphia and New Jersey areas.  Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP is headquartered in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

AMM are proud sponsors of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County Bowl for Kids Sake Fundraising events happening throughout the county.  This is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County’s premier fundraising event, where people get together with friends, family, and co-workers and have a fun time bowling in support of our mentoring programs in our community. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County works to help broaden children’s perspectives and help them learn how to make good choices. 

We want to encourage others to join the effort, whether you start a team, become a corporate sponsor or make a donation, its a great organization and a great feeling to help local youth on the path to fulfilling their potential and succeeding in school and life.

AMM attorney Michael Klimpl has been appointed acting County Solicitor for Bucks County following the announced retirement of the current  Bucks County Solicitor Glenn D.  Hains on January 3rd.  Michael has served as Assistant Solicitor for the County since 1984 and will serve while the County Commissioners conduct a search for Hains’ successor.

The Bucks County Solicitor’s Office serves as general counsel for the County of Bucks and  represents the Commissioners and all divisions and departments under the direction of the Commissioners.  The Solicitor’s Office defends lawsuits against the County, and initiates lawsuits brought by the County.  These include civil rights litigation and suits involving construction matters.

Solicitors prepare, review and/or supervise contractual obligations within the County. They handle state and federal compliance issues relating to the County, human resource/employee issues, real estate transactions from agreement through settlement, ADA observance and general employment law. The Solicitors advise on open space and agriculture preservation programs by evaluating properties, determining the scope and extent of easements, and reviewing appraisals.

The Office also coordinates and supervises all outside counsel and the activities of individual department solicitors. 

Although many employers would prefer not to spend time and energy on completing periodic written employee reviews, a recent case from federal court illustrates the importance of this process.

In a recent case, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (covering Philadelphia and its suburbs), ruled that a discharged employee failed to prove that he was terminated because of his race – African-American.

The plaintiff in this case was hired by a pharmaceutical company as a sales representative.  His performance was reviewed on a monthly and bi-annual basis.  The monthly reviews were completed by a manager and consisted of a rating from one (lowest) to four (highest) on a variety of categories.

Based on generally unsatisfactory performance ratings, plaintiff was placed on a Performance Management Plan and was given 90 days to improve in various specified areas.  With continued unsatisfactory ratings, plaintiff was terminated 73 days into the performance management plan.

Plaintiff thereupon brought a claim under federal and state law for unlawful employment discrimination.

The Court set forth the initial requirements for a plaintiff attempting to establish race discrimination (or other unlawful discrimination).  Specifically, a plaintiff must demonstrate:

(1) is a member of a protected class; (2) was qualified for his position; (3) suffered an adverse employment action; and (4) suffered the adverse action under circumstances that give rise to an inference of discrimination.

In this case, the fourth element was at issue:  whether plaintiff’s termination gave rise to an inference of discrimination on account of his race. 

The Court, after analyzing plaintiff’s performance ratings, concluded that plaintiff could not demonstrate an inference of race discrimination.  Plaintiff’s comparisons to Caucasian co-workers did not convince the Court, as these documented performance issues and employment history differed from plaintiff’s.

The Court also rejected plaintiff’s claims based on plaintiff’s beliefs that his manager spoke to him in a demeaning way.  A subjective belief of racial discrimination is insufficient, the Court held, to establish an inference of discrimination.

Although not necessary for its ruling, the Court also found that the company had a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for terminating plaintiff:  failure to successfully complete the terms of the performance management plan and uncorrected sales deficiencies identified by his managers.

Lesson learned:  the company’s continuous and contemporaneous documentation of plaintiff’s performance was the critical factor in the Court’s dismissal of this case.

Anything short of these performance reviews would have caused the case to be sent to a jury – with results only to be guessed at!