SEMANOFF - Key Persons
Alissa B. Gorman concentrates her practice in estate planning, estate administration, guardianship, special needs trusts, and elder law planning. She assists individuals and families with the preparation of various trust agreements, including Special Needs Trusts, Medicare Set-Asides, Settlement Preservation Trusts, and Minor's Trusts. Alissa is licensed to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and also appears in the Orphans' Court of all five Philadelphia-area counties.
Alissa has been selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars for Estate Planning and Probate for the past three consecutive years. The Rising Stars list recognizes no more than 2.5 percent of attorneys in each state for their knowledge of the law, professional work ethic, and advocacy on behalf of their clients. A member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Bar Associations, and Bucks County Estate Planning Council, she frequently lectures on a wide range of topics such as irrevocable trusts, non-judicial settlement agreements, and special needs trusts.
Alissa graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in Government and History in 2002, and received her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2010. While in law school, Alissa achieved Dean's List honors and was a judicial extern for the Honorable Samuel Der-Yeghiayan of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Alissa continued her education at Villanova University School of Law, where she received her LL.M. in Taxation in 2016.
While at the University of Notre Dame, Alissa was a two-time captain of the women's lacrosse team and a two-time athletic and academic All-Big East Conference selection. In 2009, she was inducted into the North Penn High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. Today, Alissa lives in Lansdale with her husband and four children. She volunteers as a lacrosse coach with the Horsham Girls Lacrosse Club and enjoys spending time at the beach with her family.
April V. Francia concentrates her practice in business transactions, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial real estate. She counsels clients with all aspects of business and corporate transactions, including entity formation and governance, business acquisitions and sales, buy-ins, commercial real estate transactions, and employment matters.
Prior to joining Semanoff Ormsby Greenberg & Torchia, LLC, April worked at a boutique law firm in Center City Philadelphia, where she represented and counseled healthcare professionals in connection with the start-up, acquisition, sale, and general business operations of their practices. She is intimately familiar with the business nuances of the dental, veterinary, and optometry industries and has spoken at events and seminars for healthcare professionals on emerging issues relating to employment agreements, restrictive covenants, and practice ownership.
April graduated from the University of Scranton, summa cum laude, with a B.S. in Political Science and Philosophy. She graduated from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she was a Staff Editor for Temple Law Review, as well as a Research Editor for the Temple International and Comparative Law Journal.
Ashleigh M. Morales has been with the firm for more than 13 years and concentrates her practice in corporate law, business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, business disputes, and commercial real estate.
Over the years, Ashleigh has represented local, regional and national businesses in a wide variety of industries. Her representation includes start-up companies as well as multi-generational businesses. Ashleigh has also counseled public charities, health care institutions, private foundations and a variety of other non-profit organizations.
Ashleigh graduated from New York University in 2006 with a dual-degree in journalism and political science and continued her education at Widener University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 2010. She is also one of the founders of Building a Bridge to Uganda, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to serving the people of Uganda with a focus on education.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association
Austin R. Bauersmith focuses his practice on intellectual property and technology law, including matters that involve the acquisition, commercialization, and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Austin has experience litigating trademark and copyright infringement disputes in federal court, and as a registered patent attorney, he has a deep understanding of the legal and technical nuances involved with patentability and patent infringement.
Austin serves as the Treasurer of the Intellectual Property Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and has written articles for Landslide Magazine and The Legal Intelligencer. Prior to joining Semanoff Ormsby Greenberg & Torchia, LLC, Austin was an associate attorney at a boutique intellectual property law firm in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Austin lives in Center City Philadelphia and is a native of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Wake Forest University in 2017 with a Bachelor's degree in Physics, and he earned his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2020. In his spare time, Austin enjoys watching his beloved Philadelphia sports teams, recording music, and playing golf.
Brian R. Price serves as Co-Chair of the firm's trusts and estates group. He has been practicing law for over 40 years and has extensive experience in estate planning and estate and trust administration, corporate, business and tax planning for individuals and closely held business organizations. He was the sole shareholder and president of the Bucks County Pennsylvania law firm, Brian Price & Associates for 26 years before joining Semanoff Ormsby Greenberg & Torchia, LLC.
Mr. Price graduated from Washington & Lee University where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1970. He earned his J.D. and Master of Law degrees from the University of Virginia School of Law. From 1973 through 1977 he served in the United States Army as Captain, The Judge Advocate General's Corps.
Mr. Price has received an AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale Hubbell and has been selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® from 2009-2025. In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Price is involved in various community activities in Bucks County where he resides with his wife, Patricia. He has served as Director (1980-1987) and President (1985-1986) of the Bucks County Estate Planning Council. Also, he has served as Finance Chair (2009-2014), President (2013-2014) and Treasurer (2014-2015) of the Bucks County SPCA and as Director of the Ann Silverman Community Health Clinic in Doylestown, PA (2013-2024).
Ms. Marriott concentrates her practice on commercial and residential real estate transactions, with a focus on acquisitions, sales and leasing, and represents clients in business transactions, corporate finance, real estate development and estate planning. Ms. Marriott graduated magna cum laude from Drexel University in 1995 with a degree in finance and continued her education at Temple University School of Law, graduating cum laude in 1998. Ms. Marriott began practicing law at a large law firm in Philadelphia and joined Semanoff Ormsby Greenberg & Torchia, LLC in 2000.
Ms. Marriott was selected for inclusion in the 2008/2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 Rising Stars. Rising Stars is a listing of outstanding lawyers under 40 or practicing less than 10 years who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The attorneys featured in Rising Stars were selected by their peers in an extensive nomination and polling process and through independent research conducted by Law & Politics and published in the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazine and a special advertising section in Philadelphia Magazine. The attorneys listed in Rising Stars are limited to 2.5% of the practicing attorneys in Pennsylvania.
For over 40 years Chuck has concentrated his practice in corporate law, business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, commercial finance, business disputes, and commercial real estate. Chuck's success is due in large part to the care he demonstrates for each of his clients and the attention to detail he shows in his work. It is those characteristics that have led many of his clients to look to him as much for his business judgment as for his legal analysis. As Chairman of the firm's corporate department he serves as counsel to a variety of entities and businesses ranging from regional institutions to non-profit corporations and from sole proprietorships to multi-national corporations.
He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Franklin and Marshall College where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was the valedictorian of his graduating class. He was an editor of the Journal of International Law and Economics at The National Law Center of the George Washington University where he was elected to the Order of the Coif.
For 30 consecutive years, he has been rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale Hubbell®. This is the highest peer review rating issued by Martindale Hubbell® for both legal ability and the highest ethical standard. He has been selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® for four years, and as a 2020 "Best of the Bar" Honoree by the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Outside of the firm, Chuck serves on numerous non-profit boards and is also a co-founder of Building A Bridge to Uganda, a 501(c)(3) organization serving the spiritual and educational needs of children in Uganda, East Africa. Through this organization, he has helped build a top-flight secondary boarding school with over 900 students, living in extreme poverty in the jungle of Uganda.
Chuck serves as counsel to many companies in a wide variety of industries.
Frank P. Spada, Jr. has been representing management in all areas of employment law and labor relations since 1986. His practice includes counseling clients on human resource issues, including discipline, hiring, firing and better productivity through employee relations. He also advises clients regularly on the application of the various federal and state employment laws, including the FMLA, FLSA, ADA, ADEA, WARN, ERISA, PHRA, and the NJ LAD, as well as the development and enforcement of confidentiality, non-competition, and severance agreements.
Mr. Spada has handled numerous cases through trial and appeal involving employment contracts, ERISA and FLSA issues and in the discrimination area, including race, sex, age, disability and religious discrimination matters. He represents employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and other state agencies throughout the country. He also has handled many matters in the enforcement or defense of non-competition/non-solicitation/non-disclosure clauses in many states, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania. His extensive experience also includes employment arbitration, ERISA litigation, independent contractor compliance, non-compete and trade secrets litigation, as well as counseling clients on privacy, security and data protection issues.
Mr. Semanoff is a founding Member of the firm and heads its Complex Bodily Injury Practice. For over 40 years he has successfully represented seriously and catastrophically injured clients and their loved ones against negligent hospitals and physicians in medical malpractice and wrongful death claims. His practice also includes automobile, motorcycle, product liability, premises liability, work related and recreational injury cases.
His success is due in large part to his exhaustive attention to details, his relentless pursuit of facts, and the compassion and understanding that he shows to his clients and their families.
He is also an accomplished commercial litigator having represented physicians and financial consultants in a variety of matters including partnership disputes and insurance related litigation. He has represented numerous financial institutions, corporations and small businesses in both Federal and State Courts.
Mr. Semanoff graduated with High Honors from the University of Maryland. He then attended Albany Law School where he also served for two years as a Legislative Assistant in the New York State Assembly. Following law school, he returned home to Philadelphia, joined a Center City Law Firm and began to develop his litigation skills which would become his hallmark in years to come.
Mr. Semanoff has taught other professionals in the Penn State Paralegal Program, lectured to community groups, served as an expert witness in legal malpractice cases, and was a member of the Executive Board of the Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce for over a decade.
Mr. Semanoff enjoys an AV Rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been recognized as a Preeminent Lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell each year since 2005. This is the highest possible peer review rating issued by Martindale Hubbell® for both legal ability and ethical standards. It is based upon reviews by Judges and other attorneys.
He is equally proud of his AVVO Superb 10 Rating and over 25 Five Star Client Reviews.
Job Titles:
- Trusts and Estates Practice Manager
Therese Allison concentrates her practice in commercial real estate acquisitions, dispositions, financing and leasing transactions. She also provides general counsel services to corporate clients whom she advises on matters relating to their business planning, structure, business transactions and agreements.
Prior to joining Semanoff Ormsby Greenberg & Torchia, LLC, Therese worked at a Center City Philadelphia law firm, and served as in-house, general counsel to a real estate brokerage and development company based in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Therese is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey, and is admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Pennsylvania.
Therese graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Economics. In 2012, she graduated from Temple University Beasley School of Law with honors. She is a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association.