KingSpry is proud to announce that three of our partners, John E. Freund, James F. Swartz, III, and Kirby G. Upright, LLM, CPA, have been named 2016 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and two attorneys, Jessica F. Moyer and Erin D. Gilsbach, have been named 2016 Rising Stars by Super Lawyer Magazine and Philadelphia Magazine.
Honorees are listed in the June 2016 issue of Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and at www.superlawyers.com.
Meet Our 2016 Super Lawyers
John E. Freund is a founding member of the firm and the chair of KingSpry’s education law practice group. Mr. Freund is one of Pennsylvania’s most experienced practitioners in education, employment, civil rights, and issues that affect local government and their insurers. As a leading education law attorney, Mr. Freund regularly represents public schools, private schools and colleges on a wide range of legal concerns in state and federal courts, administrative agencies and special education due process matters. He also serves as counsel to various regional and national educational organizations.
Mr. Freund graduated cum laude from Princeton University and received his Juris Doctorate from Villanova University, where he was a member of the Villanova Law Review and winner of the Reimel Moot Court Finalist Award. In 2014, he received the Pennsylvania School Board Solicitors’ Association President’s Award for Distinguished Career Achievement to School Law.
James F. Swartz, III, is a partner of the firm who concentrates his practice in the areas of general and estate litigation and insurance law. He is a Civil Trial Advocate, certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, which indicates that he met the rigorous standards approved by the U.S. Supreme Court and the American Bar Association for trial attorneys. He often presents Continuing Legal Education programs relating to personal injury settlements for the National Business Institute and has presented Auto Law Practice Tips for the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Swartz is a former President of the Bar Association of Lehigh County, where he was featured in the Emmy Award winning production “Not Behind the Wheel” addressing the issue of texting while driving.
A graduate of Moravian College, Mr. Swartz earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Bridgeport School of Law where he served as the Executive Managing Editor of the University of Bridgeport Law Review.
Kirby G. Upright is an attorney who holds a Masters of Laws (Taxation) as well as being a certified public accountant. Mr. Upright takes particular pride in having been elected a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Council, a prestigious organization to which only attorneys who meet certain exemplary standards are invited. He is one of only two attorneys in northeastern Pennsylvania and approximately 1500 across the nation in ACTEC. Mr. Upright is a frequent lecturer on matters of estate planning and administration and regularly serves as a faculty member of and has authored many articles for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. He is the past chair of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and most recently, he contributed a chapter and served as editor of a PBI text entitled “Representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Clients in Pennsylvania.” Mr. Upright is listed in various Who’s Who publications as well as Best Lawyers In America.
A graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, Mr. Upright earned his Juris Doctorate from Akron University School of Law and a Master of Law degree in Taxation from Temple University School of Law.
Our 2016 Rising Stars
Jessica F. Moyer was named a partner to the firm in 2014. She concentrates her practice in family and education law. Her practice is LGBT and mediation-friendly. She is a member of the boards of Via as well as the Bethlehem Area School District Education Foundation. Ms. Moyer is involved in the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Family Law Section and was one of only ten attorneys in the state selected for the 2013-2014 class of the PBA’s Bar Leadership Institute.
Ms. Moyer has written articles on a variety of family law topics and has served as a panelist for several continuing legal education courses. She has co-authored a chapter on family issues for non-traditional families in the first and second edition of Legal Issues Confronting Lesbians, Gays, Bi-Sexuals, and Transgenders. She earned her Juris Doctorate at Villanova University.
Erin D. Gilsbach is an associate with KingSpry. She focuses her practice on special education law and policy development. She also serves as the Director of Professional Education Development, creating programs for the firm’s educational arm, Greyfriars Institute. Prior to joining KingSpry, Ms. Gilsbach served as a legal intern at the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of Chief Counsel. Ms. Gilsbach began her career in the public school classroom as a full-time public high school teacher for several years prior to entering law school.
She earned her Juris Doctorate at Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law.