Featured Speakers
Christina McKinley is an experienced trial lawyer and appellate specialist, serving in Babst Calland’s Litigation, Energy and Natural Resources, and Environmental groups. Ms. McKinley currently serves as co-chair of the Firm’s Litigation Group. Ms. McKinley continually strives to provide business-focused solutions to her clients and routinely serves as a general advisor, counseling clients on day-to-day legal and business questions involving any number of issues. Her practical, proactive approach to problem-solving allows her to provide solutions to clients in a variety of industries. Her experience spans a wide range of industries, including chemicals, manufacturing, retail, energy, and environmental.
As a litigator who focuses on complex commercial matters, Ms. McKinley’s trial litigation practice encompasses all phases of litigation, from early alternative dispute resolution through post-trial motions. She has concentrated experience in complex purchase agreement and commercial contracts disputes, environmental statutes, protection of competitive interests (e.g., Lanham Act, unfair competition, tortious interference, trade secret protection, restrictive covenants), technology disputes (e.g., software services and license agreements), and corporate governance. She has tried numerous cases to verdict.
Notwithstanding her significant first-chair trial experience, Ms. McKinley’s passion lies in the appellate realm. An experienced appellate litigator, Ms. McKinley has practiced before the United States Supreme Court at every stage of the process, including the briefing and preparation of two merits cases that were argued before the Court. She also has briefed and prepared cases for argument before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Sixth, and D.C. Circuits, and she has argued numerous cases before the Pennsylvania intermediate appellate court. Her appellate practice spans a range of substantive fields, including intellectual property, immigration, tax, bankruptcy, and criminal law. In addition, her appellate practice frequently involves challenges to regulatory action and agency decision-making via petitions for review, complex statutory construction issues, and the intersection of regulation and policy.
Sonal Parekh is an associate in Lamb McErlane’s Health Law Department. Sonal’s practice is focused on healthcare transactional matters and a broad range of healthcare regulatory-related issues on behalf of healthcare systems, physicians, dentists and other healthcare providers. Sonal has experience in:
- Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a myriad of healthcare related contracts, including employment and service agreements, confidentiality disclosure agreements, shareholder agreements, partnership agreements, collaborative practice agreements, and clinical study agreements;
- Drafting and reviewing various agreements and governance documentation related to mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic transactions, corporate restructuring, and general corporate matters;
- Filing motions and appeals relating to Needs Exception Allowances; and
- Filing applications and certificates relating to Licensure, Recognition of Tax Exemption under Sections501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) of the IRC, Medicare and Medicaid Enrollment, Provider-Based Attestations, and Tax Clearance Certificates.
In addition to her legal practice, Sonal actively engages in numerous professional organizations. Sonal is a member of the American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division (YLD) where she serves as Chair of the Health Law Committee, a Liaison for the Health Law Section and an Early Career Representative for the Life Sciences Interest Group. She is also a member of the, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Chester County Bar Association, Philadelphia Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association, and American Health Lawyers Association. She is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Sonal is based at the firm’s West Chester, PA location.
Erin J. McLaughlin, a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Group, handles complex employment matters and provides strategic, day-to-day guidance to employers on their personnel matters. Erin helps her clients in numerous industries with employment litigation, litigation avoidance, effective employee training, and positive employee relations.
Throughout her career, Erin has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® consistently since 2016 under the Employment Law – Management in Litigation – Labor and Employment categories and recognized by Chambers USA as an up-and-coming Labor & Employment lawyer in Pennsylvania in 2023.
Erin works with clients in the technology services, higher education, oil and gas, telecommunications, hospitality, healthcare, pharmaceutical sales, construction, transportation, sports, retail, manufacturing, gaming and entertainment, financial services, retail, and nonprofit industries. In addition to her private sector clients, Erin works with universities, local authorities, municipalities, and public schools.
Erin is a frequent lecturer on various employment topics at conferences across the country, such as the Pennsylvania Society for Human Resource Management’s Annual State Conference, and is a contributing author to well-regarded publications such as the Pennsylvania Employment Law Deskbook.
David R. Fine heads the appellate practice at K&L Gates LLP. Based in Harrisburg, David practices in appellate courts around the nation including, in the last two years, the federal Third, Fifth, Sixth, Tenth and D.C. Circuits and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Oregon Supreme Court, the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Delaware Supreme Court. David currently serves as the president of the Third Circuit Bar Association and as a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, a Master’s degree from Northwestern University and a law degree from the University of Toledo College of Law.