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"Complexities arising out of the new Pa Right to Know Law will impact government at every level, as well as any entity seeking information from or about any government agency in Pennsylvania." (Harrisburg, PA) -- Nauman, Smith, Shissler & Hall, LLP, announced the formation of a new practice group to respond to the recently enacted Pennsylvania Right to Know Law, according to the firm's Senior Partner, Spencer G. Nauman, Jr., Esq. "Complexities arising from the newly revised Pennsylvania Right to Know Law will impact a variety of government, media, corporate and private concerns inherent in public interaction with government entities at all levels." Mr. Nauman stated, "Conflicting complications will require careful analysis on both the part of government agencies and operations, as well as individual and corporate entities in future interactions with one another across the Commonwealth." In order to provide a variety of clients with effective counsel in this dynamic area of law, Nauman Smith has organized The Right to Know Practice Group, (www.nssh.com/rtk) comprised of four highly skilled attorneys in areas immediately affected by the new Pennsylvania Right to Know Law. The RTK Practice Group offers superior analysis and effective solutions on various "Right to Know" and related open records issues encountered by government, media, corporate entities and private citizens. Nauman Smith Managing Partner, Craig J. Staudenmaier, Esq., (cjstaud@nssh.com) has been named Chairman of The RTK Practice Group, which includes business and corporate attorney J. Stephen Feinour, Esq., county and municipal attorney Guy P. Beneventano, Esq., and administrative law and appellate advocacy attorney Lucinda C. Glinn, Esq. Mr. Staudenmaier has played a fundamental role in shaping issues of Right to Know Law in Pennsylvania in recent years through representation of various media, individual and business interests before government agencies, as well as his widely recognized successes in litigation before the Commonwealth and Supreme Courts in landmark cases pertaining to media access and public right to know as lead counsel in the successful Penn State University/Paterno and PHEAA cases. He has proven himself to be a leading legal authority on right to know issues in Pennsylvania. Attorney Staudenmaier is General Counsel to the Pennsylvania Freedom Coalition, Vice Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Bar Press Committee, as well as a member of the Defense Research Institute, and an affiliate member of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. Mr. Staudenmaier was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Award for Excellence in 2007 by the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, a rare recognition for an attorney, for his skilled work in "preserving open records laws, and the Right to Know Law in Pennsylvania." "We have assembled a highly skillful legal team to represent various clients in matters of Pennsylvania Right to Know Law," Mr. Staudenmaier said today. "The range of experience we bring to an issue includes more than seventy years of corporate, municipal, land use, real estate and media law." Nauman Smith attorney J. Stephen Feinour, Esq., (sfeinour@nssh.com) highly regarded in the areas of business, corporate, municipal and real estate law and land use planning, brings decades of experience to The RTK Practice Group in matters of corporate and public interaction with government entities. Mr. Feinour regularly represents individuals, corporations and related business entities in asset sales and acquisitions, real estate transactions, eminent domain, and land use planning/zoning matters. He represents small and medium size businesses and counsels their owners on business succession as well as wealth and asset preservation issues. He currently serves as the Solicitor for Camp Hill Borough and Paxtang Borough. "We provide effective guidance to corporations who wish to work efficiently with government at all levels in compliance with the new Right to Know Law." Mr. Feinour said. Attorney Guy P. Beneventano, Esq., (guypbenny@nssh.com) brings years of public law experience and a career of representing numerous municipalities on matters such as competitive bidding, zoning and local taxation. An experienced appellate lawyer, Mr. Beneventano has successfully argued cases before every appeals court in the Commonwealth, including the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Mr. Beneventano serves as a Solicitor for Latimore Township, the County of Dauphin, and the Dauphin County Municipal Authority. "The complexities of the newly revised Pennsylvania Right to Know Law raise numerous issues for virtually every government entity in the Commonwealth," Mr. Beneventano said. "Matters of regulation and compliance, and interaction with corporations and the general public seeking information will become a focal point in the coming months." He has also widely lectured on various topical matters to groups such as the Pennsylvania Medical Society and the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. Attorney Lucinda C. Glinn, Esq., (lcglinn@nssh.com) addresses both access and compliance under open government laws. As Solicitor of Capital Tax Collection Bureau, comprised of 74 municipalities and school districts, she regularly advises on the Right to Know and Sunshine laws. At the appellate level, she collaborated with Mr. Staudenmaier on the Penn State University and PHEAA cases. Primarily a civil litigator and appellate advocate, she has successfully argued before the appellate courts and at the agency level on preemption, contract and employment conflicts and continues to apply her hospital in-house knowledge and experience in health care compliance, authoring articles on record keeping and peer review protection in light of mandatory patient safety reporting. She is admitted to the James S. Bowman Inn of Court as a Barrister where she collaborates with colleagues and Commonwealth Court judges to educate bar members on administrative agency practice, which is the Inn's focus. "The full impact of the new Right to Know Law will soon be realized across the administrative and Commonwealth agencies with the creation of a centralized office. Its effect on existing case law is difficult to predict, making our role as appellate advocates that much more important," she commented. Founded in 1871, Nauman, Smith, Shissler & Hall, LLP, is the oldest law firm in continuous existence in Harrisburg. For further information about the firm's new RTK Practice Group, visit the Nauman Smith Web site at (www.nssh.com/rtk), or contact Craig J. Staudenmaier, Esq., (cjstaud@nssh.com) at 717.236.3010. Editor's note: RTK Attorneys are available upon request for comment, interviews and seminars on the subject of the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law. For more information, please contact, Tom Williams, 717.236.3010, or Bob Philbin, 717.975.2148. Nauman Smith Shissler & Hall, LLP |