Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci P.C. Employment Law Chair Alan B. Epstein and Associate Adam Filbert secured a favorable ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on May 14, allowing the defamation case of our client, a former University of Pennsylvania professor, against the school to move forward. The decision was met with excellent coverage provided by both Law360 and The Legal Intelligencer.

Judge Gene E. K. Pratter said Penn leaders embraced “cancel culture” when they chastised then-anthropology professor Janet Monge for handling remains from the 1985 MOVE house bombing in Philadelphia.

Judge Pratter’s remarks came in her ruling greenlighting Monge’s claims that former Penn President Amy Gutmann and former Provost Wendell Pritchett defamed her by emailing a statement criticizing her for using the remains in an online anthropology course. The judge denied Penn’s motion to dismiss the claims that it defamed Monge through its reaction to accusations that she acted unethically in her handling of remains.

Judge Pratter ruled that Monge made plausible allegations that Penn acted out of actual malice when it issued the statement.

Alan B. Epstein is the Chair of Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci’s Employment Law Practice Group and concentrates his practice in civil litigation representation in the areas of employment rights, civil rights, and constitutional torts and the provision of transactional advice in all areas of corporate governance, including personalized advice to corporate officers, Boards and Board Members regarding adherence to state and federal regulations. He is frequently called upon to provide transactional advice to, negotiate employment contracts and severance agreements on behalf of, and litigate matters for, corporate entities, corporate officers and Directors, and licensed professionals (and their entities), including lawyers, doctors, bankers, accountants, pharmacists, and architects, as well as insurance, real estate, and security brokers.

Adam A. Filbert focuses his practice primarily on Employment Law and Commercial litigation. He has accumulated a diverse array of experiences, including those from his time spent with SGRV previously through Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law’s Co-Op program.

Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci P.C. has represented clients nationally and internationally for nearly 50 years and provides counsel and expertise across the entire spectrum of legal practice, from complex litigation to sophisticated transactional and corporate matters. The firm has offices in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Florida, and New York.

Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci P.C. is proud to announce that 12 of the firm’s attorneys have been selected to the 2024 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list, including one named to the Top 50 Women Pennsylvania Super Lawyers List, and one named to the Pennsylvania Rising Stars list.

Super Lawyers is an annual list of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selection for Super Lawyers includes peer nominations, a blue-ribbon panel review process, and independent research on candidates. Super Lawyers selects no more than five percent of the lawyers in Pennsylvania. The recipients are Chairman Paul R. Rosen; Shareholder and Director George M. Vinci Jr.; Managing Member Daniel J. Dugan; Employment Law Group Chair Alan B. Epstein; Estates & Trusts Group Chair Alan J. Mittelman; Bankruptcy & Creditors Rights Group Chair Leslie Beth Baskin; Employment Law Group Member Jennifer Myers Chalal (Top 50 Women Pennsylvania Lawyers); Corporate Law Group Member Stanley P. Jaskiewicz; Commercial Litigation and Real Estate & Real Estate Litigation Group Member Andrew J. DeFalco; Commercial Litigation Group Member Neal R. Troum; Senior Litigation Counsel Bruce Bellingham; and Employment Law Group and Commercial Litigation Associate Adam Filbert (Rising Star).

The Rising Stars list consists of the state’s top young lawyers. Candidates must be 40 years old or younger or have practiced for 10 years or less.

Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Super Lawyers Magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in their practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, go to SuperLawyers.com.

Spector Gadon Rosen Vinci P.C. has represented clients nationally and internationally for nearly 50 years and provides counsel and expertise across the entire spectrum of legal practice, from complex litigation to sophisticated transactional and corporate matters. The firm has offices in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Florida, and New York.

The firm represents businesses, corporate boards, and highly placed individuals. Its clients are engaged in a variety of industries including finance and banking, manufacturing, hospitality, gaming and entertainment, real estate and commercial development, insurance and venture capital, energy, financial services, health care, security, and telecommunications.

The firm’s practice areas include high-stakes litigation, business disputes, commercial litigation, professional liability, products liability, securities, trust and estates, fiduciary litigation, bankruptcy and creditors rights, civil RICO, trade secrets, trademark and restrictive covenants, intellectual property, antitrust, white-collar criminal defense, banking and financial services, corporate formation and governance, employment, entertainment and amusements, environment and energy, wealth management, healthcare, hospitality, insurance coverage and insured casualty litigation, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, real estate, sports and tax law.