Archives: Team

Biography:

Mr. Dion concentrates his practice in real estate matters including the acquisition, sale, financing, leasing, entitlement/land use, construction and litigation arising from or related thereto. He advises clients in all aspects of real estate development including the evaluation of construction budgets/timelines, due diligence, environmental matters, yield analysis, planning, zoning and all federal, state and local permits/approvals.

Mr. Dion joined Silverang, Rosenzweig & Haltzman, LLC after almost thirty years of experience in real estate through his representation of numerous governmental agencies along with both public and private developers. He ran the land department for a national home builder where he oversaw the acquisition, entitlement and construction of thousands of residential units. He then went on to privately develop in excess of two million square feet of commercial/retail space.

Mr. Dion’s experience in representing governmental agencies, public and private developers; running a land department and privately developing commercial/retail space uniquely qualifies him to guide his clients through the nuances and challenges of developing all types and manner of real estate.

Mr. Dion is admitted to practice before the state courts in Pennsylvania and before the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Villanova University and obtained his Juris Doctor from Pennsylvania State University, The Dickinson School of Law.

Representative Practice:

• Defended various governmental agencies against challenges to land use and zoning regulations.
• Represented numerous Fortune 500 companies in the acquisition, sale, leasing, entitlement and construction of hundreds of development projects.
• Developed over 3,000 residential lots, including multi-family, in the Tri-State area.
• Developed in excess of two million square feet of commercial/retail space valued at over 475 million dollars.

Biography:

Joshua E. Beldner is an associate attorney with the firm. He concentrates his practice on commercial real estate transactions, with particular experience in acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, and financing. Joshua routinely represents developers, investors, lenders, landlords and tenants in all aspects of their real estate activities. Joshua also possesses significant experience in residential real estate and title insurance matters.

Mr. Beldner joined Silverang, Rosenzweig & Haltzman, LLC after working for several years as an associate attorney at Lerner & Holmes PC, a boutique commercial real estate law firm in Boston. At Lerner & Holmes PC, he worked for a wide range of developers, investors, investment advisers and institutional owners in all aspects of their real estate and development activities.

Mr. Beldner holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Physics from Boston University and subsequently obtained his Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law. He is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts. He lives in Audubon, Pennsylvania with his wife and daughters.

Biography:

Kevin D. McGowan, Jr. focuses his practice in the areas of real estate and commercial litigation. Kevin’s practice is complimented by his experience as a law clerk in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, Civil Division. In the context of his clerkship, Kevin was heavily involved in drafting of decisions, opinions, and orders, as well as conducting extensive legal research. In addition to his clerkship, Kevin has experience in the public sector with the Philadelphia Housing Authority, as well as experience with intellectual property law as a law clerk for Eckert Seamans, Cherin, & Mellot, LLC in their intellectual property group. Kevin is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, as well as federal practice in the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania.

Kevin earned his law degree from the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law in 2017 where he was a Rising Advocate Scholar. He graduated with honors in his Business and Entrepreneurship law concentration. In addition to this Business and Entrepreneurship law concentration, Kevin completed a wide range of intellectual property coursework, covering trademarks and trade secrets, copyrights, and patents.

Kevin attended Saint Joseph’s University for his undergraduate education where he earned a B.S. in psychology with a heavy focus in life sciences. While at Saint Joseph’s, Kevin co-founded the first collegiate level and university recognized Gaelic Football team in the nation and was an executive member of the men’s and women’s basketball booster clubs. After graduation, he coached the Gaelic Football team in a volunteer capacity for a number of years. He is still active in the alumni association at Saint Joseph’s, being a member of the Law Alumni Affinity Chapter of the alumni association. In addition to his activity in the Law Alumni Affinity Chapter, Kevin is also a member of the Brehon Law Society.

Kevin grew up in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, and currently resides in Ardmore, Pennsylvania with his wife.

Biography:

Genevieve McCormack is a senior associate attorney for the firm. Genevieve’s professional experience includes complex commercial litigation, government contract disputes, international human rights litigation, labor and employment law, environmental litigation, nonprofit 501(c)(3) experience. She has expertise in a wide range of motions practice, and is involved in drafting extensive briefs and pleadings in both federal and state courts. Genevieve also serves as a volunteer for the Pennsylvania branch of the Wills for Heroes program where she drafts testamentary documents for first responders and their loved ones throughout Pennsylvania.

Genevieve’s experience includes the general litigation and white collar criminal defense departments of major national and international law firms, including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP; Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP; Beveridge & Diamond PC; and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.

Genevieve has been a professor of advanced legal methods at Widener University School of Law. She has also held prestigious federal clerkships with the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Genevieve graduated cum laude from Princeton University, where she was awarded the Caroline Picard Memorial Prize in Politics. At the University of Virginia School of Law, Genevieve was a member of the Virginia Law Review, a Dillard Fellow, and the recipient of the Bracewell & Patterson prize for outstanding oral advocacy.

Biography:

Mr. Hanford’s practice is concentrated in general business and corporate law, real estate transactions, asset-based lending and corporate finance, creditors’ rights, and environmental law. Mr. Hanford also specializes in healthcare-related transactions, including acquisition and finance of long term care facilities and surgical, dialysis and imaging centers throughout the northeastern United States.

Mr. Hanford has also lectured on a wide variety of corporate and real estate related topics, including the Pennsylvania realty transfer tax, landlord-tenant law and the formation and operation of “captive” insurance companies.

Mr. Hanford joined Silverang, Rosenzweig & Haltzman, LLC after twenty-three years of solo law practice. Prior to starting his own firm, he was an associate at Fox Rothschild O’Brien & Frankel’s Philadelphia office and at Pelino & Lentz.

In addition to his legal affiliations, Mr. Hanford has been a member of Committee E-51, Environmental Standards and Practices, of the American Society of Testing and Materials, and has been actively involved in many non-legal business ventures, including as a founder and developer of the Royal Oaks Golf Club in Lebanon, Pennsylvania and several residential real estate developments in Central Pennsylvania, as principal of Land Settlement Services, Inc., a real estate title insurance agency, and as President of Lebanon Screen Printing, Inc., a textile printing and finishing company.

Mr. Hanford is admitted to practice before the state courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and before the United States District Court for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and its Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Business Law and Environmental Law Sections.

Mr. Hanford holds a B.A. in English, cum laude with Honors, from Tulane University and a J.D. from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law.

Representative Matters:

• Negotiated and closed the acquisition of four nursing facilities from a nursing home chain in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
• Successfully argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a case of first impression that established real estate tax exemption for all components of a non-profit, continuing care retirement community.
• Co-counsel in the acquisition of thirteen magnetic resonance imaging centers in Delaware and Pennsylvania.
• Borrower counsel in the corporate restructuring, partial divestment and refinancing of a multi-modality imaging center business
• Purchaser counsel in the acquisition of eighteen magnetic resonance imaging centers in Florida.
• Negotiated and drafted a design and intellectual property agreement between a high-end, custom kitchen manufacturer and several well-known restaurant chefs for installation of chef “signature” custom kitchens.
• Designed and implemented a development financing facility using the income stream from a private issue municipal bond as collateral.
• Negotiated the settlement of a multi-million dollar environmental liability claim for less than ten percent of the claim; successfully negotiated defense and indemnity coverage under an 18 year old “occurrence” insurance policy.

Biography:

Bill is a pragmatic problem solver and trusted advisor with a proven track record of success, helping his clients navigate complex disputes, or, ideally, avoiding them.

Much of Bill’s practice focuses on litigating high stakes commercial disputes in state and federal courts throughout the country, as well as a before commercial arbitration panels, with a particular focus on real estate, construction, and shareholder disputes.

Bill is also highly skilled in transactional real estate, providing clients with comprehensive support on property acquisitions, development projects, lease agreements, and financing arrangements. He also serves as outside corporate counsel to a number of businesses in a variety of sectors.

Prior to joining the firm Bill was a partner with a prominent New Jersey firm, and prior thereto, an associate with a Boston, Massachusetts firm.

Bill received his bachelor’s degree from Emory University, and his Juris Doctorate from Temple University. He is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts (inactive).

Biography:

Malcolm has a national litigation and counseling practice in which he represents businesses in complex commercial and employment-related cases at all stages of proceedings, from initial filings through trial. Malcolm leads the firm’s labor and employment practice. He is frequently retained to represent commercial entities for issues that go to the very core of their business model, where a loss in litigation could fundamentally and detrimentally affect their entire business. His broad experience representing businesses in a gamut of matters, from financial issues, to employment and workforce issues, to proprietary business issues, allows him to not just focus on the narrow issue at hand, but to also evaluate and counsel clients on the potential ramifications across their business.

His business litigation and counseling practice includes representing companies in litigation relating to commercial contracts and business disputes; defending companies and developers against a multitude of claims, ranging from breach of contract, to RICO and fraud; representing companies in connection with administrative actions by governmental bodies; defending banking and trust companies against claims of breach of fiduciary duty; supervising internal corporate investigations; representing owners and contractors in construction and building industry disputes; and, representing individuals and companies in connection with shareholder disputes, including oppression of minority shareholders.

His employment and labor practice includes advising clients on day-to-day compliance with labor and employment laws and regulations; litigating civil rights and employment cases including claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and retaliation; defending class, and representative actions involving civil rights, employment and wage and hour claims; counseling, handling, and litigating labor relations issues including collective bargaining negotiations, unfair labor practice proceedings, arbitrations, strikes, picketing, and related injunction proceedings; designing and enforcing policies and agreements to protect confidentiality and non-solicitation and post-employment competition, and litigating claims for breach of non-compete agreements, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of fiduciary duty, and related torts.

Malcolm also has extensive experience acting as local counsel for outside firms and parties involved in litigation in the Pennsylvania state courts and in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer “Rising Star” in Law & Politics and Philadelphia Magazines.

Some of the reported decisions in which Malcolm has secured victories for clients in the lower courts and/or secured victory on appeal include:

• Leap v. Yoshida, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57819 (E.D.Pa. Apr. 29, 2016)(securing Court approval of FLSA and related state law class action settlement for restaurant client);
• Note Acquisition, LLC v. Morrison, 2015 WL 6870607, 134 A.3d 481 (Pa.Super.Ct. Nov. 6, 2015)(protecting on appeal confessed judgment entered against borrower on note for failed restaurant/development venture);
• Turchi v. Phila. Bd. of License & Inspection Review, 2015 WL 3458376, 114 A.3d 900 (Pa.Commw.Ct. May 15, 2015)(securing reversal of lower court and gaining appellate court-ordered approval of proposed real estate development project in Philadelphia involving historically certified building);
• Mfrs. & Traders Tr. Co. v. Jenner’s Commons, LLC, 2014 WL 7801303, 113 A.3d 339, (Pa.Super.Ct. Nov. 3, 2014)(securing reversal of trial court on appeal and having multi-million dollar confessed judgment against borrower and guarantors of commercial real estate development loan stricken in its entirety);
• Crider, Inc. v. Keystone Foods LLC, 2011 WL 4929754 (S.D.Ga. October 17, 2011) (partial summary judgment for client in business dispute eliminating over $25 million in claims and allowing for beneficial settlement on the eve of trial);
• Tilkin & Cagen, Inc. v. United Metal Receptacle Corp., 593 F.Supp.2d 996 (N.D.Ill. December 30, 2008) (summary judgment for client on all claims in business dispute);
• Burks v. Equity Group-Eufaula Div., LLC, 571 F. Supp. 2d 1235 (M.D. Ala. 2008) (partial summary judgment for client in class action eliminating millions of dollars of potential claims and positioning the case for settlement on beneficial terms to client);
• Abdullah v. Equity Group-Georgia Div., LLC, 2006 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 74721 (M.D.Ga. Oct. 12, 2006), aff’d sub nom, Albritton v. Cagle’s Inc., 508 F.3d 1012 (11th Cir. 2007), reh’g en banc denied, 261 Fed. Appx. 280 (11th Cir. 2008) (dismissal of class action and multi-plaintiff claims in their entirety);
• Anderson v. Cagle Foods JV, LLC, 2005 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 41747 (M.D.Ga. Dec. 8, 2005), aff’d, 488 F.3d 944 (11th Cir. 2007), cert. denied,128 S.Ct. 2902 (2008) (summary judgment for client on all claims in a class action, eliminating claims exceeding $40 million);
• United Products Corp. v. SEPTA, 2005 Bankr. LEXIS 3319 (Bankr. E.D.Pa. Aug. 17, 2005) (summary judgment for client on contract-related claims);
• Adkins v. Cagle Foods JV, LLC, 411 F.3d 1320 (11th Cir. 2005)(summary judgment for client on all claims for client in lawsuit alleging fraud, breach of contract and violation of RICO);
• Wheeler v. Cagle Foods JV, LLC, 148 Fed. Appx. 760; 2005 U.S.App.LEXIS 10870 (11th Cir. June 8, 2005) (summary judgment for client on all claims for client in lawsuit alleging fraud, breach of contract and violation of RICO);
• Mims v. Cagle Foods JV, LLC, 148 Fed. Appx. 762; 2005 U.S.App.LEXIS 11579 (11th Cir. June 15, 2005) (summary judgment for client on all claims for client in lawsuit alleging fraud, breach of contract and violation of RICO);
• Glass v. Cagle’s Inc., et al, 143 Fed.Appx. 300, 2005 U.S.App.LEXIS 20488 (11th Cir. Apr. 5, 2005), rehearing en banc denied, 2005 U.S.App.LEXIS 23491 (11th Cir. June 1, 2005), cert. denied, 546 U.S. 1061 (Dec. 5, 2005 ) (summary judgment for client on all claims for client in lawsuit alleging fraud, breach of contract and violation of RICO);
• County of Delaware v. J.P. Mascaro & Sons, Inc., 830 A.2d 587 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2003), appeal granted, 854 A.2d 968, aff’d without opinion, 873 A.2d 1285 (Pa. 2005) (trial victory for client defended through Pennsylvania Supreme Court).

Malcolm received his law degree in 1997 from Washington University, where he was the Managing Editor of the Journal of Law and Policy (f/k/a Journal of Urban & Contemporary Law) and a semi-finalist in the Wiley Rutledge Moot Court Competition. He graduated with high honors from Lehigh University in 1994, with a B.S. in economics and finance. While at Lehigh, he was a member of the Track and Field team and received numerous awards and recognitions, including the prestigious University Service Award and the Interfraternity Council Man of the Year Award.

Malcolm resides in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, with his wife and three daughters. He is active in the Temple American Inn Of Court, St. Andrews Society of Philadelphia, North Ardmore Civic Association and has coached numerous girls’ soccer teams for Lower Merion Soccer Club.