Joanne Murray, a partner of the firm, has been elected to the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation. “Joanne represents the best tradition of the Bar; she is deeply committed to serving her clients, and her level of service to professional and charitable organizations in the community is truly impressive. She is certainly deserving of this honor, and we are very pleased to celebrate the recognition of her accomplishments,” said Bill MacMinn, Managing Partner of Antheil Maslow and MacMinn. Murray was recognized by her peers for this prestigious honor because of her dedication to the law and significant contribution to the profession. She is actively involved in the Bucks County community, as the President-Elect of the Bucks County Bar Association, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bucks County Children’s Museum, Secretary of the Bucks County Symphony Foundation and as a Trustee of the Bucks County Bar Foundation. The Fellows of the American Bar Foundation is an honorary organization of lawyers, judges, and legal scholars whose public and private careers demonstrate outstanding dedication to their communities and to the highest principles of the legal profession.
Joanne concentrates her practice in the areas of business law, business transactions, contracts, banking and finance. She is an honors graduate of St. Joseph's University and Temple University School of Law. In addition to being a member of the Bucks County Bar Association, Murray belongs to the American, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Bar Associations.
Our Annual Client Appreciation BBQ last Sunday was a great time for all! We couldn't have asked for better weather, and we thank all who took the time to join us for lunch. It's always nice to have a chance to show our appreciation to our clients and friends and to catch up and visit in a relaxed, social setting. We hope to see you all next year!
Susan Maslow has been named Attorney of the Year in the 2014 Power Players Awards sponsored by Philadelphia SmartCEO Magazine. The Power Players Awards honor professionals who embody leadership, accomplishment, innovation and success in their fields. This year’s finalists are profiled in the September/October issue of SmartCEO magazine and the winners were named at an awards ceremony in Philadelphia on September 11th. Awards were presented to accountants, attorneys and bankers that have made an outstanding impact on their clients’ businesses.
From financing to leasing to employment and products liability, AMM attorneys provide skilled guidance and advice to clients in the manufacturing sector.
We help manufacturers identify and address risks and issues relating to employee training, employment practices and procedures, corporate governance and contract review, and legal best practices. AMM attorneys are well versed in the manufacturing sector's concerns and issues, and have a comprehensive tool kit of strategies and services to minimize claims and costly disputes resulting in increased value and improved outcomes to help these businesses thrive. Our attorneys are committed to removing legal barriers so that manufacturers can focus on being makers and innovators.
AMM's Manufacturing Sector Services
Employment:
• Wage and Hour Law Compliance and Violations
• Restrictive Covenants, Covenants Not to Compete and Non-Solicitation Agreements
• Employment Litigation
• Employee Handbooks, Policies and Procedures
• Hiring, Discipline and Termination
• Employment Discrimination and Workplace Investigations
• Federal and State Family and Medical Leave Statutes
• Risk Management Training Guidance for Employers
• Independent Contractor and Employee Classification
Corporate:
• Business Contract Drafting and Review (including purchase orders)
• Equipment Leasing
• Website Terms & Conditions
• Business Divorce
• Business Succession Planning
• Buy-Sell Agreements
• Commercial Litigation
• Corporate Governance
• Joint Ventures & Strategic Alliances
• Mergers & Acquisitions
AMM’s focus is on developing long term relationships. We get to know our manufacturing clients to better assist them in dealing with the challenges of today’s manufacturing environment.
Partner Thomas Donnelly joined his longtime client Robert Spurrier and the employees of Harwood Design, Inc. in welcoming Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick (8th) on June 22, 2014 to the Company's medical device manufacturing facility in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Congressman Fitzpatrick sought feedback from both management and employees concerning the many challenges facing middle class America such as job creation and retention, tax policy and work force training in the new age of manufacturing.
A recurring issue employers must address is the enforceability of restrictive covenants entered into with an employee. These restrictive covenants are typically non-disclosure (confidentiality), non-solicitation, and/or non-competition agreements. The timing, form, and substance of these agreements will determine whether a court will find them valid. From a former employee’s perspective, the issue is basically the same but reversed: can the employee disregard a previously signed restrictive covenant without being liable for monetary damages to his former employer (and if newly employed at another company, keeping the second company out of litigation)?
Two cases recently decided by the Pennsylvania Superior Court provide guidance for employers and employees:
Fleisher v. Bergman, concerned an employee who was hired as a full-time employee. At the time of his hire, employee signed a restrictive covenant which was a confidentiality and non-competition agreement. The restrictive covenant provided that employee would not divulge any “Confidential Information” (e.g., customer lists, pricing policies, names of vendors) to other parties without the consent of employer; the Agreement further mandated that for a period of five years after termination of his employment, employee would not “. . . solicit or do business with any . . . entity . . . that was, within the three year period preceding the Employee’s termination, a Client or Prospect of Employer... ”
Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP provides comprehensive legal services to biotechnology and life science and clients of local and national prominence. Since the pharmaceutical industry is such an essential component of the Greater Delaware Valley economy, we have acquired an in-depth understanding of the challenges facing both founders and upper management employees servicing this sector. We offer practical guidance to life science clients that are startups, publicly traded companies, health care providers of all sizes and academic and research institutions.
Antheil Maslow & MacMinn attorneys have extensive experience assisting clients in determining the appropriate form of entity, equity ownership, bonus incentive alternatives, strategic relationships, initial funding and working capital sources and exit planning strategies. Acknowledging that critical partnering, licensing, joint venture and other collaboration transactions are key to the success of most clients associated with life science and biotech, AMM has a working knowledge of fundamental industry terms and applications which allows us to successfully craft documents that withstand the near-certain unexpected evolution of every project. We have successfully negotiated on our clients’ behalf with angel investors, venture capital funds, corporate venture arms and industry buyers looking to diversify their life science and biotechnology services or product offerings.
AMM lawyers also work with our life science clients and other innovators in filing and maintaining applications to register trademarks and copyrights and, when necessary, AMM litigators handle an array of disputes related to trademark, copyright, trade secret and unfair competition claims.
Oscar Wilde once said “No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist!”
Antheil Maslow & MacMinn’s clients doing business in the arts, entertainment and media sectors have unique legal challenges and we think it is our job to see things clearly. In addition to superior skill in contract negotiations that protect our clients’ financial rights, our attorneys have the experience required to identify potential threats to intellectual property rights and strategic relationships that are essential to these frequently multi-party ventures.
AMM attorneys have represented clients creating original work in traditional mediums and new media, social networking, interactive entertainment, video games, software and electronic content sharing and publishing. Adding the necessary layer of insight to routine business, tax and estate planning representation, AMM attorneys representing creators and entertainers (or the businesses that employ or engage them) regularly handle co-production, development and distribution agreements, fiscal sponsorship, merchandising and licensing documentation and term specific grant of rights or purchase arrangements. We have also advised on numerous gallary agreements, artist management agreements and motion picture production financing, and have served multiple times as counsel in connection with intellectual property litigation and rights enforcement.
Best Practices: Background Checks for Nonprofit Board, Staff and Volunteers
Written by Susan Maslow
Reprinted by permission of Catalyst Center for Nonprofit Management. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.
Childhood victimization and other abuses of our most vulnerable citizens unfortunately remain a much too prevalent and tragic issue of our times. Particularly offensive is the possibility of physical or emotional abuse of those susceptible because of age, disability or circumstance while receiving services of a nonprofit. Safety efforts to protect the very people being served by a nonprofit, regardless of size, must be constantly monitored.
Even the smallest nonprofit should adopt safety-related policies based on nationally recommended guidelines developed by experts. Such policies and guidelines help protect both the recipients of the nonprofit’s services and the integrity of the nonprofit’s programs. Every nonprofit that serves children and youth has the obligation to exercise “reasonable due diligence” with regards to screening as part of its hiring and vetting programs for members of the nonprofit’s Board, staff and volunteers. Without such screening or gate-keeping vigilance, the very people the nonprofit is trying to serve are more likely to be unprotected and the reputation of the nonprofit (not to mention its fiscal health) are at unnecessary risk.
You are invited to join us:
Sunday, September 14th, 2014: 12:30 – 3:00
at our Doylestown Office, 131 West State Street.
We hope you’ll join us for some great food and refreshments and enjoy a fun afternoon in the heart of Doylestown! This event includes a BBQ lunch and a front row seat to the Doylestown Arts Festival and Bike Race. All of our clients and friends are welcome