The Causeway
The monthly newsletter for the Franklin County Bar Association
"The law is a causeway upon which, so long as he keeps to it, a citizen may walk safely" Robert Bolt, playwright
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Holiday Cheer Brought to the Courthouse by FCBA Women's Club |
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Pictured left to right: Nancy Meyers, Barbara Townsend, Martha Walker, Victoria Beard, Allison Freeman, and Amy Owen |
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The Franklin County Bar Association's Women's Club decorated the Courthouse planters on Lincoln Way East on November 17th. The Women's Club has been planting seasonal flowers and decorating for Christmas and Ice Fest since 2013. Their service project is lead by Marty Walker and Barb Townsend. Beautiful job, ladies! |
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George Glen Received PBA Pro Bono Award |
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Pictured left to right: Brandon Copeland, Hon. Todd Sponseller, Victoria Beard, Carrie Bowmaster, Martha Ewan, Kari Ramsey, Deborah Dresser Neiderer, Tony Cosentino, George Glen, David Trevaskis, Rosita Methner, Gloria Keener, and Michael McKeon |
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On November 16th, David Trevaskis, Pro Bono Coordinator of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, awarded George Glen with the 2022 Pro Bono Award in recognition of his service to our community. Mr. Glen was nominated by FCBA's pro bono committee, Franklin County Legal Services, MidPenn Legal Services, and the Law Offices of Women in Need.
Mr. Glen's nomination states: "Attorney George Glen has always been extremely helpful to the Franklin County Bar Association Pro Bono program. He has accepted 20 cases since 2016 which have helped low-income individuals have access to critical legal aid. Whenever there was a need sent out by legal services, attorney Glen was quick to respond and to accept matters for individuals in need of wills, power of attorney documents, and living wills. This meant a great deal to the clients in need of these services for which they could not afford to hire an attorney. It helped to set their minds at ease that their end-of-life documents were in order. It helped individuals appoint a capable power of attorney so they could handle important details in their lives and to direct their health care. It helped our elderly residents feel confident that they had taken care of their important legal paperwork. Attorney Glen has gone above and beyond to serve those in need of legal services in the community through the contribution of his expertise and time on a pro bono basis. We cannot be more grateful. It was always such a wonderful gift when eligible individuals were referred to Attorney Glen as we knew that they would be well taken care of and that it met important goals in their lives."
The award was given at our annual pro bono luncheon. FCBA members who participate in our pro bono program are invited each year. This year's luncheon was the first in-person celebration since 2019 and was held at the Barrel House, in Chambersburg.
Tony Cosentino, Franklin County Bar Association president, said “Attorney Glen is most deserving of our annual Pro Bono Award for Pro Bono Service. For many years, George has been an outstanding attorney for all of his clients, both private clients and clients he has volunteered to assist through pro bono service. Year in and year out, George selflessly and graciously gives back to his community, volunteering his wealth of expertise and vast knowledge in the practice areas of estate planning and probate matters to help those most in need. George has been and remains a wonderful example of “service above self” that our organization’s members can always look to for inspiration”.
Thank you, Mr. Glen!
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Veterans Day
Wills for Heroes Event
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Adam Fennen prepares WFH paperwork at the event. |
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Emma Hamilton saw her mom in action at the event. Allison Freeman trouble shoots software issues for Kristen Hamilton and Masha McCuskey |
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On November 11th FCBA YLD hosted its first Veterans Day WFH event. Franklin County veterans and their spouses were invited to the FCBA office to work with attorney volunteers and our WFH cooridinator Alexandra Sipe to obtain essential documents: a Will, Living Will, and Health Care and Financial Powers of Attorney (or any combination thereof). This event was co-sponsored by Bybel Rutledge LLP and the FCBA YLD. |
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Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers! Pictured left to right: Back row - Alexandra Sipe, Thomas Trgovac, Adam Fennen, Michael Finucane, Emma Hamilton, Kristen Hamilton, Erich Hawbaker, Lindsey Pinto, and Mark Henicle. Front row - Barbara Townsend, Allison Freeman, Maria McCuskey, and Barbara Henicle |
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Franklin County Bar Association Presents Attorney Thomas B. Steiger, Jr. with 2022 Edmund C. Wingerd, Jr. Award |
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Attorney Thomas B. Steiger, Jr. (“Tom”) was honored with the 2022 Edmund C. Wingerd, Jr. Award during the annual admission ceremony of the Franklin County Bar Association (FCBA) held on December 2, 2022 at the Franklin County Courthouse in Chambersburg.
The Wingerd award is bestowed upon a FCBA member who has shown commitment to community and the highest standards of professionalism and service to his or her private clients and the needs of the underprivileged.
“As a longtime member of the FCBA and a pillar of our legal community, Attorney Steiger is extremely deserving of this honor. Tom’s commitment to his clients and his community for many years models the spirit of this award and provides a wonderful example for all of our members to follow,” said FCBA President Tony Cosentino, who presented the award. “Tom is a gentleman, known to all as a caring and dedicated attorney who selflessly and effectively advocates for his clients, both private and pro bono. For the entirety of his career, Tom has demonstrated professional and personal integrity in addressing and serving the needs of his clients. In addition to his private practice, Tom has a long history of representing some of the most vulnerable members of our community on a pro bono basis.” Cosentino added.
Tom practices with the law firm of Steiger and Steiger, LLC, located in Mercersburg. His former law partners include his father, Tom Steiger, Sr., also a former recipient of the Wingerd Award, and the current President Judge of the 39th Judicial District, the Honorable Shawn D. Meyers. Tom attended the Mercersburg Academy, received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, and earned his juris doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. In addition to his memberships in the Franklin County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), Tom is a past President of the FCBA, a longtime volunteer and board member of Franklin County Legal Services, and a past or current board member of numerous local nonprofit organizations, including the Mercersburg Library Association.
Tom is married to his wife, Joanne, and is the proud father of son Thomas III and daughter Chandler.
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FCBA Admits Six New Members |
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Pictured left to right: John Enterline, Rachel Hepp, Allison Freeman, Michael Wikoff, Nicole Miller, and Karli Huber. |
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6 new members were admitted to our Bar on December 2nd in a ceremony held in the Historic Courthouse. Please join us in welcoming Allison Marie Freeman, Karli M. Huber of Griffie & Associates, P.C., Nicole S. Miller of Dick, Stein, Schemel, Wine & Frey, LLP, Rachel M. Hepp of Salzmann Hughes, P.C., and John F. Enterline & Michael D. Wikoff of Franklin County Legal Services.
President Judge Meyers opened the ceremony and welcomed everyone. The new members were presented to Court. Judge Zook administered the oath to our new admittees and made his remarks.
FCBA president Tony Cosentino, PBA president Jay Silberblatt, and YLD Chair Erich Hawbaker spoke about the opportunities available in our organizations.
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Pictures of the Admission Ceremony and Wingerd Award Presentation are located at the end of the Causeway. |
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Three More Members to be Admitted to FCBA |
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Please Join Us on January 30th |
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President Judge Meyers has coordinated a swearing-in ceremony for three individuals that were unable to attend the ceremony on December 2nd, Michaela Zanis, Travis Carbaugh, and Kyle Thomas. The ceremony is scheduled January 30, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 1. Judge Meyers' goal is to have a shortened ceremony focused on the administration of the oath and the signing of the book, so that court proceedings can promptly begin at 9:00 a.m.
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December 9th @ 12:30 - 3:45 pm
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December 15th @ 9:00 am - 12:15 pm
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Press Releases, Memos and Important Notices |
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Court Calendaring and Wayfinding
The 39th Judicial District is now live with modern Court Scheduling for events, officials, and Courtrooms.
Through CountySuite/Teleosoft, Court Scheduling is online for public court matters, and includes Courthouse Wayfinder.
The Wayfinder feature provides a scrolling display of all scheduled events for public viewing in general areas of the Courthouse in the Franklin County Branch of the 39th Judicial District and is integrated with CPCMS (Common Pleas “Criminal” Case Management System).
Below is the link for public view online:
The link can be found on the Franklin County website at www.franklincountypa.gov under the Judicial Tab and then by clicking on the Court Calendar Tab. You may also find this link on our FCBA website, on the Judicial District page:
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The Disciplinary Board
of the Supreme Court of PA
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Read the latest news and statistics from the Supreme Court of PA.
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Guardianship Tracking System Online Workshops offered by AOPC - November & December |
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Please see below for a brochure regarding the next round of GTS Guardian Workshops for court-appointed guardians. This series offers sessions in November and December.
Guardians who participated in any of the prior workshop/webinar sessions will not need to attend since the material being presented is essentially the same. This series is again being offered exclusively as ‘Online Workshops’. The online webinars have been very successful and convenient for the guardians since various dates and times are being offered to accommodate their schedules, and also travel is not required.
The guardians will need to register online so that the trainers can appropriately plan and staff the sessions based on the number expected to participate.
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Kristen Hamilton named vice president elect of PBA |
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At the November House of Delegates meeting, Kristen B. Hamilton was named vice president elect of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Kristen will serve as vice president starting in May 2023, then president elect starting in May 2024. In 2025-26 Kristen will serve her term as PBA president, becoming the 3rd Franklin County PBA president. Kristen follows Edmund C. Wingerd (1946-47) and Forest N. Myers (2013-14).
Please join us in congratulating Kristen!
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Do you have a updated FCBA member list? |
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The complete member list is updated quarterly and available to you and your staff two ways.
You may download and print a PDF from the members' section of our website (log in required). Or you may email Amelia at director@franklinbar.org to receive a PDF or excel document anytime.
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Coffee Corner
"Coffee Corner" is a periodic column in The Causeway by Bar members Annie Gómez Shockey, Brandon Copeland, and Erich Hawbaker.
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by Annie Gómez Shockey
Interview with Mark Bayley
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Mark Bayley was kind enough to answer a few questions for this month’s article. As I do with all my interviews, I first asked Mark where he’s from and to tell me about his family. Mark grew up in Camp Hill in the same house his parents live in today. He had a sister who was little older than he was, which meant that he had a partner in crime growing up. About 10 years ago, she passed away. She had health problems and her heart gave out. Of course, losing her was difficult for him and his family but as one must do, they have found a way to move forward. Mark’s mother was a registered nurse. She worked as an RN in different hospitals until Mark’s sister was born. After having Mark’s sister and him, she got back into the workforce as a school nurse in Harrisburg until her retirement. His father, Edgar, was a first generation lawyer. He graduated from Dickinson in 1964. He had a military commitment so he spent a couple of years in the Army through ROTC. After he graduated from law school, he served his commitment in Korea. He then returned to Camp Hill and went into private practice. A little while later Edgar was elected to serve as the District Attorney in Cumberland County, which was a part-time job at that time. In 1985 he was elected to serve as a Common Pleas Judge in Cumberland County. Mark was 10 years old when that happened and he still remembers the swearing-in ceremony. He thinks it was the first time he wore a suit and was probably the last time he wore a suit until after he graduated from law school. After being on the bench for 25 years his father was required to retire because he had reached the mandatory retirement age in effect at that time. If you ask Mark whether his Dad wanted to retire, he’ll tell you that he believes his father was in his prime and certainly would have continued to serve another 5 years. Upon retirement from the bench, Edgar became “of counsel” with Mark at Mark’s firm, but it didn’t take long for him to decide that he enjoyed retirement. |
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As for Mark, I asked him the age old question of why he wanted to become an attorney. Naively, I assumed his answer would have something to do with wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps. Well, I was wrong. Mark actually didn’t know what he wanted to do when he left to attend college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). He was not a model high school student. The last thing he was interested in was school. The thought of four years of college and three years of law school repulsed him. But then a combination of things happened. Early in college during break he was working on an assembly line and figured out that he liked that kind of work less than he liked school. This motivated him to go to class, do assignments, and do what he was supposed to do. Lo and behold, Mark came out of his first year of college with grades he never knew he could achieve. He majored in criminology and thought he would join the state police. However, after consistently getting good grades he thought he might actually go to law school. Even though he stuck with criminology for his undergraduate degree, from the second semester of his freshman year he focused on law school. |
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Mark went on to attend Dickinson School of Law. His goal was to become a general practitioner and be in business for himself, just like his dad had done. Currently, Mark is mainly involved in criminal defense and family law. However, he is a true general practitioner and continues to handle a variety of other types of legal issues. It’s this diversity of practice areas that sustained him through the pandemic. As all attorneys can attest to, there’s always work to be done and a backlog to be addressed. It’s that work and backlog that provided Mark and his staff plenty to do during the pandemic. |
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After learning about his childhood and law practice, I was curious to know more about his family life and hobbies. Mark and his wife met during his last year of law school. She was an admissions counselor at Central Penn College. They were set up on a date by mutual friends. He met her for the first time at the restaurant at Mayapple Golf Links in Carlisle. She had one of her friends come along just in case he was lame. Luckily he wasn’t as lame as usual, so she stayed the whole evening and so did her friend. He must have really impressed her on their first date because a few years later, in 2004, they got married. Then in 2006 their first of three sons was born. Their second was born in 2008 and their third came along in 2014. Mark’s boys are very active playing tennis, going skiing and his youngest has become fixated on everything involving baseball. Since his boys enjoy those sports so much, Mark has taken them up as well. As much as Mark loved golfing, he likes spending time with his boys more. |
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With three kids involved in sports, I wondered how Mark and his wife keep up with it all, and how they handled having all three kids home during the pandemic. Mark explained that not long after having their second son, he and his wife thought it would be best for the family if she stayed home. It turned out to be a good decision for the family for a couple of reasons. First, about 7 – 8 years ago his mother-in-law had open-heart surgery and needed a place to recover. She came to live with them and for health reasons hasn’t been able to move back out on her own. Second, the pandemic hit. When so many families were trying to juggle working-from-home and helping their children attend school from home, Mark’s wife was able to focus on the kids. |
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Finally, I asked Mark what advice he would give to a young attorney just coming out of law school. His answer was simple but true – ‘Return phone calls.’ It makes the difference between a client greeting you in the courthouse with smile or something much worse. |
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Would you like to write for our monthly newsletter, the Causeway? |
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Coffee Corner Help Wanted |
Our monthly articles in the Coffee Corner section of the Causeway are brought to you by Annie Gómez Shockey, Brandon Copeland, and Erich Hawbaker.
Our newsletter committee, chaired by Annie, is looking for additional members to write 1-2 articles this coming year. Articles can be interviews with follow bar members (a great way to get to know your peers!) or interesting law/legal community topics.
If interested or to learn more please contact Annie Gómez Shockey.
Annie R. Gomez Shockey
Magisterial District Judge
Magisterial District Court 39-3-02
22 N. Oller Ave.
Waynesboro, PA 17268
Tel: 717-762-9411
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Admission Ceremony & Wingerd Award Pictures |
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Allison Marie Freeman, presented by Hon. Shawn D. Meyers |
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Karli M. Huber, presented by Bradley L. Griffie |
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Nicole S. Miller, presented by James M. Stein |
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Rachel M. Hepp, presented by Samuel E. Wiser, Jr. |
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John F. Enterline & Michael D. Wikoff, presented by Brittany R. Henderson |
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Judge Zook administers the attorney’s oath to candidates |
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Franklin County Bar Association president remarks by Tony Cosentino |
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Pennsylvania Bar Association president remarks by Jay N. Silberblatt |
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Young Lawyers Division representative remarks by Erich Hawbaker |
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Tony Cosentino presents Wingerd Award to Thomas B. Steiger Jr. |
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Thomas B. Steiger Jr. remarks |
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Tom Steiger & Tony Cosentino |
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President Judge Meyers & Tom Steiger |
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Jay Silberblatt & Tony Cosentino |
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Kristen Hamilton, Tony Cosentino & Jay Silberblatt |
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Franklin County Bar Association
100 Lincoln Way East, Suite E, Chambersburg, PA 17201
717-267-2032
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