Leadership

Through their leadership roles in professional legal organizations, Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky attorneys regularly give back to the legal profession.

For example, both Robert J. Mongeluzzi and Michael F. Barrett have served as President of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. Carmen Belefonte, the Managing Attorney of the Delaware County Office, also served as President of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice.

The late Stephen T. Saltz served on the Board of Governors of both the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association and the Philadelphia Bar Association. Larry Bendesky, Managing Shareholder, and Donna Lee Jones, Partner, currently serve on the Boards of both the Pennsylvania Association for Justice and the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association.

Mr. Mongeluzzi also founded and Co-Chairs the American Association for Justice's Crane and Aerial Lift Litigation Group and its Electrical Accident Group. Partner David L. Kwass also Co-Chairs the Crane and Aerial Lift  Group. Partner Eunice Trevor, meanwhile, founded and Co-Chairs the AAJ's Burn Injury Litigation Group.

SMBB attorneys' current and past service to the legal profession includes:

Robert J. Mongeluzzi, Founder and Shareholder

Current service:

• Founder and co-chairman of both the American Association for Justice's:
  • Crane and Aerial Lift Litigation Group, and
  • Electrical Accident Group

Past service:

• President, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
• Board of Governors, American Association for Justice

Michael F. Barrett, Shareholder

Current service:

• Board of Directors, Philadelphia Bar Foundation
• Trustee, Committee for A Better Tomorrow,  the political action committee of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association

Past service:

• President, President-Elect, Vice President and Board Member, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
• Hearing Committee Chairman, Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Board of Governors, Pennsylvania Association for Justice
• Co-Chairman, Medico-Legal Committee, Philadelphia Bar Association
• Chair, Brennan Award Committee, Philadelphia Bar Association
• Group Captain and Master, Villanova University School of Law Inns of Court

Larry Bendesky, Managing Shareholder

Current service:

• Board of Governors, Pennsylvania Association for Justice
• Board of Directors, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
• President of the Temple American Inn of Court, a group of judges and lawyers devoted to promoting professionalism and ethics in the practice of law
• Board of Directors, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Appellate Rules Committee
• Board of Directors, Lower Merion Little League Assocation

Past service:

• Hearing Committee Chairman, Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Past President, Temple Inn of Court
• Past President, Lower Merion Little League Association

David L. Kwass, Partner

David L. Kwass is the co-chairman of the Crane and Aerial Lift Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice.

Mr. Kwass also contributes his services pro bono. Among such successes: convincing a health insurance company to cover a procedure it had initially denied as "experimental" for a boy who needed surgery on both hips in order to walk. The insurer now provides routine coverage for the femoro-acetabular surgery.

Eunice Trevor, Partner

Current service:

• American Association for Justice
  • Founder and Chairperson, Burn Injury Litigation Group
  • Publications Committee, Trial magazine

• Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
  • Board of Directors
  • Education Coordinator

Donna Lee Jones, Partner

Current service:

• Board of Governors, Pennsylvania Association for Justice
• Board of Directors, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association
• Co-Chair, Rules and Procedure Committee, Philadelphia Bar Association
• Board of Directors, The Lawyers Club of Philadelphia

Brian E. Fritz, Partner

Current service:

• Co-chair, Future Leaders Committee of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association (since its inception in 2007)

Tracy D. Schwartz, Associate

A passionate animal advocate, Ms. Schwartz serves as a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Animal Law Committee.

John E. Savoth, Of Counsel

Current service:

• Philadelphia Bar Association
  • Vice Chancellor (will become chancellor in 2012)
  • Member, Commission on Judicial Selection and Retention
  • Speaker at U.S. Naturalization/Citizenship ceremonies at the U.S. Courthouse

Past service:

• Philadelphia Bar Association
  • Chair, Board of Governors
  • Chair, Young Lawyers Division

• Hearing Committee Chairman, Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Carmen Belefonte, managing attorney, Delaware County Office

Current service to the legal profession includes:

• House of Delegates, Pennsylvania Bar Association

Past service:

• President, Pennsylvania Association for Justice
• President, Delaware County Bar Association
• Executive Committee and Board of Governors, American Association for Justice
• Vice-Chair, Pennsylvania Supreme Court's Continuing Legal Education Committee and Civil Procedural Rules Committee

"As leaders in our local, state and national legal organizations, we take great pride in advancing and upholding the highest standards of our profession."

Robert J. Mongeluzzi