DELVACCA COUNCIL OF PRACTICE COMMITTEES

Chair: N. Alexander Erlam, Vice President, General Counsel
The Vertical Screen Group of Companies
Phone: 888-291-1369, Ext. 2021

The eight legal practice committees below are all members of the DELVACCA Council of Practice Committees. The Chair of the Council oversees and directs programing, strategic planning and long term goals for the practice committees. The Council Chairmanship is included in the responsibilities of being 1st Vice President of DELVACCA.

Corporate & Securities Law Committee

Chair: Neil D. Falis, Managing Counsel - Mergers, Acquisitions & Corporate Finance
Towers Perrin
Phone: 215-246-7853

Co-Chair:  Ned Nurick, Associate Counsel
Bentley Systems, Inc.
Phone:  610-458-6283

The objective of this committee is to provide an organized forum to facilitate the identification, review, discussion and analysis of corporate and securities law issues that are of particular interest to in-house counsel in the Delaware Valley. To this end, the Committee hopes to enhance the professional development of in-house corporate and securities practitioners by sharing information and resources, promoting continuing legal education programs and developing networks for better communication between corporate counsel practitioners.

Employment & Labor Law Committee (Seeking Co-Chair....if interested contact Alex Erlam at aerlam@verticalscreen.com)
Co-Chair: N. Alexander Erlam, General Counsel
The Vertical Screen Group of Companies
Phone: 888-291-1369, Ext. 2021

Co-Chair: Constance P. Lahoda, Vice President, Employment Relations
ARAMARK Corporation
Phone: 215-238-7155

The mission and purpose of the Employment Labor and Law Committee is to act as a central resource vehicle for all its members with an expertise or interest in labor and employment law matters. The group provides a network for its members to further keep current and consult on the latest case law and legislative and regulatory actions affecting labor and employment law. The Committee provides a forum for members to share their respective works, referral sources and information relevant to the Committee’s objectives. The Committee sponsors presenters with relevant expertise, and events, in its effort to gain specific knowledge an insight into relevant employment and labor law topics. The Committee meets quarterly for a luncheon at its members’ locations within Center City Philadelphia; the meeting includes an expert presenter and discussion of the topics within the meeting’s agenda. This Committee is active and has an active Listserv (e-mail discussion list) for members to share developing legal topics an for members to respond to employment and labor related queries.

Intellectual Property Law Committee

Co-Chair: Alexander H. Plache, Senior Intellectual Property Counsel
Saint-Gobain Corporation
Phone: 610-341-7679

Co-Chair: Michele P. Pilotte,  Associate General Counsel
Johnson Matthey Inc.
Phone: 610-971-3004

The objective of this Committee is to provide an organized forum to facilitate the identification, review, discussion and analysis of intellectual property issues that hold interest to in-house counsel while also providing opportunities for networking and the sharing of interesting information.

Litigation Committee

Co-Chair: Michael P. Zipfel, Senior Counsel
Independence Blue Cross
Phone: 215-241-4908

Co-Chair: Geoffrey Beauchamp,  General Counsel
Delaware Valley Municipal Management Association
Phone: 267-781-0615

The goal of this Committee is to provide an opportunity for the exchange of information and ideas regarding the effective handling and management of litigation issues that typically confront in-house counsel. This committee provides networking opportunities and promotes relevant continuing legal education efforts.

Ethics and Compliance Committee

Co-Chair: Christopher Hein, Assistant General Counsel
PJM Interconnection, LLC
Phone: 610-666-4279

Co-Chair: John Romeo, Labor & Employment Counsel
American Water Works Service Company, Inc.
Phone:  856-346-8299

The Ethics and Compliance Law Committee addresses significant ethics and compliance topics that in-house counsel face, including ethical issues related to Sarbanes Oxley, sentencing guidelines, privacy, records management, antitrust, law department internal controls, international trade and others. The Committee draws on the expertise of its members and outside presenters to provide updates on substantive law and prevailing practice. Each meeting has either a formal presentation on a substantive area of interest to committee members, or provides committee members an opportunity to discuss best practices and engage in informal benchmarking related to specific ethics and compliance issues. This Committee has an active listserv for members to share ideas and information concerning developing legal topics and to discuss ethics and compliance related concerns.

Environmental, Health & Safety Committee

Co-Chair: Amy Donohue-Babiak, Associate General Counsel
Johnson Matthey Inc.
Phone: 610-971-3084

Co-Chair: Lauren P. Alterman, Vice President, Health, Safety and Environment
Saint-Gobain Corporation
Phone: 610-341-7838

The mission and purpose of the Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Committee is to enhance skills and foster excellence in the practice of environmental, health and safety law; to educate members on new developments and current trends in the field; to provide opportunities for members to meet, share information and experiences, and develop relationships with professional colleagues; and to encourage and promote public service in the environmental, health and safety field.

Health, Biotech and Pharma Committee

Co-Chair:  Todd Mayover, Senior Attorney
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Phone: 484-865-7625

Co-Chair:  Stacey Meadows, Sr. VP & General Counsel
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone:  215-955-4682

Contracts and Commercial Law Committee

Co-Chair:  Jackie Meredith-Batchelor
Phone:  609-254-6822

Co-Chair:  Nancy Kent Sowa, Senior Associate General Counsel
National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Phone:  215-349-3761

The objective of the Contracts and Commercial Law Committee is to provide an organized forum to facilitate the identification, review, discussion and analysis of contract and commercial law issues that are of particular interest to in-house counsel.  To this end, the Committee hopes to enhance the professional development of in-house contracts and commercial law practititioners by sharing information and resources, promoting continuing legal education programs and developing networks for better communications between contract and commercial law practitioners.  The committee provides a forum for members to share their respective works, referral sources and information relevant to the Committee's objectives.  The Committee meets quarterly for a breakfast or luncheon at its members' or a sponsors's locations.  These meetings have either a formal presentation on a substantive area of interest to committee members, or provide committee members an opportunity to discuss best practices and engage in informal benchmarking related to specific contract or commercial law issues.  The Committee sponsors presenters with relevant expertise at a once-yearly Institute.  This Committee has an active Listserv (e-mail discussion list) for members to share developing legal topics and for members to respond to contract and commercial law related queries.

HOW TO JOIN A COMMITTEE

To join any of these committees, follow these instructions:

1. Log into the ACC website
2. Click on My ACC
3. Click on My Committees
4. Click on Edit my committee info
5. Click on Join a Committee
6. When you join the committee, you automatically also join that committee's Listserv. You can adjust your listserv message frequency, by clicking on the listserv link on the left side of the page.

How to join a committee listserv:

1.  Log into the ACC web site
2.  Click on My ACC
3.  Click on My Listservs
4.  Click on Edit my listserv info
5.  Choose the subscription type you would like for the applicable listserv
6.  You can also view the Listserv archive by clicking on the link to "Go To" next to the applicable committee
7.  You can also sign up for a feed of this listserv content by clicking on the "Feed" link.

Please note that chapter committee membership is only open to DELVACCA members.