F&P Spotlight on HR Director Tara L. Valenza

How did you choose your profession?
I “fell” into HR. The company I worked for split into separate business units and an HR Coordinator was need to support the team and the HR Manager. I am very outgoing and it is easy for me to talk to people, so HR seemed like a natural fit. 24 years later….

What’s your favorite thing about working with your clients?
My clients are the people of F&P. I truly enjoy helping the team understand their benefits and policies.

What is your favorite aspect about working at F&P?
I love the culture at F&P. I feel as though I was given the opportunity really grow into my role and was very supported by the leaders.

What do you like to do outside the office?
I like spending time with my friends and going to concerts and shows.

What is your all-time favorite city or town, and why?
I like going to NYC. Each time I go, there is something new to see or experience. I go about 2 times per year and see play then explore.

What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?
Octopus – not calamari – real octopus and it was delicious!

F&P Promotes Five Principals and One Counsel for 2024

Franklin & Prokopik welcomes 2024 by congratulating five attorneys who have been promoted to principal and one promoted to counsel. These attorneys have helped elevate the firm as a standout in the legal field, the courtroom, and with clients and colleagues. Please join us in congratulating these attorneys and thanking them for their hard work!

Principal

Neal Adkins concentrates his practice in the areas of workers’ compensation and employers’ liability, representing employers and insurers at the administrative hearing and appellate levels. A seasoned litigation attorney, Neal spent nearly 15 years representing claimants and plaintiffs before joining F&P in 2014. His experience during this time enabled him to gain a deep understanding of the tactics used by both parties, and he is able to utilize this as a way to counter strategies.

Cindy Armstrong represents employers and insurers in workers’ compensation matters before the Workers’ Compensation Commission and courts throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. She has been practicing law for almost 17 years, and all of her legal experience has been in the workers’ compensation industry. Before joining F&P, Cindy was a partner at a private workers’ compensation firm.

Michael Bennett brings nearly two decades of legal experience. Since joining Franklin and Prokopik in 2015, Mike has litigated hundreds of cases at the Workers’ Compensation Commission and over a dozen jury and bench trials throughout the state. He has also briefed and argued matters before the Maryland appellate courts. Mike has returned several defense jury trial verdicts and victories at the appellate courts.

Robert Hunt, Jr. joined F&P’s Delaware office in 2013, concentrating his practice in workers’ compensation and employers’ liability. He has experience representing clients at all stages of the litigation process, from hearings before the Industrial Accident Board and appeals to the Delaware Superior and Supreme Court to settlement and mediation. His clients primarily include employers, insurers, and third-party administrators from companies of all sizes across various industries.

Eric Scott Thompson concentrates his practice on representing the rights of business and individual defendants in civil actions and, in doing so, has tried cases before all levels of courts in Delaware in addition to administrative boards. He is an adjunct instructor at Wilmington University and volunteers his time for Delaware Volunteer Litigation Services, representing indigent clients in guardianship matters.

Counsel

Melissa McGaunn