Litigation
Four New Judges Join the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
On December 7, 2022, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nominations of Mia Roberts Perez, Kelley B. Hodge, Kai Scott, and John Frank Murphy to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The confirmations bring the Eastern District of Pennsylvania closer to full capacity, with 21 of 22 seats filled.
Mia Roberts Perez earned a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and a juris doctor from the Temple University Beasley School of Law. Judge Perez served as an assistant public defender for the Defender Association of Philadelphia from 2006 to 2010 before entering private practice at Friedman Schuman in Philadelphia in 2010. In 2011, Judge Perez started her own law firm, Perez Law LLC in Philadelphia, where she worked until 2016, when she was elected to the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. The U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination by a 52-43 vote and she received her judicial commission on December 16, 2022.
Kelley B. Hodge earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a juris doctor from the University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law. Judge Designate Hodge served as an assistant public defender in Richmond, Virginia from 1997 to 2003. In 2004, she joined the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office, where she worked until 2011, when she was appointed to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency as safe schools advocate. In 2015, Judge Designate Hodge became the Title IX coordinator and executive assistant to the president at the University of Virginia. She served as interim District Attorney of Philadelphia County from 2017 to 2018, at which time she joined the law firm of Elliott Greenleaf in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. In 2020, Judge Designate Hodge joined Fox Rothschild’s Philadelphia office as a partner in the labor and employment group. The U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination by a 52-43 vote. She will become a U.S. district judge upon receiving her judicial commission.
Kai Scott earned a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University and a juris doctor from the West Virginia University College of Law. She served as a law clerk to Judge David Poorman of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation from 1996 to 1998. Judge Designate Scott served as an assistant public defender for the Defender Association of Philadelphia from 1998 to 2004, when she became an assistant federal public defender. In 2015, she was elected to the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas. The U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination by a 50-42 vote. She will become a U.S. district judge upon receiving her judicial commission.
John Frank Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, master’s and doctorate degrees from the California Institute of Technology, and a juris doctor from Harvard Law School. He served as a law clerk to Judge Kimberly A. Moore of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from 2008 to 2009. Judge Designate Murphy then joined BakerHostetler’s Philadelphia office where his practiced focused on intellectual property litigation. The U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination by a 63-28 vote. He will become a U.S. district judge upon receiving his judicial commission.
About Us
The litigation attorneys at Houston Harbaugh, P.C., are accomplished business trial lawyers, providing comprehensive support in litigation across a broad spectrum of matters throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and other jurisdictions upon a special admission basis. Our clients are regional and national small, medium and large companies and individuals who seek well planned and aggressive, but cost effective litigation. We counsel, we budget, we have a deep bench, we act quickly when needed and we have experienced trial lawyers who know the courts and bench. We serve regularly as local counsel for some of the largest law firms in the country when they have matters in this region.
Henry M. Sneath - Practice Chair
Co-Chair of Houston Harbaugh’s Litigation Practice, and Chair of its Intellectual Property Practice, Henry Sneath is a trial attorney, mediator, arbitrator and Federal Court Approved Mediation Neutral and Special Master with extensive federal and state court trial experience in cases involving commercial disputes, breach of contract litigation, intellectual property matters, patent, trademark and copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, DTSA claims, cyber security and data breach prevention, mitigation and litigation, probate trusts and estates litigation, construction claims, eminent domain, professional negligence lawsuits, pharmaceutical, products liability and catastrophic injury litigation, insurance coverage, and insurance bad faith claims.
Samuel H. Simon - Practice Chair
As co-chair of Houston Harbaugh’s Litigation Group, Sam focuses his practice on commercial/business litigation. Sam regularly represents clients in the construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, and wholesale/retail/ distribution industries, as well as individuals in matters such as:
- Construction litigation
- Environmental litigation
- Breach of contract disputes
- Oil and gas litigation
- Negligence
- Restrictive covenants (non-compete agreements)
- Civil rights
- Collections/creditors’ rights
- Lease disputes
