Agenda

Registration:                        8:00 – 8:30 am

Morning Session:                8:30 am – 12:00 pm

Lunch (On your own):         12:00 – 1:00 pm

Afternoon Session:             1:00 – 5:00 pm

Contract Law Primer for Engineers 
N. Fox

    Reviewing the necessary elements of any contract
   Understanding contract “legalese”
      • Determining performance
      • What constitutes a breach of contract?
      • What are damages and remedies?
      • Liability-shifting contract provisions: warranties, guarantees and indemnities
   Making changes to contracts

A Primer on Engineering Ethics Issues in 
Professional Engineering Practice
A. Potter

   Introduction to engineering ethics
   Promoting health and welfare; conflicting duties; identifying and
      balancing economic pressures in design and construction; integrating
      new technologies and dealing with ethical obligations with incorporating
      new technologies; managing ethical obligations in design and construction
      phase services; identifying and balancing the benefits and risks

Professional Liability Law 
F. Miller Jr.

   Reviewing the grounds for professional liability claims
   Identifying who can bring a claim
   Examining common sources of professional liability claims
   Reviewing defenses to liability claims
   Determining damages
   Participating in dispute resolution: arbitration,mediation, litigation
   Obtaining Insurance coverage for professional liability claims

Intellectual Property Essentials for Engineers
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets
G. Grissett

   Securing ownership of your designs through patents, trademarks,
      copyrights, and trade secrets
   Leveraging your intellectual capital through licenses, franchises,
      and other technology agreements
   Policing intellectual property rights and preventing infringement
   Resolving intellectual property disputes

Developments in Federal and Pennsylvania Environmental Law 
S. Hann

   Reviewing recent changes to and enforcement of:
      • Pollution prevention
      • Water quality enforcement
      • Stormwater permitting
      • Watersheds, wetlands, lakes and streams
   Reviewing recent and anticipated developments at the US EPA and the
   Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Credits

This seminar provides 7.0 PDHs, including
1.0 Ethics hour, to professional engineers.

 Continuing Education Credit Information

This seminar is open to the public and provides 7.0 PDHs/continuing education hours, including 1.0 ethics hour, to professional engineers in Pennsylvania. Educators and courses are not subject to pre-approval in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania engineers can apply the ethics hour to their general continuing education requirement.

Professional engineers seeking continuing education for other states will be able to apply the hours earned at this seminar, in most cases. Refer to specific state rules to determine eligibility.

Attendance will be monitored and attendance certificates will be available after the seminar for most individuals who complete the entire event. Attendance certificates not available at the seminar will be mailed to participants within fifteen business days.

Speakers

Nathan Fox

Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law

Nathan Fox of Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law is a real estate, construction, and business lawyer. He represents developers, homebuilders, property owners, business owners, and construction clients in transactions and zoning and land development proceedings. He brings uniquely practical experience from his time as a project manager for two luxury homebuilders to zoning, land development, and construction matters. He has successfully represented and appeared on behalf of clients in the state and federal courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as before various municipalities in southeastern Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley, and New Jersey. Mr. Fox also represents financial institutions in commercial loan documentation. He works to bring a practical business-minded approach to all transactions on behalf of his clients. In addition to his private clients, Mr. Fox has served as the solicitor for Perkasie Borough, Chalfont Borough, and the Quakertown Borough Zoning Hearing Board, and has represented several other public entities. He has spoken to business groups and taught continuing education sessions in the construction industry.

Gregory Grissett

Offit Kurman, Attorneys at Law

Gregory Grissett helps businesses navigate complex intellectual property issues related to product development, marketing and capital investment, with experience spanning the apparel, textile, sporting goods, medical device, oil and gas, automotive, furniture, and consumer products industries. He has a rare combination of experience in the international and business aspects of intellectual property (IP). Mr. Grissett’s international perspective and practical experience help companies proactively manage IP development and enforcement issues unique to complex business operations.

Steven Hann, Esquire

Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell &I Lupin, PC

Mr. Hann focuses his practice on environmental law and municipal law, and chairs the firm’s Environmental Law Department. He represents a diverse client base, which includes municipal authorities, municipalities, business entities, builders and developers. Steve personally handles all facets of a sophisticated environmental law practice, such as environmental litigation with federal and state government agencies and private parties, advising/representing clients on regulatory, permitting and compliance matters, and guiding clients on environmental issues arising in business and real estate transactions. He provides clients with experienced counseling on federal and state legislative and regulatory developments.  Mr. Hann has developed an extensive practice in the area of municipal law, with a specific emphasis on municipal authorities. Steve is the East Region Solicitor (responsible for the eastern half of Pennsylvania) for the Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Association (“PMAA”), an organization representing the interests of over 700 municipal authorities in Pennsylvania.  He provides guidance to PMAA member authorities and firm clients on a variety of municipal authority-related matters, including general water, wastewater and environmental issues; stormwater management; permitting; regulatory compliance; sewage facilities planning; waste load management; board member issues; tapping fees and rates; water and sewer regulations; and, compliance with state law bidding and procurement requirements. Steve provides experienced counseling on various statutes, such as the Municipality Authorities Act, Sunshine Act, Right-to-Know Law and Ethics Act. He has been appointed as both solicitor and special counsel for municipal entities, and has been retained as both an expert and mediator in matters involving municipal authorities. He is a frequent author and speaker on both environmental law and municipal law-related issues.  

Franklin Miller

Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law

Franklin Miller, Jr., of Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law focuses his practice on the defense and representation of professionals in the design and construction industry. Mr. Miller has been involved in a wide variety of cases, including the defense of architects against serious personal injury/wrongful death claims arising from construction projects, the defense of design professionals from suits brought by property owners alleging design and construction defects and the defense of engineers related to their designs and calculations for integrated building systems such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire suppression. Mr. Miller graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2005 with a B.A. degree in Philosophy and a minor in Biology. Mr. Miller attended the Villanova University School of Law, where he received his J.D. degree in 2008. After law school, Mr. Miller was the law clerk to the Honorable Bernard A. Moore, of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. Over that time he assisted in both civil and criminal trials and appeals. Mr. Miller practiced for over four years in a Philadelphia-based defense litigation firm. In that time he represented clients in a broad assortment of tort and contract disputes, both in court and in arbitration hearings. Mr. Miller is licensed to practice in the state courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Anthony Potter

Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law

Anthony Potter focuses his practice on representation of design professionals in all phases of the construction process including contracting, risk allocation, pre-claim resolution, mediation, arbitration, and construction litigation. He provides counsel and representation to architects, engineers, and others on administrative law questions including professional licensing matters. He is a member of the Advisory Board for the Civil Engineering and Structural Design and Construction Engineering Technology Programs at Penn State Harrisburg. Mr. Potter is frequently called upon to provide seminars for design professionals and architectural and engineering students on loss prevention, standard form construction contract documents, construction litigation, professional licensing and professional ethics. He has represented clients before administrative agencies, the Commonwealth Court, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Previously, Mr. Potter was assistant general counsel to Governor Tom Ridge.