Philadelphia, Pa. – January 10, 2007 – LAWFUEL – Pepper Hamilton LLP announced that Amy B. Ginensky, a leading First Amendment lawyer who also handles class action and commercial litigation matters, will join the firm as a partner in the Philadelphia office on January 16, 2007.
“Amy is the preeminent First Amendment lawyer in the Philadelphia area and one of the best in the United States,” said Robert E. Heideck, Pepper’s executive partner. “She will bolster our commercial litigation practice in general, and our print and broadcast media practice in particular. She is a terrific litigator as well as a great leader and mentor. We couldn’t be happier to have her join Pepper.”
Ms. Ginensky comes to Pepper from Dechert LLP, where she was vice chair of that firm’s litigation department and past chair of the firm’s pro bono practice. She has been a partner with Dechert since 1986; she joined the firm as an associate in 1979.
In her First Amendment practice, Ms. Ginensky represents newspapers and radio and television broadcasters. She defends the rights of reporters and editors in libel and privacy cases, and she represents plaintiffs in public access and other cases. She has handled hundreds of First Amendment matters, including several jury trials representing the media, and been involved in almost all major media cases in the Philadelphia area in recent years, most recently, two victories in the Pennsylvania Superior Court in December 2006.
She also handles commercial litigation matters, having represented, for example, US Airways, U-Haul, Pep Boys and the outside directors of Sunrise Savings and Loan in class actions.
“Joining Dechert in 1979 was the right decision for me, and joining Pepper now is the right decision for me,” said Ms. Ginensky. “Pepper is a great place with outstanding lawyers and a commitment to the community that is so important to me. I will be able to leverage my First Amendment experience and grow my commercial litigation practice, while practicing with some of the best lawyers – associates and partners – in the country.
“My partners at Dechert – including Bob Heim, who has been my mentor for 28 years – have made me into the lawyer and person I am today,” she continued. “I could not have asked for more, and I only have the fondest wishes for the firm’s continued success.”
Ms. Ginensky is a lecturer on media and civil procedure issues for the American Bar Association, the Media Law Resource Center, the Philadelphia Bar Education Center, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters, the Federal Bench Bar, and Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. She also has taught defamation law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and has published widely in the field. In addition, Ms. Ginensky has directed a variety of in-house litigation and deposition training programs.
She is Secretary and a Trustee of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation, she serves on the board of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP), and she co-chaired the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Law Firm Pro Bono Committee for many years. She also is a past president of the Travelers Aid Society, and she co-chaired the Philadelphia Bar Foundation’s Andrew Hamilton Ball in 2006.
Ms. Ginensky is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College (A.B. 1974) and the University of Virginia School of Law (J.D. 1977), where she was a member of the University of Virginia Law Review. Following law school, Ms. Ginensky clerked for two years for the Honorable Clarence C. Newcomer of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
About Pepper Hamilton
Pepper Hamilton LLP (www.pepperlaw.com) is a multi-practice law firm with 450 lawyers in seven states and the District of Columbia. The firm provides corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation and the world. The firm was founded in 1890.
Pepper’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group, with more than 90 lawyers, has deep experience in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the country. Lawyers in the group handle complex commercial litigation and arbitrations, ranging from single-issue injunction cases to multi-million dollar contract disputes. The practice includes antitrust and competition litigation, business litigation, class actions, securities and shareholder litigation, media litigation, ERISA and pension litigation, and corporate compliance, corporate investigations and criminal defense.
