Member Benefit Compliance Session

Guadalupe Luna is an internationally recognized scholar whose teaching areas of expertise includes Property, Agricultural Law, Jurisprudence, and Remedies Law. Professor Luna has written numerous law review articles and book chapters, including entries in “The Encyclopedia of Latina/o Politics and Social Movements,” and an extensive bibliography on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, both published by Oxford University Press. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and is an American Bar Association Fellow. Professor Luna received her BA and JD from the University of Minnesota.

Ebony R. Hammond is an Associate Attorney with JSDC Law Offices. Her practice focuses on representing individuals in family law matters, including divorce, child custody disputes, Protection from Abuse (“PFA”) matters as well as criminal law matters. Ebony strives to support clients to ensure each client’s unique needs will be effectively addressed throughout the life of their case. Attorney Hammond is trained and certified in Collaborative Law, a method of alternative dispute resolution in divorce matters.

Attorney Hammond completed her undergraduate studies at Duquense University, graduating cum laude, earning her bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2018. She earned her Juris Doctor from Widener University Commonwealth Law School in 2021.

While at Widener University Commonwealth Law School, she was an Academic Success Fellow in Torts, Vice President of the Student Bar Association, President of the Latin American Law Student Association and President of the Women’s Law Caucus. Also in law school, Attorney Hammond served as a Pupil member of the William W. Lipsitt Inn of Court.

Attorney Hammond is currently a member of the Dauphin County Bar Association, Dauphin County Young Lawyers Division, William W. Lipsitt Inn of Court and Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section. She is also the secretary of the DCBA Family Law Section, member of the DCBA Family Law Advisory Committee, and co-chair of the Collaborative Professionals of Central Pennsylvania (CPCP). Attorney Hammond has been appointed by Dauphin County to serve as conflict counsel for juveniles in dependency matters. She has also been appointed to serve as Guardian Ad Litem in Children and Youth dependency matters. Within the local community, Attorney Hammond is also serving as a board member of The Mix based in Lancaster.

Education: Duquesne University (B.A., 2018) | Widener Law Commonwealth Law School (J.D., 2021)

I am a lifelong Central Pennsylvania resident. I graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School in 1997 and went on to graduate from Kutztown University in 2001. After graduation, I was employed full-time by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue while attending the night division student program at Widener University School of Law. After graduating from law school, I remained employed by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue until accepting a position at the Dauphin County Public Defender’s Office.

The Public Defender’s office hired me under a MacArthur Foundation grant which was created in the wake of the Luzerne County “Kids for Cash” scandal and sought to improve juvenile representation in the state of Pennsylvania. As an attorney committed to ensuring that all children receive exemplary representation in the criminal-justice system, I participated in drafting and editing a juvenile defense manual that is used by attorneys throughout the state of Pennsylvania. For over five years, I served as a board member of the Juvenile Defenders Association of Pennsylvania. I have also lectured at numerous presentations on the effective representation of juveniles in the state of Pennsylvania.

While at the Dauphin County Public Defender’s Office, I also represented hundreds of adult clients in various stages of the criminal process. I have represented clients at both the magisterial district judge and court of common pleas levels. In this capacity, I gained invaluable trial experience that ranged from representing clients in less complex misdemeanor trials to serious felony trials.

After leaving the Dauphin County Public Defender's Office, I joined the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania's Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC). While serving in the AOPC's Judicial Education Department, I provided continuing legal education to trial judges across the Commonwealth regarding new and emerging areas of the law. In addition, I was a contributing writer for one benchbook and oversaw the creation of another benchbook, which state trial judges reference to assist in the disposition of cases.

Professional Associations and Memberships​: Dauphin County Bar Association | Pennsylvania Bar Association | Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Past Volunteer Experience: Harrisburg YWCA VIP Advisory Board Chair | Vice-President, Kutztown University Alumni Association | Secretary, Juvenile Defender Association of Pennsylvania

Ed Schwartz focuses his practice on assisting clients with litigation, professional licensure and attorney ethics matters. An experienced trial litigator, he has been involved in national class action cases and served as first chair in dozens of state and federal trials as well as mediations. Ed has an extensive background in trial and appellate cases and handling complex legal and compliance matters in a variety of fields including healthcare, finance, professional liability, real estate, licensure and IRS and related tax issues. In addition to being in court, he has years of experience litigating matters before various licensure boards in Pennsylvania, including the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Disciplinary Board, among others.

He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee and regularly presents on the topic of legal malpractice avoidance across the commonwealth. In his ethics practice, he provides counsel to attorneys and law firms on their ethical responsibilities under Pennsylvania law, conducts compliance reviews of their policies and firm practices and represents clients who may be faced with ethics complaints or disciplinary actions.

Ed is a former member of the U.S. Army Reserve, receiving an honorable discharge after serving as a commissioned officer and trial counsel in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He is a lifelong learner, continuing to write for legal journals, develop research and offer his insights as a frequent speaker at legal and professional seminars. He is active in the Greater Harrisburg community, supporting the Penn State Four Diamonds campaign and United Way of the Capital Region.

Yaël is a member of the Professional Liability Department where she focuses her practice on the representation and the defense of licensed and certified professionals regarding liability matters. More specifically her work involves the defense of legal malpractice and disciplinary matters for all types of underlying claims. Yaël represents private and public entities in a variety of civil rights litigation, employment law and education matters including defending clients against claims of harassment, bullying, discrimination and retaliation. Her clients include, but are not limited to, municipalities, school districts, recreational centers and superintendents.

Yaël received her juris doctor degree from Widener University Commonwealth Law School, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 2021. While in law school, Yaël was a certified legal intern at the Central Pennsylvania Law Clinic representing indigent clients in civil matters. Prior to that, she received her undergraduate degree in French and Common Law from the University Paris Nanterre in France which sparked her interest in American law.

Outside of the office, Yael devotes a portion of her time as a volunteer for the Wills for Heroes Program which provides pro-bono estate planning services to first responders, military veterans and their spouses/partners.

AREAS OF PRACTICE: Miscellaneous Professional Liability, Public Entity & Civil Rights Litigation, Employment Law, School Leaders' Liability, Lawyers' Professional Liability, Disciplinary Board Representation

ADMISSIONS: Pennsylvania 2021, U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania 2022, U.S. District Court Middle District of Pennsylvania 2022

EDUCATION: Widener University Commonwealth School of Law (J.D., 2021), University Paris X, Nanterre, France (Bachelor of Law in French, American and English Law, 2018)

HONORS & AWARDS: Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2024

ASSOCIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS: American Bar Association; Dauphin County Bar Association; French American Bar Association; Pennsylvania Bar Association, Professional Liability Committee Member; The Honorable William W. Lipsitt American Inns of Court

Stacy McNaney is an Assistant Chief Counsel at the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, where she prosecutes discrimination complaints related to employment, housing and public accommodations/education. Prior to joining the PHRC, she was a Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. Stacy is a public servant at heart. She received her law degree from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, where she participated in clinical programs and internships that solidified her commitment to public interest work. Stacy spends her spare time chasing her two small children and going to her local CrossFit gym - both of which help keep her somewhat fit.

Attorney Prince is a passionate public servant who currently serves as an Assistant Chief Counsel for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in its Philadelphia Regional Office. She has worked for the PHRC for seven (7) years. As an Assistant Chief Counsel, she litigates cases in all areas covered by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act – housing, employment, public accommodation, and education. Attorney Prince was instrumental in the implementation of the PHRC’s newest regulations. Attorney Prince enjoys representing the PHRC as a speaker at various events throughout the Commonwealth. Attorney Prince is a Widener Law alumna and prior to her time at the PHRC, she served as a law clerk for the City of Harrisburg’s Law Bureau and as a volunteer at the Dauphin County Bar Association.

Neil Warner Yahn, Sr., is a partner with the firm of JSDC Law Offices and he also serves on the faculty at Villanova University since 2011 as an adjunct professor where he teaches Individual Taxation and Taxation of Business Entities.

Neil primarily concentrates his law practice on income, partnership, corporate and estate tax matters and related litigation. Neil advises clients with respect to the use of partnerships, S corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs) and other pass-through entities to assist clients in a wide range of tax planning matters. He works with our clients to use pass-through entities to avoid double taxation, to allow business owners to obtain the full benefit of tax losses or tax incentives, and to minimize the tax impact of various asset acquisitions or dispositions. In the controversy area, Neil has represented clients at the audit and appellate levels of the IRS and in litigation before the U.S. Tax Court. He has also represented large estates and beneficiaries in disputes over testamentary documents and claims of undue influence.

Neil also writes and lectures extensively on tax planning topics and related matters for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Pennsylvania Institute for Certified Public Accountants and the Financial Planning Association. He is a graduate of the Villanova University School of Law. At Villanova, Neil earned his Juris Doctorate and Masters in Taxation (LL.M.). Neil supplemented his Masters in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center where he focused on employee benefits, employer plan designs and fiduciary provisions under ERISA.

Neil is AV Rated.

Mike has more than 25 years working many types of legal cases. With associations in over 700 cases, you feel like you're with a large firm, but with small firm attention to detail. He handles injury, bankruptcy, child custody, support and divorce cases. He is also an arbitrator in Cumberland County. Cases heard include auto accident and contract matters. He has practiced in Courts throughout Cumberland, Dauphin, York, and Perry. He frequently appears before Bankruptcy Court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Representation is limited to civil matters and usually does not represent creditors or banks.

B.A. political science, minor economics Penn State University 1990; juris doctorate Cooley Law 1995; book award computer assisted legal research

Admitted Pennsylvania Bar 1996;

Membership: United States District Court Middle District, Dauphin County Bar Assoc, Cumberland County Bar assoc, York County Bar Assoc, Middle District Bankruptcy Bar Assoc

Since 1995, Jim has concentrated his practice in the area of consumer bankruptcy. This practice primarily entails Bankruptcy Code chapter 7 (liquidations) and chapter 13 (reorganizations). He served as a staff attorney in the Office of the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Middle District of Pennsylvania from 2006 through 2022. During this time, Jim sharpened his skill as a litigator and lectured to practitioners on a variety of cutting edge topics.

Jim continues to hone these skills in private practice. His experience in a wide variety of areas of the law has allowed him to branch out to represent clients in a number of areas such as landlords with tenants in bankruptcy, clients whose spouse filed for bankruptcy, as well as lending institutions with borrowers in bankruptcy. Careful to avoid any conflicts of interest, Jim also represents consumer clients facing foreclosure, tax delinquencies, vehicle repossessions, as well as credit card, medical, and personal loan debt.

With this background, Jim expended his practice to represent plaintiffs and defendants in collection-related litigation. He likewise has successfully represented property owners who lost their real estate through tax sales.

Jim is also active in his community. He is a founding member and treasurer of PUCHOG, Inc., a §501(c)(3) corporation that puts wounded veterans on the ice to play the adaptive team sport of ice hockey. He is also the proud father of two Eagle Scouts from Boy Scout Troop 189 where he served as treasurer for over ten years. He has also served as treasurer for several political candidates.

Education: Dickinson School of Law, J.D. | University of Notre Dame, B.A. Economics

Court Admissions: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania | U.S. District Court—Middle District of Pennsylvania | U.S. District Court—Western District of Pennsylvania | U.S. District Court—Eastern District of Pennsylvania