Brandon J. Lee concentrates his practice on liquor law with a passion for the craft beverage industry.

Brandon supports our extensive Liquor Law, Manufacturing, and Distribution Practice Group. He handles regulatory work with various states’ alcoholic beverage control, the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB), and the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). He assists in the drafting and review of distribution contracts, production contracts, co-packing agreements, sales agreements, articles of incorporation, company by-laws, non-disclosure agreements, and vendor contracts. Brandon also advises manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers on trade practice issues.

Brandon further supports the Liquor Law, Manufacturing, and Distribution Practice Group in preparing for and handling inter-municipal liquor license transfer hearings, citation defenses, and beer rights litigation. He also renders assistance with all aspects of starting a small manufacturing business, including real estate, leasing, and zoning work.

While in law school, Brandon was an active member of the Pitt Law Women’s Association and the Sports and Entertainment Law Society, and volunteered for the New Law Student Orientation. He also spent three years as a dedicated volunteer for Forgotten Harvest, providing families in need with fresh, nutritious, and free food.

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Rebecca Warren devotes her practice to labor and employment, cybersecurity, business and corporate matters, and litigation.

As a former in-house corporate attorney, and having counseled businesses for over 25 years, Rebecca is keenly aware of the unique and varied legal needs of business clients, especially in today’s climate.  Rebecca is well-versed in providing legal strategy and guidance regarding daily business issues, as well as for challenges ranging from employment matters to third party disputes to pandemic-related impacts.

As a former elected official and prosecutor, Rebecca is well-positioned to sagely counsel clients in crisis management, internal and governmental investigations, charges and indictments, and regulatory and business compliance.

Rebecca has pursued certification in cybersecurity to more astutely advise businesses in: creating a culture of cyber awareness and data protection; assisting clients in the midst of a cyberattack; determining breach notifications required by law; and, guiding recovery post-attack.

Rebecca also handles all aspects of litigation for her clients, having appeared in court for over 30 years for hearings, non-jury trials, jury trials, mediations, arbitrations, appeals, and other legal proceedings.  She was formerly solicitor for various non-profit organizations and government agencies, and had regularly served as a county arbitration panel member and arbitration chairperson. She has represented prominent clients in high-stakes and multi-million-dollar cases at the county, state, and federal levels.

Prior to joining Norris McLaughlin, Rebecca had founded a multi-county law firm and real estate closing company, and was a partner in a Philadelphia firm.

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Christopher R. Gray focuses his practice in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, and income tax planning.

In addition, Christopher is experienced in corporate matters, business transactions, non–profit issues, health care governance, elder law, and general litigation. He represents high net-worth clients and their businesses in developing estate, gift, income tax, and succession planning strategies.

Prior to joining Norris McLaughlin, Christopher worked with a financial strategies company advising affluent private clients on business investments, multigenerational estate preservation, and wealth planning.

Christopher is a past officer of the Lehigh Valley Estate Planning Council, and currently serves on the Northampton Community College Foundation Board of Directors, where he is also Chair of its Planned Giving Committee.

With 25 years of experience, Christopher frequently presents on tax law and initiatives, estate planning tools and techniques, and asset protection.

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John D. Stanley had a long and distinguished career with Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. At the time of his retirement from Air Products, John was the Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Administrative Officer. In that role, he was responsible for the company’s law group, corporate secretary’s office, government and community relations (including philanthropy) group, and global trade compliance function and oversaw, at various times, the human resources, communications, information technology, business shared services, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate risk and security functions.

Throughout his career, John gained a wide-range of experience, providing legal counsel and support to business managers and executives on a wide range of corporate and commercial law matters, including commercial transactions, contracts, financings, joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures, general securities, internal investigations and other regulatory and employment law matters. His primary practice areas over the years include corporate, with emphasis on mergers and acquisition, joint ventures and other large global transactional work, both public and private; global antitrust and compliance; general commercial and employment law, including benefits and compensation issues and general employment litigation.

Over the years, John has been very involved in the community.  He currently chairs the Air Products Foundation Board of Trustees, is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Lehigh Valley Health Network, and is on the boards of the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority, the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park and DeSales University. John also serves on the Executive Committee for the Downtown Allentown Community Development Initiative and chairs the Advisory Council for the Building 21 of the Allentown School District.  He previously served at various times on the boards of the United Way of the Lehigh Valley, ArtsQuest, Easter Seals Eastern Pennsylvania and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lehigh Valley.

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The Honorable Emil Giordano (Ret.), Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group,  focuses his practice on estate and commercial litigation, and mediation and arbitration.

Judge Giordano served as a presiding judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County, Third Judicial District, from 2004 through 2018. He was Northampton County’s first administrative Judge of the Orphans’ County Division, overseeing estates and trusts of the county, and was named to the Statewide Orphans’ Court Task Force, an organization charged with implementing changes to Orphans’ Court. He was also the first Judge in Pennsylvania to institute guardianship certification requirements for the protection of senior citizens.

For fifteen years, Judge Giordano served as judge for many jury trials and non-jury trials, hearings and motions, and a wide range of disputes under Pennsylvania and Federal Law, including construction, commercial litigation, professional malpractice, CERCLA, Civil Rights, condemnations, labor and land use appeals, criminal, and domestic relations.

As an arbitrator and mediator, Judge Giordano is certified through Harvard Law School Negotiation Institute in Advanced Mediation, is a fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators, and is affiliated with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) Mediation. He serves as an arbitrator and mediator to the Judicial Roster, Real Estate, and Pennsylvania at Large ADR Panels of Distinguished Neutrals for the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution.

Judge Giordano is Vice-Chair of the Orphans’ Court Procedural Rules Committee for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He is a Diplomate Member for mediation for the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. Judge Giordano serves on the Board of Trustees of the Center for Guardianship Certification. He is also a member of the Board of Governors for Saint Thomas More Society and the Northampton County Bar Association Wills and Trusts Committee Lecturer. In 2005, Judge Giordano was the first judicial recipient to receive the Lehigh Valley Crime Victims Council Award for Outstanding Commitment to Victim’s Rights. He was also a recipient of the Bethlehem Catholic High School Distinguished Graduate Award. Judge Giordano received the Title IX Hearing Chairs Certification and Title IX Hearing Officer & Decision-Maker Certification from the Association of Title IX Administrators.

Born in Brooklyn to Italian immigrant parents, Judge Giordano was the first to attend high school and is a graduate of Bethlehem Catholic High School. A proud Moravian College alumnus, he currently serves as an Adjunct Professor for Undergraduate classes.

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David Berger concentrates his practice on business, real estate, and liquor law.

David actively counsels clients on general business topics including organization and formation, corporate governance, lease negotiations, restructurings, and finance.

A licensed title agent, David works closely with lenders, real estate developers, and homebuilding companies. He handles both residential and commercial real estate development including acquisitions, land use and zoning matters, title review, and other due diligence requirements.

In his liquor law practice, David handles sale and purchase of liquor licenses and provides transactional counseling, including defending licenses who have received citations from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement.

Prior to joining the firm, David was a senior associate at Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Cappelli LLC, specializing in liquor law, real estate development, and commercial transactions.

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Arnold L. Bartfeld primarily focuses his practice in the area of real estate and finance. He represents institutional lenders and developers in real estate financings, as well as in commercial banking transactions.

Arnold has experience representing clients in real estate joint ventures in connection with financing and refinancing; developers in acquisitions and the privatization of public housing projects; and banks with construction loans. In addition, he has experience assisting commercial and residential condo developers in acquisitions and loans.

Arnold is also experienced in complex and multi bank restructurings and workouts of real estate and commercial credit transactions.

Prior to joining the firm, Arnold was a partner at Reed Smith and Anderson Kill & Olick, P.C. He also served as General Counsel for European American Bank and Fidelity Bank, N.A.

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Milan Slak focuses his practice on business law, estate and succession planning, and all areas of taxation.

A licensed CPA, Milan works to achieve client goals in a tax-efficient manner. He handles corporate, partnership, individual, and international taxation matters, and resolves tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities. He assists clients with tax controversies including audits, administrative appeals, refund claims, penalty abatement, offers in compromise, voluntary disclosures, and civil tax litigation. He works closely with clients on tax planning initiatives and transactions involving federal and state tax law; mergers and acquisitions; capital investments; corporate, limited liability company, and partnership structuring; operation, reorganization, and termination; the use and taxation of trusts; and estate and succession planning for owners of closely-held businesses and franchise owners.

Milan assists in the formation and organization of business entities, including S and C corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships, and working with clients to structure the governing documents for these entities. He provides counsel on business transactions including mergers, acquisitions, and entity formation; corporate governance and due diligence matters; tax-exempt and conventional financings; and drafts business planning documents; contracts; and operating and shareholder agreements.

Milan also helps clients to design and implement estate, succession, and gifting plans and strategies. He drafts wills, lifetime and testamentary trusts, durable powers of attorney, and advance directives for health care. He handles all aspects of estate administration including probate, preparation of fiduciary income tax returns, estate tax returns, and inheritance tax returns.

He helps clients take maximum advantage of available investment tax credits and other tax incentives, especially solar and other renewable energy projects.

Milan also speaks locally on topics including capitalization structure, tax provisions of recent federal tax legislation; the taxation of S corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships; and estate planning. He conducts regular Continuing Professional Education for Certified Public Accountants.

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Robert Donatelli has over forty years of experience in estate administration, wills and trusts, and real estate law.

Bob helps clients with all aspects of estate planning and administration, from estate planning—will preparation, tax issues, guardianships, powers of attorney, living wills, living trusts, and special needs trusts—to estate administration, the process of probate, valuing, and managing the estate, executing decisions on guardianship and conservatorship.

In the area of real estate law, Bob advises clients on matters of residential and commercial sales transactions, real estate contracts, mortgages, re-finances, foreclosures, eminent domain, title insurance, and title disputes.  Bob handles land use, zoning, and permit matters.

Bob is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell®. He is a member of the Ethics Board of the City of Allentown and a former solicitor of the Register of Wills of Lehigh County.  He is active in the Bar Association of Lehigh County, where he served as President in 1985, and is a member of the Barristers Inn of Court, where he also served as President.

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Rebecca J. Price is a Member of the firm in its Litigation and Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Practice Groups since she joined Norris McLaughlin in 2007.

As a litigator, Rebecca has experience in every facet and level of civil court proceedings. She has participated in numerous jury and bench trials in Pennsylvania’s state courts, as well as in the United States District and Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern and Middle District Courts of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey. Rebecca has also been appointed as Solicitor of the Lehigh County Board of Tax Assessment Appeals.

Rebecca has also represented a diverse and sophisticated set of clients in these multiple jurisdictions, ranging from international corporations in complex commercial litigation to young newlyweds in residential construction disputes, as well as a myriad of different business and consumer clients in between. Her extensive experience includes representing clients in complex business litigation, contract disputes, landlord/tenant matters, construction litigation, and personal injury matters.

As a result of the size and nature of the firm and its clientele, Rebecca’s experience in these matters is not limited to one side of a dispute. For instance, she has represented both plaintiffs and insurance companies in personal injury matters. Rebecca has represented both consumers and contractors in consumer protection claims. She has represented both landlords and tenants, banks and borrowers, companies, and individuals. The breadth of Rebecca’s experience enables her to examine issues absent the lens of a predisposed bias, thus allowing her to more fully appreciate the issues presented, from all perspectives.

With respect to her bankruptcy and creditors’ rights practice, Rebecca represents local and out-of-state banks in bankruptcy, complex foreclosures, receiverships, and asset recovery matters, including negotiating deed in lieu transfers and confession of judgment proceedings. She is trained to perform work for Fannie Mae. Rebecca has also defended clients in actions to open or strike judgments entered by confession and she has also defended claims arising out of state and federal fair debt collection laws in both the state and federal courts.

Rebecca is proficient in handling multifaceted commercial collection matters on behalf of local and out-of-state businesses. She has also well versed in the duties arising under the federal and state Fair Debt Collection Practices Acts. Rebecca has given seminars to teach businesses the legal requisites, consumer rights, and best practices for the collection of outstanding accounts receivable. She is experienced in litigating collection matters and executing upon judgments obtained on behalf of her clients.

Beyond her practice, Rebecca is devoted to issues affecting underprivileged youth in Lehigh County. She initially volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, where she advocated for children in foster care. Rebecca also serves as Conflict Counsel for Lehigh County’s Juvenile Dependency Court. In that role, she regularly represents the interests of underprivileged children. In addition to other non-profits, Rebecca also ardently supports two organizations devoted to assisting Lehigh County children, the Kindness Project and Parkland C.A.R.E.S. Food Pantry.

Previously, Rebecca spent two years on the Board for Lehigh Valley Active Life, an organization that promotes social and physical activity for the County’s older population.

In an effort to promote her lifetime passion for the arts, Rebecca currently serves on the Civic Theatre Board of Directors, where she is Co-Chair of the Kapital for Kids Campaign, which seeks to raise funds to renovate the space dedicated to children’s programming inside the historic 17^th Street Theatre. She was also elected the Secretary of the Board in September 2020 and plans to continue in that role through 2021.

When Rebecca is not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband, JP, and their three children, Jack, Evelyn, and Price. They especially enjoy time together spent outdoors – hiking the Trexler Game Preserve, skiing at Bear Creek, and boating on Lake Erie in the summer. She is also an avid reader, baker, euchre player, and college football watcher.

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