Posted: Nov 28, 2011

The Delaware Valley Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel (DELVACCA) presented its Corporate Counsel Excellence Awards at its Annual Dinner on November 17, 2011.  More than 350 guests attended the event held in the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt at the Bellevue in Philadelphia, PA.

The aim of DELVACCA's Corporate Counsel Excellence Awards is to find and recognize the leading in-house counsel and law departments in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware. The Excellence Awards also serve to underscore how in-house counsel play a significant role in any successful business enterprise.  Indeed, the role of in-house counsel has never been more important or more visible with companies facing increasingly complex legal and regulatory challenges in the modern economy.

Three finalists were identified in each of six different award categories and announced this past September.  The 18 finalists were nominated by their peers in response to a call for nominations and selected by a distinguished panel of judges.  Respondents were asked to focus on leadership and management skills, specific legal accomplishments, innovation, cost effectiveness, commitment to diversity and community service, as well as ethics and integrity.

Winners in each category were revealed at the Awards Dinner on November 17.  Without exception, all of the winners have demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism, dedication to their clients, and ethics and integrity. DELVACCA congratulates this year's outstanding winners:

1. Outstanding Chief Legal Officer of the Year: Michael Korniczky, Graham Packaging Company
2. Outstanding In-House Counsel of the Year: Todd C. Longsworth, Cephalon, Inc.
3. Outstanding Community Service: Sophia Lee, Sunoco, Inc.
4. Outstanding Large Law Department of the Year: SAP
5. Outstanding Small Law Department of the Year: Dollar Financial Group
6. Outstanding Commitment to Diversity by a Law Department: GlaxoSmithKline

The awards program would not have been possible without the volunteer efforts of an independent panel of seven judges, which included:

1. Richard DePiano, President and General Counsel, Escalon Medical Corporation
2. Charisse Lillie, Vice President, Community Investment, Comcast Corporation and  Executive Vice President of the Comcast Foundation
3. Don Liu, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Xerox Corporation
4. Carol Ann Petren, General Counsel, MacAndrews and Forbes
5. Veta Richardson, President & CEO, Association of Corporate Counsel
6. Eric Rubino, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Ohana Companies
7. Shelley Smith, City Solicitor, City of Philadelphia