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August 2025

The FCBA partnered with Court Administration to add photos to the Franklin County Judicial Center.

The 2023 bench & bar composite and the most recent judges' group photo are hung in the public hallway on the 2nd floor of the FCJC.

Judges' group photo is displayed outside Historic Courtroom One.

Composites from 1954, 1968, 1977, 1986, 1996, 2012, and the 1999 group photo are hung in the area outside the judges' suite.

Register at https://franklinbar.org/golf2025/

Join us in Courtroom 6 of the Franklin County Judicial Center!

Program Description:

This in-person program features information on a variety of issues that have been identified as common areas where attorneys can be exposed to liability or malpractice claims and focuses on steps everyone can take to avoid, or at least mitigate, potential professional liability claims. The program will provide the perspective of a risk manager, addressing some of the scenarios attorneys may encounter in their daily work. Engagement letters, remote work, cloud computing, and cybersecurity are among the chief topics. Attend and get tips on steps you can take to cover your practice and be prepared if a claim is asserted against you or your firm.      

Attorneys who are insured through the Pennsylvania Bar Association Insurance Program, advised and administered by USI Affinity, have the ability to earn up to a 7.5% discount on their malpractice insurance based on one’s attendance at this CLE. Questions regarding your LPL insurance should be directed to USI Affinity at 610-537-1368.  

Presenters:

Ed Schwartz – BIO

Lara Bream – BIO

Join us in Courtroom 6 for this free Lunch & Learn.

Join us in our Chambersburg office, located at 100 Lincoln Way East, for these PBI simulcast CLEs.

Forest N. Myers has joined Kelso Law, LLC with offices in Shippensburg and Carlisle as Of Counsel. His new email address is fmyers@kelso-law.com and he may be reached by telephone at 717 477.2420 or 717 496.7246 (cell)

About two months ago, I ran into Jared Childers while he was volunteering at the Appalachian Trail Festival at Red Run Park in Rouzerville. Because I didn’t know Jared that well, I was surprised to see him volunteering there. After interviewing him for this article, I feel confident in saying that anyone who knows Jared wouldn’t be surprised to see him volunteering anywhere. He truly has a servant’s heart.

Jared Samuel Childers is one of three boys and a girl born to Chuck and Sherry Childers. His parents joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints just before he was born. His faith was a big part of his childhood and still is today. Jared grew up in Eureka, CA, which is located on the shores of Humboldt Bay. It’s about 100 miles south of the Oregon border and is the largest coastal city between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. Even with its size, it’s not an industrial city. Jared described it as a great place to live with the ocean on one side and the redwood forest on the other. It sounds quite idyllic to me, which made me wonder how he ended up here, on the other side of the country. As it turns out, the answer to that question does not involve a straight line. Jared, like many of us, has taken an interesting path through life to get to where he is today. 

When Jared was growing up, his dad was an insurance agent with Allstate. Chuck opened the doors to his office on April 30, 1984, and continued working until well after Jared went off to college. His mom, Sherry, was a full-time homemaker. Jared describes her as the type of mom who lets him and his siblings dig big holes in the backyard, throw mud at each other, and track mud into the house. He and his siblings made a ton of fun memories playing together. To this day, even though they aren’t geographically close to one another, they maintain a very close bond. In fact, over the past six years, his sister, Hannah, battled ALS. During that time, Jared, his siblings, his parents, and their church family rallied around her. They financially supported Hannah and her husband so that he didn’t have to work, and instead, could take care of her. This also gave Hannah the gift of spending more of the precious time she had left with her husband and their children. Hannah went home to the Lord in May at the age of 42.

Jared’s parents were his biggest cheerleaders in life. They were always 100% supportive of any endeavor he chose to pursue. Interestingly, for an attorney, Jared had no plans in high school to go to college. After graduating from high school in 1995, Jared went off to Rome, Italy, to serve a two-year mission for his church. Spending two years in Italy gave Jared the gift of returning to the US fluent in Italian. 

It wasn’t until he met his wife, Denee, who was valedictorian of her high school class, that he got serious about the idea of college. They met while taking a communications class at Ensign College, which is a two-year business college. They were learning all about how to communicate with others and interpersonal dialogue. It turned out to be a great foundation for their budding friendship.

Given that Denee was a valedictorian, I was surprised she chose a two-year business college. Jared confirmed that she could have attended any college she wanted, but chose Ensign because they had a specific program she wanted to attend. Thankfully, for Jared, she made that choice. Eventually, their friendship became romantic, and they started dating. Jared will tell you that he doesn’t know why Denee dated him, but thinks she saw some potential in him. While hanging out one day, Jared asked Denee what she would think about marrying him. He doesn’t know what she was thinking, but she agreed. Jared got her a $7 engagement ring, and they got married at the St. George, Utah Temple. Since I had never heard of that temple, I looked it up. It is beautiful. Plus, I’m sure the photos online don’t give it justice. It’s a gorgeous white temple soaring above lush green trees. There are manicured gardens and a stunning fountain. What a perfect setting for a wedding! 

After obtaining his associate's degree in 2000, Jared went on to Brigham Young University for his bachelor’s degree. In 2003, he graduated with a degree in Italian. Given that he was already fluent, it was a quick way for him to earn a bachelor’s degree. Upon graduation, Jared, with his family in tow, returned to Eureka and worked for his father as a financial advisor and insurance salesman. Jared explained that he found being an insurance agent was too difficult for his personality because much of the job involved being a salesperson. 

Now you’re going to read a sentence I never thought I would write. I’m writing this sentence because Jared spoke these words when he was describing why he pursued being a lawyer after spending a few years working as an insurance agent. Here we go. Here’s the sentence. “Being a lawyer is nicer.” Yes, folks, that’s exactly what Jared said. In all my years of interviewing lawyers, being friends with lawyers, and being a lawyer, I don’t think I’ve ever heard one say that being a lawyer is nicer than another profession they were considering. Jared explained that as lawyers, we advise people. We don’t need to sell them anything, which is true. 

In addition to the personality conflict, Jared described the high cost of living they were experiencing by the ocean in Northern California. Those issues combined put Jared on the path to law school. Jared, his wife, and kids moved across the country so Jared could attend the Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle. 

Of course, I had to ask why he would choose Dickinson, given it was so far from his hometown. As it turns out, Jared had spent a few summers in Northern Virginia as a door-to-door salesman. During that time, he fell in love with this area, particularly Carlisle. In 2008, Jared graduated from Dickinson and headed off to New York University School of Law to obtain his LLM. At the time, he thought he might want to become a tax lawyer. While finishing up his LLM, Jared began interviewing in New York. As many of you remember, 2009 wasn’t a banner year for the financial industry. He would interview at a business one day, and it would be gone the next. Thankfully, during that process, Jared got connected with Tom Murphy, and Jared didn’t look back

Jared is now a partner in the firm Murphy & Childers, P.C., which solely focuses on estate and elder law matters. His enthusiasm for his work is nearly contagious. When I asked him about it, he described his work life as being “awesome ever since” starting with his firm. He LOVES being an elder law attorney. He loves the profession. He’s thrilled to come to work every day. He literally said, “My staff and clients are awesome.” Jared fondly speaks of the autonomy and generosity Tom provided him from the moment he started working there. He describes Tom as a great mentor and hopes to be able to provide that same mentorship to another young attorney. Although Tom has recently retired, they’re going to keep the firm name as Murphy & Childers. 

In Jared’s spare time, he is an adjunct professor at Dickinson Law School. He teaches the finance side of elder law. He thoroughly enjoys providing practical knowledge to his students. When I asked him what advice he’d give to someone graduating from law school, he responded with the advice he always gives to his students – “Take time to figure out what areas of law you want to focus on. Don’t dabble. Focus your practice. Be very good at a few things.” 

Jared is the immediate past chair of Elder Law Section of the PBA. For anyone considering practicing in elder law, Jared suggests joining the Elder Law Section even if you only use the listserv. It’s a very active listserv, which can be exceedingly helpful. He is also a board member of the PA Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, which is a group of Elder Law attorneys who directly reach out to the legislature to advocate for certain positions. 

Although Jared won’t say it, the most time-consuming of his spare-time activities is being the bishop of his church, which means he’s the ecclesiastical leader for the Waynesboro area. He’s been in the role for the past five years, which is generally considered the average length of service for this position. The person over this geographic region, the stake president, felt that he should serve in that capacity and asked him to do so. Since God is directing things, Jared accepted the role. He said it takes about 12-15 hours a week, and he said that as if it wasn’t a big time commitment. The longer I talked to Jared, the more I think he has the patience of a saint. The role of bishop means he approves all expenditures, oversees all the programming, works with the children and youth, coordinates the council of committees, counsels individuals, performs marriages, gives the Sunday sermon 3 – 4 times per year, counsels those considering divorce, counsels those struggling with spirituality, and officiates at funerals. It’s all unpaid, and he is happy to serve. Even with my mouth dropped open from all those responsibilities, Jared insisted the duties aren’t onerous and that his two assistants (one of whom is Matt Stewart) do the heavy lifting. 

Somehow, Jared is still able to make time for some hobbies. He’s an avid reader of histories and biographies. He enjoys cooking and traveling. He and his wife go back to Italy whenever they can. He loves to fly fish and has done so around the US, in Canada, and in Iceland. He is one of those people who finds more hours in the day than we are given. Our Bar Association is lucky he chose to leave the redwoods and settle here.