Michael G. Trachtman, David M. Burkholder, and Mary J. Pedersen Join Firm

Wisler Pearlstine, LLP is very pleased to announce that one of Pennsylvania’s most respected business attorneys, Michael G. Trachtman, has joined the firm to head our newly created Wisler Business and Entrepreneurship Center.

Two of his partners from his previous firm, Powell Trachtman, will join him as partners in Wisler Pearlstine: David M. Burkholder and Mary J. Pedersen.

According to Kenneth Roos, Wisler’s Administrative Partner “Mike and his team are among the finest business attorneys and litigators in the state. This is an exciting development for our clients who will benefit from the work of our new Center to receive streamlined services in a cost-effective and efficient manner. We are delighted to have Mike head up this extremely exciting and innovative effort.”

Trachtman adds “It has been a lifetime goal for me to create a new model of providing legal services to the business community. Wisler has created a multi-disciplinary law firm within a law firm that will allow us to provide companies, entrepreneurs, executives and investors with seamless representation, communication and responsiveness at levels that are unparalleled in most law firms. My team and I are thrilled to be a part of this tremendous, full service firm and to offer new options in the delivery of cost-effective legal services to businesses. We plan to lay out the specifics of what the Center will accomplish for existing and new clients in the next few weeks.”

Michael G. Trachtman has decades of experience representing businesses in the myriad of issues that affect their operations, growth and profitability – for example, business planning, problem-solving and contract drafting; structuring arrangements among founders, owners and investors; preventing, litigating and resolving business disputes; employment law compliance, policy development and training; protection of trade secrets and key employees through employment agreements and other techniques; dealing with competitors; and managing mergers, acquisitions and other opportunities. He serves as outside general counsel for an array of closely held companies, and for over a decade has been general counsel to the MidAtlantic Employers’ Association, a trade organization of over 500 companies. Michael is also an adjunct professor at the Charles Widger School of Law at Villanova University, where he teaches “Law & Entrepreneurship”, and a course he originated and designed, “The Representation of Private Companies”.

Michael is the author of What Every Executive Better Know About the Law, published by Simon and Schuster, and The Four Mistakes – Avoiding the Legal Landmines That Lead to Business Disaster, published by Sterling Publishing. A past director of the Montgomery Bar Association and chair of the Montgomery Bar Association’s Rules of Civil Court Committee and Bench/Bar Committee, Michael received a special award in 2007 from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Clarity Award, given for “the use of plain English in promoting the justice system.” An honors graduate of Dickinson College in 1971, Michael graduated, Order of the Coif, from the Villanova University School of Law in 1974.

David M. Burkholder is an experienced litigator who has tried a broad array of matters throughout the country. By way of example, he has successfully represented owners, contractors, subcontractors and sureties in construction disputes involving multi-million dollar claims, he has represented a wide array of clients in commercial disputes involving the dissolution of partnerships, breach of fiduciary duty actions, fraud claims, regulatory enforcement proceedings, securities claims, insurance coverage matters and bad faith disputes, and he counsels businesses and individuals in dispute avoidance and personal planning.

From 1992 to 1997, David served in the United States Navy working in military intelligence and deploying to national and international military units. Prior to joining Powell Trachtman he was a member of the Litigation Practice Group of a major Philadelphia-based law firm. David graduated magna cum laude both from Widener University School of Law, in 2002, and from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, in 1999.

Mary J. Pedersen had been a litigation attorney at Powell Trachtman for over twenty years. Her practice has focused on the representation of both individuals and businesses in matters involving business dissolutions, partnership disputes, the defense of educational institutions, premises liability, the defense of employment practices claims (including discrimination, retaliation, harassment, ADA and FMLA) and many other commercial litigation matters.

Mary graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994, where she was co-captain of the Penn gymnastics team. She graduated magna cum laude from Villanova School of Law in 1997 and was elected to the Order of the Coif, the law school’s highest honor.