All of the programs and workshops at PIW
are taught by lawyers, which makes ours a unique
paralegal school.
Current instructors include:
Wayne R. Cohen
Wayne Cohen is the founder and managing partner of Cohen
& Cohen, P.C. Mr. Cohen is an AV-rated lawyer,
whose practice is concentrated in the areas of medical
malpractice, wrongful death, car accidents, product
liability, class actions, and other personal injury
areas. In short, he has devoted his professional career
to representing the rights of the injured. Mr. Cohen
has appeared on numerous occasions in local and national
television shows and print media. Mr. Cohen has been
called one of Washington's top 40 lawyers under 40,
one of Washington's top trial lawyers, one of the 50
best lawyers in Washington, DC and one of the city's
most feared personal injury lawyers" (Washingtonian
Magazine, July 2006, August 2004, April 2002, and
June 2001 respectively). The Washington Examiner identified Mr. Cohen as a "prominent, personal
injury lawyer" on January 31, 2006.
Mr. Cohen is a graduate of the University of Michigan
(with distinction) and the University of Miami (cum
laude).
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Charles H. Bogino
Charles H. Bogino maintains
a general practice in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. His practice
mainly focuses on the creditors rights, bankruptcy and business litigation.
He also handles business-to-business contractual disputes,
and counsels small businesses on corporate formation
and regulatory issues. A graduate of the Columbus School
of Law of The Catholic University of America, Mr. Bogino
was formerly with the general counsel’s office
of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and is the
former managing attorney of a Virginia-based litigation
firm’s Washington office. Mr. Bogino holds a master’s
degree in journalism and public affairs from American
University, and has worked as a reporter for a number
of publications and broadcast networks, including Court
TV and CBS News. He has lectured at American University,
Catholic University’s law school, and was a visiting
fellow at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, where he
taught media law. Mr. Bogino is admitted to practice
before the local and federal courts of the District
of Columbia, the state courts of New York and Connecticut,
and the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
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Charles
F. Gormly
Charles F. Gormly is the managing attorney at the Law
Offices of Charles F. Gormly, which has a practice
divided between civil litigation, probate, and collections
work.
A member of the District of Columbia and Maryland bars,
Charles F. Gormly has tried over a hundred cases
to jury verdicts, as well as arguing cases before the
Court of Appeals in D.C.. and Maryland. He has also served as personal representative,
guardian or counsel to the estate in numerous probate
matters, particularly guardianships of minors in lead
poisoning, medical malpractice and other catastrophic
injury cases. A significant part of Mr. Gormly's practice
is providing legal guidance to leading members of the
plaintiff's bar in the area of estates and guardianships.
Mr. Gormly has served on the Board of Governors of the Trial
Lawyers Association of the District of Columbia. He
is a member of the Debt Buyers of America and the National Association of Retail Collections Attorneys. His community
activities include serving as an officer and member
of the Board of Directors of the Lupus Foundation of
Greater Washington.
Mr. Gormly received his law degree from the American
University's Washington College of Law in 1996 and his
B.A. in history from Wesleyan University in Middletown,
Connecticut in 1989. He resides in Kensington, MD
with his wife and children.
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Daniel
S. Kozma
Daniel Kozma obtained his undergraduate degree
from University of Pittsburgh in 1971. He graduated
from Cornell Law School in 1977. Mr. Kozma first honed
his skills in complex litigation and jury trials involving
airline labor law, ERISA and administrative law cases.
During this time, Mr. Kozma represented and won a multi-million
dollar settlement for 7,000 people against the National
Western Life Insurance Company. Thereafter, Mr. Kozma
geared his specialties to toxic torts, labor, ERISA
and Federal False Claims Act for close to a decade.
To date, Mr. Kozma was awarded the largest verdict and
recovery for a lead-poisoned child in the District of
Columbia. Since then, Mr. Kozma has represented lead-poisoned
children in a number of cases and has recovered over
$8 million combined. In 2004, Mr. Kozma opened the Law
Office of Daniel S. Kozma. He now focuses his time on
toxic torts, personal injury, discrimination and employment
law. Mr. Kozma is a member of the District of Columbia
Court of Appeals, United States Supreme Court, United
States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia,
Second, Fifth, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits,
United States District Courts for the District of Columbia,
Arizona and Nebraska. Mr. Kozma is also a member of
the Board of Governors, Trial Lawyers Association of
Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Mr. Kozma teaches Torts,
Civil Rights/Employment and Civil Procedure.
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William Cannon
William Cannon was born and raised in the Washington D.C area. He graduated from Gonzaga College High School in 1994. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Loyola College in Maryland in 1998. After college, he taught English at Gonzaga. While teaching, he obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from the University of Maryland in 2002 and graduated from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America in May of 2010. While in law school, he was a moot court associate and teaching assistant to Professor Marshall Breger.
He currently is serving as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable William P. Greene, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. He lives in Chevy Chase with his wife and two children. Back
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Damon Catacalos
Damon Catacalos is a member of the bar in Maryland, the District of Columbia and his native Texas. He holds a law degree (1999) and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (1989) from the University of Houston. After graduating law school and becoming barred in Texas, he joined the Harris County District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor trying cases before judges and juries. Upon relocating to the Washington, DC area in 2002, Mr. Catacalos was employed by a title company, dealing with real estate transactions, and worked his way up to the position of Managing Attorney. In early 2008, Mr. Catacalos decided to hang his own shingle and return to the courtroom. He speaks fluent Spanish, proudly serves the Spanish speaking community of the DC metro area and applies his litigation skills to criminal, civil and family law matters. He attempts to convey his experiences in the real practice of law to the students at PIW.
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Runako Kumbula Allsopp
Runako Kumbula Allsopp is an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. She works in the General Counsel’s Office for the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Immediately prior to joining DCRA, Mrs. Allsopp served as Deputy General Counsel to former District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty. Mrs. Allsopp has also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and as an Assistant District Attorney for Orleans Parish in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mrs. Allsopp began her legal career as a judicial law clerk in Louisiana, where she completed a two year appellate court clerkship and a one year trial court clerkship. After completing her clerkships, Mrs. Allsopp also spent two years as an Equal Justice Works Fellow for Public Citizen in Washington, D.C., where she advocated for consumer safety and protection in international trade. Mrs. Allsopp received her juris doctor from Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association, Louisiana Bar Association and the National Association of Consumer Advocates. Mrs. Allsopp lives in North Potomac, Maryland with her husband and daughter.
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