F&P Receives Tier 1 “Best Law Firms” Rankings for 2023

For the fifth consecutive year, F&P has been awarded rankings by Best Lawyers and U.S. News & World Report in their 2023 “Best Law Firms” report. Two of our jurisdictions have been recognized, with Washington, D.C., receiving its first Tier One Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers designation. F&P is pleased to announce that we have received the following rankings:

2023 “Best Law Firms”

  • Baltimore
    • Tier 1 in Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers
  • Washington, D.C.
    • Tier 1 in Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers – Newly recognized as a Tier 1 “Best Law Firm” for this practice area in the 2023 edition 

To be eligible for consideration, a law firm must have at least one attorney recognized in the current edition of Best Lawyers in a “Best Law Firms” ranked practice area / metro area.

For 13 years, Best Lawyers and U.S. News and World Report have granted these honors to firms nationwide.  Tier 1 rankings include 9,787 metropolitan firms and 571 national firms.

To learn more about these rankings and the “Best Law Firms” process, please visit the website at https://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/.

 

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals Affirmed Summary Judgment In Harris Teeter Slip and Fall Case

A three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed the Superior Court of the District of Columbia’s grant of summary judgment to Harris Teeter. Harris Teeter was sued by a customer who allegedly slipped on a liquid substance on the floor near a produce bin. The customer contended that there was seepage on the floor from overripe vegetables, but this was mere conjecture. The customer admittedly did not know what the alleged substance was, when it came to be on the floor, or how it came to be on the floor. After the discovery, Harris Teeter moved for summary judgment because the customer had not adduced any evidence that Harris Teeter had actual or constructive notice of any alleged substance. The Superior Court granted the motion and entered judgment in favor of Harris Teeter because there was no evidence that Harris Teeter caused the alleged substance to be on the floor, nor was there any evidence that Harris Teeter knew or should have known that an alleged substance was on the floor. The customer appealed the grant of summary judgment. The Court of Appeals agreed with the Superior Court’s analysis and affirmed the grant of summary judgment.  Ellen R. Stewart represented Harris Teeter throughout the proceedings. The case is Patricia Sneed v. Harris Teeter, LLC, 21-CV-397 (decided August 2, 2022, Per Curiam, unpublished).

Written by counsel Ellen R.Stewart.

F&P Attorneys Obtain Summary Judgment in Fatal Crash

We are pleased to announce another victory for the clients of Franklin & Prokopik, P.C. in the United States Courts. Joshua T. Carback and Andrew T. Stephenson obtained full summary judgment from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in favor of a tractor-trailer driver involved in a fatal crash. The claims of the estate of the adverse driver/decedent included wrongful death, survivorship, and negligence. The court found the adverse driver/decedent contributorily negligent and therefore dismissed the case.

https://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/

Written by associate Joshua T. Carback©.

F&P Ranks #13 on Law360’s 2022 Glass Ceiling Report

Franklin & Prokopik continues to make significant strides in gender equality, securing a national ranking on Law360’s annual “Glass Ceiling Report”.  The firm ranked 13th (a jump from 16th last year) for firms employing 100 or fewer attorneys.  This was in part due to our female representation highly exceeding the national average at both the equity and non-equity partner levels. In the equity partner category, F&P sits at 38.5%, and at 77.8% for non-equity partners, compared to less than a quarter of equity partners and 27% of non-equity partners at comparable firms nationwide. In addition, 22% of all the firm’s attorneys are female associates.

The methodology behind this year’s rankings (a redesign of the Glass Ceiling Report) shows how the percentage of women across the three attorney levels compares with the field of new hires. Law360 revised its methodology in response to the pandemic’s effect on female attorneys.  Women now comprise more than half of enrolled law school students. Despite this, female attorneys are still not achieving equity partner status or sitting on executive committees.

F&P strives to focus on hiring and promoting a diverse workforce and appreciates Law360 for recognizing the firm’s efforts to close the gender gap.

Please note, the data collected by Law360 was as of December 31, 2021.  F&P had multiple female promotions that went into effect on January 1, 2022, which will be reflected in next year’s report.   

Links to the complete articles can be found below (Law360 subscription required.)

https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1517070

https://www.law360.com/articles/1517878/the-2022-glass-ceiling-report-women-in-law

 

Best Lawyers Announces 2023 Awards

Best Lawyers has released its recipients for 2023, and F&P is honored to announce our attorneys who have received this designation. Principal Michael Prokopik is a first-time designee for “Best Lawyers,” and counsel Renee Bowen has been recognized for the first time in the “Ones to Watch” category. Firm president and principal Bert Randall received the top “Lawyer of the Year” honor for Workers’ Compensation Law.

Best Lawyers implements a 100% peer review process evaluating more than 13 million attorneys in 147 practices area throughout 76 countries worldwide. Best Lawyers has narrowed down the nominees to just over 130,000 lawyers recognized. Criteria for “Best Lawyers” include legal expertise, ethics, and professionalism and are awarded to attorneys who have been in practice for more than ten years. “Ones to Watch” are selected by the same methodology and are given to attorneys who are earlier in their careers.

Honorees for 2023 include:

Lawyer of the Year
Albert B. Randall Jr.

Best Lawyers
Ralph L. Arnsdorf
Tamara Goorevitz
Lynn M. Fitzpatrick
Michael W. Prokopik (new for 2023)
Albert B. Randall Jr.

Ones to Watch
Michael T. Bennett
Renee L. Bowen (new for 2023)
James K. Hetzel
Heather A. Rice
Bryce Ziskind

To learn more about Best Lawyers, visit www.bestlawyers.com.

F&P Spotlight on Counsel Heather Rice

What is your favorite aspect about working at F&P? 
My favorite aspect about working at F&P is hands down the friendships I have formed with several of my colleagues.  I have the privilege of calling many of the attorneys in our office not just colleagues but close friends.  Even after some have taken positions elsewhere,  I have been lucky enough to maintain friendships that will surely last a lifetime.

What’s your favorite restaurant/show/event?
Even though COVID has gotten in the way, I love to try new restaurants in Baltimore!  Some of my all-time favorite restaurants include Birroteca, La Scala, the Food Market, and La Cuchara.

Tell us something about you that few of your colleagues and clients would know.
While I cannot carry a tune, I can sing the entire soundtrack from the Broadway musical, Hamilton.

What do you like to do outside the office?
My husband and I are movie buffs.  Most weekends you can find us curled up on the couch with our dog and watching a movie.

What is your favorite food? 
Pretty much any carb or anything covered in chocolate.

What is your all-time favorite city or town and why? 
Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts is my all-time favorite place to travel in the US.  The island is equal parts quaint, beautiful, and relaxing.  Plus, it is a mecca for all things seafood!

If you could have lunch with anyone in the world who would it be?
There are so many people I would love to choose to be a lunch companion.  Former President Barack Obama probably tops the list, along with the late great Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

F&P Spotlight on Principal Jennifer Helsel

What is your practice area, and how did you choose it?
I handle Virginia Workers’ Compensation claims.  I began working for an insurance defense firm out of law school.  I knew very little about workers’ compensation but really enjoyed the cases.  I like the fast pace of workers’ compensation and the ability to come to a fairly quick resolution relative to liability cases.  I also enjoy the small state-wide workers’ compensation bar and the collegiality among the attorneys on both sides of the cases.

What is your favorite aspect of working at F&P?
I really enjoy the people here.  In our Herndon office, we get together as an office once a month for lunch.  It is a good chance to get to catch up with those I don’t work with on a daily basis.

What’s your favorite restaurant/show/event?
My family’s favorite restaurant is the Taqeuria el Poblano, near our house in Arlington, Virginia.  We have been going there after soccer and swim team practices for 20 years.  Every time my kids come home from school, it is their first dinner back.  They make the best margaritas and the restaurant holds many special memories for me.

Tell us something about you that few of your colleagues and clients would know.
We own a 15-year-old leopard gecko.

What do you like to do outside the office?
I enjoy hot vinyasa yoga and long walks.

Have you read any good books or seen any good movies this year that you would recommend?
As far as books, I really enjoyed “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr.  For movies, I loved “Coda.”

What is your favorite food?
Panazanella (Italian bread salad)

What is your all-time favorite city or town and why?
Duck, North Carolina.  We have been going there since 1991.  We love the peace of the beach.  Also, I enjoy walking along the boardwalk on the sound.

F&P Welcomes Counsel Cindy Armstrong to Lead the Hagerstown Office

Counsel Cindy Armstrong will now lead Franklin & Prokopik’s Hagerstown office. Cindy brings 15 years of experience representing employers and insurers in the workers’ compensation industry. Before joining F&P, Cindy was a partner at a private firm barred in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Cindy is an active member of the MD Bar Association Negligence, Insurance, and Workers’ Compensation Section.

“Cindy brings years of valuable experience to F&P, and we are very pleased to be working with someone we admire,” said workers’ compensation principal John Handscomb.

Cindy is a member of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Maryland Defense Counsel. F&P would like to welcome Cindy to our firm and look forward to her leadership and experience in Western Maryland.

F&P Spotlight on Associate Jessica Corace

What’s your favorite thing about working with your clients?
I like helping people and solving problems so being able to do that for my clients is very rewarding.

What is your favorite aspect of working at F&P?
Collaborating with my colleagues. F&P has really great people and that makes for an amazing work environment.

What’s your favorite restaurant/show/event in ____ ?
My favorite restaurant is in downtown Annapolis – Osteria 177. It has the BEST food and service, and never disappoints!

Tell us something about you that few of your colleagues and clients would know.
I started running in law school. Now, I am the 5K running coach for Charm City Run – Annapolis. Running can be really intimidating and I really enjoy getting people to see that it is a community, and everyone is welcome.

What do you like to do outside the office?
I love being outside – whether it’s running, traveling, attending a sporting event, or just working from my patio!

What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?
The weirdest thing I have ever eaten is sea urchin – I would not do it again!

If you could have lunch with anyone in the world who would it be?
Gwen Stefani – I always have admired her individualism.

Do you have any bizarre talents?
I’m not sure if this counts as a talent, but I do have the uncanny ability to know very random (and typically useless) facts, although it does come in handy on the rare occasion when I get to play trivia

F&P Spotlight on Associate Jessica Pupkin

What’s your favorite thing about working with your clients?
I love the challenge of creative problem-solving. Working with clients allows us to collaborate to address a wide range of interesting issues, see things from different perspectives and find meaningful solutions.

What’s your proudest accomplishment?
My proudest accomplishment is following in my mother’s footsteps by passing the bar and becoming a trial attorney.

Tell us something about you that few of your colleagues and clients would know.
I love music and have been playing the drums since I was about 10 years old.

What do you like to do outside the office?
When I am not in the office I love to travel and enjoy the outdoors. I am also a bit of a foodie and love to cook.

What is your favorite food?
My favorite food is Sushi! I could it every day and never get sick of it.

What is your all-time favorite city or town and why?
My all-time favorite city is Tel Aviv. I lived there after college and absolutely fell in love with the history, the culture, and the people.