Pennsylvania Causes of Action 2024

Gaetan J. Alfano is a partner with Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP. A fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, he has tried hundreds of cases to verdict in state and federal court and has significant appellate experience. He represents clients in commercial and employ­ment disputes, insurance insolvency, receivership matters, internal investigations, and white collar criminal defense cases. Prior to private practice, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia.

The 2016 Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, Mr. Alfano has litigated numerous cases involving business disputes among law firms and attorneys, including dissolutions, separations, client retention and transition, fee disputes, advertising, unfair competition, and malicious prosecution claims. He regularly defends attorneys in professional liability and disciplinary matters.

With dozens of reported cases, he has amassed a significant record of results for his clients during his over 35 years of diverse trial experience including: a reinsurance recovery case with a post-trial settlement of $44.9 million—the largest reinsurance recovery in Pennsylvania history at the time; an SEC receivership in which he tried a private contribution claim under Section 10(b) to verdict; a $3 billion insolvency representing the Pennsylvania Insurance Department as liquidator; an employment-related action representing a law firm in Pennsylvania state court; and a trial to verdict under the Pennsylvania Whistleblower Act.

Mr. Alfano has received numerous peer awards and honors and has been selected as one of the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers^® from 2004 through 2023, an honor reserved for 5 percent of the Pennsylvania Bar; he was selected as one of The Best Lawyers in America^® 2023 for his work in Bet-the- Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Employment, and Litigation.

Mr. Alfano has spoken nationally on litigation topics, and is a co-author of Pennsylvania Causes of Action, currently in its 12th edition.

Ronald J. Shaffer is a Senior Counsel with the law firm of Fox Rothschild in their Philadelphia office. A seasoned trial lawyer, he has represented clients in state and federal courts across the country, and is adept at successfully managing client interests both in and out of a courtroom. Mr. Shaffer has significant experience in alternative dispute resolution. He has represented clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies with international operations in complex commercial disputes to family-owned businesses with regional operations.

Mr. Shaffer handles a broad range of commercial litigation matters, including various types of intellectual property disputes, trade secrets, securities, class actions, as well as corporate and shareholder disputes.

Mr. Shaffer is a former chair of the firm’s Litigation Department (2001 to 2007) and has served on the firm’s Executive Committee. Prior to joining Fox Rothschild, he was a judicial law clerk with the Hon. Robert N. C. Nix, Jr., Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Shaffer has authored many articles, including “15 Simple E-Discovery Protocols for In-House Counsel and Businesses,” and has been included in a list of “Super Lawyers” by Philadelphia Magazine and Law & Politics Magazine (2006 through 2016), as well as the 2019 Edition of Best Lawyers in America.

Joshua C. Cohan is an attorney at the Philadelphia law firm of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky. Mr. Cohan provides unmatched representation and support to clients who have suffered serious injury or loss as a result of someone else’s negligence. Over the course of his legal career, Mr. Cohan, who is a founding member of his firm’s mass tort and toxic tort litigation team, has successfully handled numerous mass tort, class action, and individual cases on behalf of innocent victims adversely affected by toxic environmental exposures as well as through the use of defective and dangerous pharmaceutical drugs, medical devices and other products.

From his efforts, Mr. Cohan has recovered substantial compensation for his clients, and he has gained a reputation for his fierce advocacy and unmitigated commitment to those he serves. Honored for his outstanding professionalism and service, he has earned Top 40 Under 40 Civil Plaintiff Lawyer designations for consecutive years from The National Trial Lawyers^® and has been named a Pennsylvania Rising Star by Super Lawyers^® from 2019 through 2023. He also has received recognition from Best Lawyers^® as one of the Best Mass Tort Lawyers in Pennsylvania from 2019 through 2023 and one of the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in Pennsylvania in 2022 and 2023, along with many other top rankings and endorsements from his peers.

Mr. Cohan regularly contributes to The Legal Intelligencer, authoring articles on products liability cases as well as an array of other topics impacting the legal community. In addition to authoring Pennsylvania Causes of Action, he has been a contributing author for the Library of Pennsylvania Personal Injury Forms (5th Edition 2015). He is an active member of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and the American Association for Justice, among his other professional affiliations, and he holds his license to practice law in New Jersey as well as Pennsylvania.