Bernstein Law Firm Client Advisory 

Jennifer L. Tis 

Everyone knows the benefits of hiring an attorney to fight for you regardless of what side of the Courtroom you're on, however, not everyone knows the detriments of not hiring an attorney.  Sure the law can be complicated and fraught with nuances and technicalities, but can't one just ask around to a few lawyer-friends or relatives and eek their way through?

Shawn P. McClure

Forum Selection Clauses Under Pennsylvania Law

A forum selection clause is a contractual provision, whereby the parties to the contract agree that all future legal disputes between the parties will be litigated in a particular forum.  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has long recognized the validity of forum selection clauses, holding that, "while private parties may not by contract prevent a court from asserting its jurisdiction or change the rules of venue, nevertheless, a court in which venue is proper and which has jurisdiction shall be conducted in another forum and where such agreement is not unreasonable at the time of litigation." Central Contracting Co. v. C.E. Youngdahl & Co., 418 Pa. 122, 133, 209 A.2d 810, 816 (Pa. 1965).

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Kirk B. Burkley 

It is almost universally accepted that many of the blue collar jobs that have been lost over the last couple of years are never coming back.  Without getting into the political issues surrounding the exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas, the business of leasing oil and gas rights has been one of the only lifelines supporting rural communities, individuals and farmers.  In particular, shale formations such as the Marcellus Shale stretching along the Appalachin Basin from West Virginia through Pennsylvania and into New York, as well as through small parts of eastern Ohio and Western Maryland, have been an economic boom for the region.  Some of the other significant shale gas play have been developed in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Illinois, Arkansas and Alabama.   

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