The COVID-19 pandemic has turned every profession upside down, including the law. People are in crisis, and they don’t know what they qualify for or what forms to file. After all, trying to keep up with the government’s many changes is a daunting endeavor.
So what is it like right now being a lawyer in
Senior year is a rite of passage for high school students and is typically filled with special memories like prom, celebrations with friends, and of course, that walk across the stage signifying the culmination of 12 years of hard work. For the 2020 graduates, though, this year has been anything but typical.
Front yards
The attorneys of Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP are pleased to welcome Nichole M. Baer to their legal practice. Nichole is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and Stetson University, College of Law. While in law school, Nichole interned with the Honorable Amy Williams, an appellate judge for the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida and
Attorneys at Russell, Krafft & Gruber took part in the Community Wellness Expo at the Hempfield Rec Center on March 8. Attorneys Lindsay Schoeneberger, Kathy Krafft Miller and Kim Carter Paterson provided information and answered questions about Wills, Estate Planning, Financial Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives and Powers of Attorney. Health Care Directives and Powers of Attorney are an important but often overlooked part of health planning. Everyone, regardless of their age or their current health status, should have a plan for what happens if things go wrong. Even though it is unpleasant to talk about, it is much more unpleasant to have an emergency with no plan in place.
Continue Reading Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP takes part in the Hempfield Community Wellness Expo
The past few weeks have been challenging for everyone. We know that each of our clients has been impacted in different ways. As we work to help you with the questions and concerns that arise with new developments every day, rest assured that we are still here to help. Our three physical office locations are
For the first time, you can now cast your ballot by mail. Recently enacted election reform laws now allow all registered voters in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to vote by mail. Prior to the change in the law, only voters who obtained an absentee ballot, after explaining why they were unable to vote in person, could vote by mail. Now, anyone who wishes to, regardless of whether they are or are not able to make it to their polling place, can vote by mail.
You can check your voter registration status online to determine if you are registered to vote and where your polling place is. You can also register to vote online or by mailing a voter registration form to your county voter registration office.
Continue Reading Get Out The Vote (Or Stay In And Vote From Home)
I have been thinking a lot lately about all of the new “holidays” that are being invented. While I am all for celebrating National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day and National Sibling Day, I am having a hard time keeping up. While scrolling through Facebook recently to catch up on all the cute baby pictures my friends have been posting, I saw a notice from the Facebook Privacy Team about “Data Privacy Day.” Turns out, Data Privacy Day is an annual event that occurs each year on January 28th.
This announcement from Facebook got me thinking about how private my online presence is across all of my personal accounts. Although I am very cautious about my social media privacy settings, only allowing my “friends” and approved followers to view my content, I am not so sure about how secure my other accounts really are. So, I decided, to go all in on celebrating Data Privacy Day.
Continue Reading Something to Celebrate: Data Privacy Day!
At the beginning of last year, I wrote one of my favorite posts about why getting a mentor should be your New Year’s resolution. In a nutshell, that article posited that we live in a world full of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, and one of the best ways to help you through it was to find a trusted advisor. In my view, an essential quality of a great mentor is knowing the limits of their expertise and working as a team with others to achieve the best result for the mentee.
This year I’ve decided to ditch the New Year’s resolution concept and implement a yearly theme, inspired by the Theme System. My 2020 theme is the Year of Teamwork. I want to focus on teamwork because I’ve found that the most rewarding relationships I’ve had are when I’ve been a part of a team, where there’s been give and take by each teammate, all working towards a common goal. These relationships lead to successful outcomes.
I’ve been part of teams for as long as I can remember: little league baseball, my Boy Scout Troop, lacrosse, my family, our firm. I’ve been a part of high performing teams, and teams that fell short of their potential. I think it’s always been my goal to be a good teammate, but sometimes it’s easy to lose focus of your individual role while you’re focusing on the bigger picture.
Continue Reading The Year of Teamwork
The law firm of Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP has named Brandon S. Harter a Partner effective January 1, 2020.
Brandon uses an efficient, tech-savvy approach to provide quality legal counsel to his business, municipal, and individual clients. And for Brandon’s clients in the tech sector, his love of technology brings an additional level of understanding about the unique challenges they face.
Brandon’s practice regularly involves handling lawsuits in the Pennsylvania and federal courts. In those disputes, his eDiscovery knowledge provides an invaluable resource to improve his client’s chances of victory. Brandon also serves as a discovery master who is appointed by the Court to help other lawyers resolve their discovery disputes.
Outside the litigation arena, Brandon’s practice regularly includes reviewing contracts and providing advice on employment law and municipal law issues. Brandon’s unique experience and perspective are invaluable to his clients on privacy, data security, and social media issues that increasingly arise for both private businesses and public entities.
Continue Reading Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP has named Brandon S. Harter a Partner of the firm
In the past, I’ve written about why you should care about legal writing – it can help you avoid costly mistakes. Sometimes the entire legal effect of a document can hinge on something as seemingly inconsequential as a comma. Today’s post focuses on another simple tip, but one that could prevent fraud in various ways.