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November
2010
 In the Fall of 2010, several members of the firm were again selected as 2010 Rhode Island and New England Super Lawyers.
Joe Cavanagh and Karen Pelczarski were recognized for General Litigation,
Steve Reid was recognized for Employment and Labor, and
Bill Landry was recognized for Land Use/Zoning.
In addition to being selected in the area of General Litigation, Joe Cavanagh was again named as one of the Top Ten Rhode Island Super Lawyers and was again the top point getter among those Top Ten. Super Lawyers also recognized one of our associates for the first time, identifying
Mary Cavanagh Dunn as an outstanding young lawyer (a Rhode Island and New England “Rising Star”). The
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has selected Karen
Pelczarski to serve as a member of its Court Rules Advisory
Committee. Members of this Committee make recommendations
regarding the rules of practice and internal operating procedure for the
First Circuit Court of Appeals and the First Circuit Judicial Council
and serve three year terms. Karen is the only Rhode Island
attorney serving on this Committee. Chambers USA has again recognized
our firm for performing outstanding work in the area of General Commercial Litigation, by listing the firm in its
2010 Clients’ Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
The current Clients' Guide describes Blish & Cavanagh as an
"excellent firm", with able trial attorneys who have expertise
in a wide range of subject matters. The Guide also recognizes Joe
Cavanagh and Karen Pelczarski individually. Joe Cavanagh
was sited as a "Star Individual" and described as a
"straight shooter" who is "compassionate and
practical" and held in high esteem by the Bench. Karen Pelczarski
is characterized as a trial lawyer who is experienced in a variety of
different areas, representing both plaintiffs and defendants.
On June 1, 2010, Karen Pelczarski was appointed to a 3 year term on the Board of Bar Admissions for the United States District Court for Rhode Island.
This board oversees the Court’s Attorney Admissions Program and administers a mandatory course of instruction on federal practice, including local practices and procedures.
Members of the board are assigned a specific area of practice in which the Court considers them an expert, and Karen was assigned to the Civil Procedure practice area.
Joe
Cavanagh, Bill Landry, and
Karen Pelczarski were
selected for inclusion in the current 15th edition of The Best Lawyers in
America (2009), which is the oldest and most respected peer-review
publication in the legal profession. Joe Cavanagh was also named as
the “Rhode Island Best Lawyers Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year for
2009”. Best Lawyers compiles its lists of outstanding attorneys by
conducting exhaustive peer-review surveys in which thousands of leading
lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers. Being named
a “Lawyer of the Year” indicates a lawyer has received particularly high
ratings in these surveys and has earned the respect of other lawyers for his
or her abilities, professionalism, and integrity.
On March 30, 2010, the Rhode Island Ethics Commission unanimously voted to appoint
Ed Alves as the Commission’s independent legal counsel.
The Ethics Commission is a constitutionally-mandated body authorized to adopt, administer, and enforce the State of Rhode Island’s Code of Ethics in Government.
Karen Pelczarski
is currently Co-Chairperson of the Rhode Island Bar
Association’s Superior Court Bench/Bar Committee. She has served
as a member of this committee for many years.
Ed Alves currently serves as Town Solicitor for the town of Smithfield, Rhode Island.
This will be Ed’s sixteenth year as Smithfield’s Town Solicitor, serving as the municipality’s chief legal representative and advisor.
Ed also served in the same capacity for the town of East Greenwich, Rhode Island for ten years.
Karen Pelczarski
is currently serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Music
School, Inc.
DECISIONS
AND OTHER MATTERS
The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently (June 30, 2010) affirmed a summary judgement decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island in favor of a swimming pool manufacturer.
Joe Cavanagh and Mary Dunn successfully demonstrated through discovery that the plaintiff had assumed the risk of injury by diving head-first into a shallow, above ground pool and convinced both courts that this products liability claim should be dismissed as a matter of law on that basis. The case is reported under the name Sheehan v. The North American Marketing Group.
To read the full
text of this decision, click
here.
On
July 7, 2010, the Rhode Island Superior Court affirmed a decision of the
Smithfield Zoning Board denying a local church the right to operate a
commercial fitness center within its regional high school
building. The Court shared the Board’s concern for student
safety. Ed Alves and Karen
Pelczarski represented the Zoning Board before the Superior
Court. This decision is reported as New Life Worship Center v.
Town of North Smithfield Zoning Board of Review, 2010 R.I. Super. LEXIS
101. To
read this decision online, click here.
On On March 12, 2010, the Providence Superior Court denied a developer’s request for injunctive relief against the Smithfield Planning Board and Town Planner, who had determined that the plaintiff’s subdivision application was incomplete.
Ed Alves, in his capacity as Town Solicitor, represented the municipal defendants before the Superior Court.
This decision is reported as Mesolella v. Phillips, 2010 R.I. Super. LEXIS 55.
To read this decision online, click here.
On January 6, 2010, the Providence Superior Court upheld the validity of a Smithfield ordinance limiting the number of residential units which may be sought through a comprehensive permit application filed with the Town’s Zoning Board.
Ed Alves represented the Town in his capacity as Town Solicitor.
The decision is reported as Sand Trace, LLC v. Rossi, 210 R.I. Super. Lexis 4.
To read this decision online, click here.
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