J. is an experienced attorney in Barley Snyder’s Litigation Practice Group, focusing on litigation, appellate matters and regulatory compliance. He believes that achieving favorable results requires thinking outside the box. Creativity, ingenuity and attention to detail are key to finding the best path forward. J. prides himself on being attentive, communicative, and focused on finding thoughtful, alternative solutions to reach clients’ desired outcomes. 

Litigation
J. assists clients with a diverse range of litigation matters, including breach of contract, real estate disputes, landlord-tenant issues, fiduciary matters and more. He is also a member of the firm’s Finance Creditors’ Rights Practice Group, where he handles bankruptcy and debt collection. J. has worked with contractors and corporate companies on their collection efforts and has defended his clients’ priority of mortgages and liens. He has also asserted the property rights of clients following a change of ownership in real property.  

Previously, J. was the lead litigator at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), where he successfully recovered over $15 million in taxpayer dollars through judgments, bankruptcy proceedings and settlement agreements. He also provided counsel during the City of Harrisburg’s financial recovery efforts, representing the DCED throughout the process.

Appellate
J. has extensive appellate experience, having secured victories on appeals in the Commonwealth Court, Superior Court and Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. His in-depth understanding of appellate procedure enables him to guide clients through every stage of the appellate process – from initial filings to post-decision motions. His background in handling administrative appeals and government proceedings adds to his proficiency in navigating complex appeals through administrative agencies and, when necessary, up through the courts.

Regulatory Compliance
J. provides business advisory services for state-issued licensure issues, advising clients on regulatory compliance and guiding them through the administrative process and appeals up through the courts when required.

Prior to his experience in Pennsylvania, J. served as a law clerk to the Hon. Michael J. Kassel in the New Jersey Superior Court. A Harrisburg native, J. is very active in the Dauphin County community and currently lives in Lancaster with his family. Outside of the firm, J. chairs the Dauphin County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section.  

View a sampling of J.’s litigation victories:
J. prevailed before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court appealing a trial court’s decision that satisfied our client’s $1.6 million judgment based on a Petition for Declaratory Judgment filed by the judgment debtor after the trial court had already upheld the judgment in two prior actions challenging the judgment. The Superior Court affirmed on the basis of the trial court’s opinion. J. filed a Petition to have the Pennsylvania Supreme Court review the lower court decision, which the Supreme Court only grants in about 6% of cases. J. argued that the lower court decisions would make all Pennsylvania judgments lack finality because a judgment debtor court strike the judgment by ignoring procedure and requiring the judgment creditor to relitigate the already decided case.  The Supreme Court agreed and vacated the lower court decision without requiring any briefing on the issue.

J. represented a large childcare provider that had a license to operate revoked following a single violation of the Human Services Code. The Department of Human Services revoked the facility’s license to operate without proper notice and without considering the provider’s long record of historical compliance. After the Department refused to reconsider its action, J. appealed the decision to the Commonwealth Court, arguing that the provider’s record of service and the Department’s failure to consider the lack of serious prior violations entitled it to a provisional license as a matter of law. After the hearing argument, the Commonwealth Court agreed and reversed the Department of Human Service’s revocation of the facility’s license, enabling the provider to continue to serve the community with an unblemished record.

J. represented a beneficiary of a trust that sold a large tract of land worth over $1.6 million.  After initially opposing the sale, the beneficiary agreed to consent to the sale under certain terms guarantying the beneficiary certain distributions in accordance with the trust, which was entered as an Order of Court.  In negotiating the sale, the trustees discovered that a portion of the property was not owned by the trust and proceeded with finalizing the sale without revealing the issue to the beneficiary, resulting in a substantial reduction in the beneficiary’s share of distributions.  J. brought a Petition for Contempt and to Enforce the Agreement wherein the beneficiary authorized the sale of the property.  After a bench trial, the Court ruled that the trustees had breached their fiduciary duties, enforced the terms of the agreement permitting the sale, and awarded compensatory damages and sanctions against the trustees for the breach of fiduciary duties.