What Every Lawyer in Cumberland County Needs to Know
PA Right-to-Know Law: What Every Lawyer in Cumberland County Needs to Know “The new law initiates many changes, but there are 30 statutory exceptions, which opens the door to potential confusion and individual interpretation,” RTK legal experts will tell Cumberland County Bar Association.
(Harrisburg, PA) — Nauman Smith Managing Partner, Craig J. Staudenmaier, Esq., and Partner Guy P. Beneventano, Esq., will conduct a Cumberland County Bar Association seminar to provide the most current and relevant information about the new PA Right-to-Know Law, activated last January and already influencing the way the public interacts with government agencies.
The PA RTK Law initiates substantial changes in the way individuals and entities access information from government and public agencies. “Complexities arising out of the new Law impact government at every level, as well as any entity seeking information from or about any government agency in Pennsylvania,” Staudenmaier said today. “So, it’s fundamental and useful for most attorneys to have some working knowledge of the law’s intricacies and this convenient CLE seminar, sponsored by the Cumberland County Bar Association, will certainly help.”
Attorney Beneventano, a municipal law expert, said the impact of the new law, “will likely be far reaching across all government entities and vendors entering into relationships with governments.” He suggested that general knowledge of appropriate compliance strategies is useful for most attorneys. Mr. Beneventano many solicitorships include the Dauphin County General Authority, Latimore Township and Dauphin County. An experienced appellate lawyer, Mr. Beneventano has successfully argued cases before every appeals court in the Commonwealth, including the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Mr. Staudenmaier has played a fundamental role in shaping issues of Right-to-Know Law in Pennsylvania in recent years through representation of various media, individual and business interests before government agencies, as well as his widely recognized successes in litigation before the Commonwealth and Supreme Courts in landmark cases pertaining to media access and public Right-to-Know as lead counsel in the successful Penn State University/Paterno and PHEAA cases. Mr. Staudenmaier also Chairs the Nauman Smith RTK Practice Group, which includes business and corporate attorney J. Stephen Feinour, Esq., as well as county and municipal attorney Guy P. Beneventano, Esq.
He noted that the seminar will provide differing viewpoints and key practice points to help any attorney:
- Master the differences between the old and new laws
- Hear perspectives on whether and where the new statue sent too far, or not far enough
- Understand which new agencies and records are covered, and which are not
- Learn from the experts how to get the information you want
- Discover what information you can’t get and why
- Find out what recourse you have if you don’t get the information you’ve requested.
“There are 30 statutory exceptions in the Law,” Staudenmaier added, “opening the door to potential confusion and individual interpretation, so this convenient and well rounded seminar is beneficial for any lawyer.”
Cumberland County was founded in 1750 and the formation of the Bar Association occurred in Carlisle in 1901. Founded in 1871, Nauman, Smith, Shissler & Hall, LLP, is the oldest law firm in continuous existence in Harrisburg. For further information on this subject or about the firm’s RTK Practice Group, visit the Nauman Smith Web site at www.nssh.com/rtk, or contact Craig J. Staudenmaier, Esq. at 717.236.3010.