The law firm of Norris McLaughlin, P.A., is pleased to welcome Thomas H. Dinkelacker, Rebecca J. Grausam-Charamella, and Andrew J. Shaw as Members of the firm. In addition, William R. Murphy III joins the firm as an Associate and Rocco Beltrami as a Summer Associate.
“We are excited to be growing in a way where we are continuously adding exceptional talent to our roster of great attorneys here at Norris McLaughlin,” said the Honorable Emil Giordano (Ret.), a Member of the firm and Co-Chair of its Litigation Practice Group.
Theodore J. Zeller III, Administrative Partner of the firm’s Pennsylvania office and Chair of the Liquor Law, Licensing, Manufacturing, and Distribution Industry Group, also commented, “We’re proud to include these like-minded professionals as the newest members of our team. More great things to come.”
About the New Attorneys at Norris McLaughlin
Tom Dinkelacker
Dinkelacker concentrates his practice in the areas of municipal, land use, and real estate law, serving as the solicitor for several municipalities in the Lehigh Valley and as counsel to various community groups and private entities. In addition, he serves or has served as special counsel handling land development and related land use and construction matters for both first- and second-class townships, sewer authorities, and a school district.
For both municipal and private clients, Dinkelacker has handled the purchase, sale, and leasing of real estate; the development of brownfields, zoning, code and land development litigation; the preparation of zoning and land development ordinances; and a host of other ordinances and regulations relating to, among other things, mixed-use development, historic districts, age-restricted communities, craft beverage production facilities, sanitary sewer service and rates, and stormwater management. He provides municipal representation with respect to general government, labor, tax, environmental, and other matters.
Dinkelacker represents municipal and private clients before zoning hearing boards, code appeal boards, governing bodies, and various Pennsylvania Courts. With 40 years of experience, including four years of criminal trial and appellate litigation, over 20 years of insurance defense and other litigation, and over 20 years of municipal representation, Dinkelacker brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and maturity to problems affecting municipalities, businesses, developers, and citizens alike. He has lectured on topics as varied as land use matters, the purchase and sale of municipal real estate, employer cell phone use policies, and medical marijuana.
Recognizing the importance of community service, Dinkelacker is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Valley YMCA and the Board of Associates of Muhlenberg College. He also volunteers as a legal advisor to the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor. After graduating from the Naval Justice School in Newport Rhode Island, he served in the United States Navy on active duty from 1981 to 1985. Dinkelacker earned his J.D. in 1981 from Dickinson School of Law and his B.A., cum laude, in 1978 from Muhlenberg College.
Rebecca Grausam-Charamella
Grausam-Charamella, aPHR, concentrates her practice on complex litigation matters in a wide variety of issues. She has extensive experience representing clients at jury trials, hearings, mediations, and arbitrations, managing all aspects of litigation, devising and implementing trial strategy, engaging in discovery, and conducting depositions of parties, witnesses, and experts.
Prior to joining Norris McLaughlin, Grausam-Charamella worked as a trial attorney for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company for eight years, handling the defense of third-party automobile liability lawsuits. Before State Farm, she worked in the litigation department at a mid-sized Philadelphia law firm, specializing in commercial trucking and transportation matters and coordinating emergency responses for large claim exposures. Grausam-Charamella served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Eugene J. McCaffrey, Jr., in New Jersey Superior Court – Family Division. She also served as a trained Certified Mediator for Family and Civil matters.
In addition to her legal practice, Grausam-Charamella is very involved in the community. She is Co-Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee for the Philadelphia Association of Defense Counsel, where she has served as Treasurer and on the Executive Board. Grausam-Charamella began as Chair of the Pro Bono and Community Service Committee in 2016 and has spearheaded annual donations and volunteer events benefitting Ronald McDonald House, JEVS Human Services, Manna, and Comfort Cases for children transitioning into foster care, books for students at Thomas G. Morton School, and mock interviews for students in the Philadelphia Futures program. She also served on the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Pro Bono Task Force and on the Rosemont College Alumni Board of Directors. Grausam-Charamella is a past recipient of the PADC Joseph H. Foster Young Lawyer Award, which recognizes an attorney who best exemplifies professionalism and the promotion of justice in the community.
Grausam-Charamella is a certified arbitrator for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Compulsory Arbitration Program. She earned her J.D. in 2009 from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she earned Dean’s Honor List and was a Fellow in the Rubin Public Interest Honor Society, and her B.A., summa cum laude, in 2003 from Rosemont College.
Andrew Shaw
Shaw concentrates his practice on commercial litigation. He has a wide range of experience through all phases of litigation in both state and federal courts and administrative agencies in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, as well as in alternative dispute resolution forums.
Shaw’s experience includes bankruptcy litigation, commercial disputes, insurance coverage counseling and litigation, insurance defense litigation, fraud litigation, criminal defense, real estate litigation, unemployment compensation, and collections. He represents individuals and closely held and public companies, including bankruptcy trustees, business owners, property owners, landlords, construction contractors, hospitality, sports, recreation and entertainment entities, and insurance companies. Shaw is well versed in federal and state Fair Debt Collections Practices Acts and has made presentations on various bankruptcy topics.
Shaw has also handled non-litigation matters including residential real estate transactions, business formations, probate, and wills, trusts, and estates. Additionally, he was an Assistant Deputy Public Defender with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender where he represented indigent criminal defendants in indictable felony trial court matters. Shaw currently serves as a Member of the Executive Committee of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Campaign in the Lehigh Valley.
Shaw earned his J.D. in 1998 from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he was a judicial extern for Associate Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton of the Supreme Court of Ohio and was an Associate Editor of the Ohio State Law Journal, and his B.A. in 1994 from University of Wisconsin.
Billy Murphy
Murphy concentrates his practice on the defense of individuals involved in civil litigation for general liability matters. Representing clients and major insurance carriers, he litigates matters from arbitration hearings to jury trials. He is experienced in complex litigation and legal principles, ranging from criminal prosecutions to personal injury matters.
Murphy spent over five years in the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, where he honed his trial advocacy skills and developed a deep understanding of Pennsylvania laws and regulations. He was assigned to the Homicide By Vehicle, Narcotics, and Insurance Fraud Units. Murphy also worked for the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office in the Insurance Fraud Unit. He brings years of experience in the areas of insurance fraud investigations and motor vehicle accidents.
Murphy earned his J.D. in 2013 from Villanova University Law School, where he was a member of the Public Interest Fellowship program, and his B.A. in 2010 from University of Pittsburgh.Top of Form
Rocco Beltrami
Beltrami will temporarily join the firm as an Associate for the summer to assist the attorneys in all areas of the firm’s multi-disciplinary practice. While Beltrami is a resident of the Lehigh Valley, his father is a Northampton County Judge. Beltrami was a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Edward G. Smith, United States District Court, where he drafted internal memoranda, orders deciding motions, and portions of opinions involving various criminal and civil issues.
Beltrami is heading into his third year at Villanova School of Law with an expected graduation date of May 2022; he is a Dean’s Merit Scholar and Student Works Editor for the Villanova Law Review. Beltrami earned his B.A., summa cum laude, in 2019 from Moravian College.
Posted in: Andrew J. Shaw, Litigation, News, Rebecca J. Grausam-Charamella, Thomas H. Dinkelacker, William R. Murphy, III | Tags: Andrew J. Shaw, Litigation, Rebecca J. Grausam-Charamella, Thomas H. Dinkelacker, William R. Murphy
