F&P Welcomes Four Associates in September

Franklin & Prokopik welcomes three new liability associates and one workers’ comp associate to the firm this September.

Tiffany Vrabac joins the Herndon office focusing her practice on construction, insurance coverage, liability defense, product liability, and trucking and transportation. Prior to joining F&P, Tiffany worked as a litigation associate at an insurance firm in Florida. She represented insureds in bodily injury defense, property damage, complex litigation, and catastrophic cases.

Matthew West is the newest workers’ compensation associate in Baltimore. Matthew, a Baltimore native, is the first attorney in his family. After graduating from law school, Matthew completed a one-year clerkship with Magistrate Theresa A. Furnari in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. His hands-on experience has provided him with both a unique perspective and the ability to perform in the courtroom.

Joining Baltimore’s liability and trucking and transportation teams are David Fraser and John Simanski. David Fraser comes to F&P from the law firm of McCabe, Weisberg & Conway, LLC where he concentrated his practice handling foreclosure cases. He represented banks and loan servicers in residential foreclosure cases, handling all aspects of the foreclosure process from pre-sale to eviction.

Before coming to F&P, John Simanski served as Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Robert E. Cahill Jr. in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. While in law school, John worked as an adjuster for Travelers in the Special Liability Group. Furthermore, John served as a law clerk at Rollins, Smalkin, Richards and Mackie, L.L.C.

Bert Randall and Tamara Goorevitz to Speak at Industry Events

On September 18, principal Bert Randall will present “The Grass Isn’t Always Greener: Marijuana at Work” at the Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association (SAPAA) Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA. This session will focus on the “legal” (or not) ramifications of marijuana use at work. Bert will also cover recent federal and state legislative and regulatory developments as well as focus on policy issues that employers must be concerned with when dealing with marijuana in the workplace.

SAPAA is a non-profit that provides information regarding substance abuse detection, how to meet the changing regulations by offering professional education in drug and alcohol testing, strategic planning, DOT developments, legal issues, and leadership. For more information on the conference, click on the link:

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.sapaa.com/resource/resmgr/2019_conference/SAPAA_2019_Annual_Conference.pdf.

Tamara Goorevitz, a principal with Franklin & Prokopik is slated to speak on Wednesday, September 18 at the Arkansas Trucking Seminar. Tamara will serve as a moderator for the 2:00 pm workshop titled, “Beyond the Basics: Best Practices for Effective Accident Investigation and Early Case Evaluation.” This seminar is for people who are associated with trucking litigation. The three-day event also features networking opportunities, a community service project as well as the educational breakout sessions.

The Arkansas Trucking Seminar is held yearly in Rogers, Arkansas and members of the trucking industry, in the United States and Canada, are welcome to attend. For more information about this event, click on the link http://www.walescomstock.com/arkansas-trucking-seminar/.

Imoh Akpan Appointed One of FDCC’s Committee Vice-Chair

Franklin & Prokopik principal, Imoh Akpan, was recently appointed to the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel’s (FDCC) as Vice-Chair of the Premises and Security Liability Section for 2019-2020. His appointment will be effective on October 1. The Premises and Security Liability section supports attorneys who defend property owners against accident claims which take place on their property.

The FDCC is an international organization for defense counsel and has a more than 80-year history of dedicating its mission to “the principles of knowledge, justice, and fellowship.” To learn more about the FDCC visit its webpage at https://thefederation.site-ym.com/.

Bert Randall to Speak at Millennium Seminars in New Jersey

Franklin & Prokopik principal, Bert Randall, will serve as a panel speaker on Thursday, September 12 at “Everything You Wanted to Know About New Jersey Workers’ Compensation.” This event is being held at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Starting at 11:00 am Bert, along with two other attorneys , will discuss “Comparing New Jersey Comp Law to Maryland, Delaware, D.C. and Virginia Laws.” A sample of topics that will be covered include how comp cases are settled in each state, how wages and rates are calculated and which penalties employers need to worry about.

Millennium Seminars are designed for insurance professionals and practitioners to help them to develop and improve the skills necessary to handle workers’ compensation claims.

For more information about the event, please visit the website at https://www.capehart.com/event/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-new-jersey-workers-compensation/.