McNichol·Byrne·Matlawski, P.C.

It has been a busy year for Jim Byrne of McNichol, Byrne & Matlawski. Byrne, who handles cases ranging from land use to personal injury has spent the summer educating the Pennsylvania legislature and local government officials about constitutional rights regarding outdoor advertising; has teamed up with the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce to educate local business owners about the effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as “ObamaCare”; and has been named a mediator by the Pennsylvania Council of Mediators.

BYRNE, A LEARNED PROFESSIONAL IN OUTDOOR ADVERTISING  

In recent years, outdoor media companies have increasingly sought to construct billboards along major traffic routes in Southeastern Pennsylvania townships. Many of these townships have prohibited the construction of outdoor advertising, and outdoor media and advertising companies have challenged the constitutionality of such bans on the introduction of such media outlets in these municipalities.

Byrne has advocated on behalf of numerous townships whose outdoor advertising policies have been challenged in the Greater Philadelphia Area including municipalities in Montgomery and Delaware Counties. Having been recognized as a leading advocate in the Philadelphia area, Byrne was invited to make three presentations over the course of the year to discuss the constitutionality of outdoor advertising and the issues which municipalities face.

First, Byrne spoke in the State Capital of Pennsylvania about municipalities’ rights to maintain policies prohibiting and limiting outdoor advertising because municipalities have the authority to enforce such policies when the outdoor advertising has an effect on aesthetics, and public safety, health and welfare. Following Byrne’s presentation to the Pennsylvania legislature, Byrne was invited to speak in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) about the general issues being faced by the municipalities and the outdoor media companies. Most recently, Byrne returned to Lancaster to speak with the First Class Township Commissioners Association about the ways in which they can combat outdoor media companies by drafting ordinances that effectively, yet constitutionally limit or prohibit undesirable outdoor advertising.

A DISCUSSION ABOUT OBAMACARE & SMALL BUSINESSES IN DELAWARE COUNTY

As all United States businesses undergo changes in healthcare policies due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as “ObamaCare,” many small business owners have questions about the effects of such legislation on their business. Byrne was invited by the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce to speak with these concerned small business owners of Delaware County about the legislation’s effects and what policies they should introduce within their companies in order to comply with the new law.

Although Byrne’s presentation was informative, he encourages small business owners to seek legal counsel to discuss policies which their company should specifically implement and what effects the legislation will specifically have on their small business.

THE BENEFITS OF MEDIATION

In deciding legal disputes, most parties often first consider resolution by means of the judicial system, but mediation is a way to decide legal disputes with some benefits that the court system cannot guarantee. Mediation may be a more desirable means of resolving a legal dispute because mediation is generally less expensive than litigation through the courts, decisions made through the mediation process are typically more timely than decisions made by the courts, the parties are able to choose their mediators unlike being assigned a judge, and there is a high rate of compliance to the decision made by the mediators by parties.

Byrne, who often acts as an arbitrator, has recently completed mediator training and has been named a mediator with the Pennsylvania Council of Mediators. He has recently begun scheduling mediations for the upcoming months.