May It Please the Court... and the Jury: Tips for Giving Memorable Openings and Closings

Carolyn is a member of the Complex Litigation Group and is co-leader of the Business & Corporate Disputes team. She is a trial lawyer focusing on commercial and employment disputes. Carolyn was declared by American Lawyer Media to be one of the 50 most influential women lawyers in Pennsylvania and was described in that article as "one of the most feared civil defense lawyers, especially in employment law." She was featured in Forbes Magazine as one of the most sought-after civil defense lawyers in Philadelphia.

Not only is Carolyn a skilled trial lawyer with a national practice, but she also is a master strategist working closely with in-house counsel on their most important matters, including class action litigation, corporate governance issues, high-level executive investigations and management, and gearing the legal departments towards a goal of bottom-line business support. She serves as the relationship partner for multiple publicly-traded multi-national corporations and is known for having a deep understanding of the business and the culture of her clients in order to design the best legal result. Many of her client relationships span more than 25 years.

Her substantive experience includes defending federal and state class action matters, antitrust, employment discrimination, securities fraud, and medical device cases, as well as various commercial matters. Carolyn also has extensive experience in the defense of civil rights cases, and is a principle guide for her clients in navigating the legal compliance world of government contracting.

She is frequently consulted for her expertise on various aspects of complex litigation, from jury selection techniques to cross-examination and effectiveness in closing arguments, and asked to help guide other lawyers to best represent the interests of their clients.

In recognition of her distinguished record as a trial lawyer, advocate, and advisor, she has been called upon by high state officials to handle and try sensitive and high-profile cases.

In January 2005, senior Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter asked Carolyn to serve as general counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Senator Specter was chairman for the Supreme Court nominations hearings of both Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justice Alito. She returned to Reed Smith in March 2006.

Judge Marilyn Heffley, originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh where she was honored as a Marshall Scholar and University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Scholar.

Judge Heffley received her J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1984.

The majority of Judge Heffley’s legal career was spent at Reed Smith LLP (September 1985 to October 2005 and May 2011 to April 2014) as a litigator representing both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of civil litigation, including commercial, consumer lending, financial services, insurance, labor and employment, environmental, oil and gas, product liability and toxic tort matters. From November 2005 to May 2011, Judge Heffley served as Sunoco, Inc.’s Assistant General Counsel and Head of Litigation. At Sunoco, she founded the Litigation Group within the company’s legal department and managed its nationwide portfolio of litigation and records management

Anne Marie Seibel enjoys pulling together the moving parts in multi-forum or multi-plaintiff high-stakes litigation. In these cases, she partners with her clients to approach the challenges of litigation in efficient and creative ways. Currently, she is using these skills to help a major facilitator of online travel reservations respond to cases across the country. In 2017, she served as lead trial counsel for this client in a two-week trial. In prior litigation she played a central role advising HealthSouth Corporation as it defended and prosecuted claims relating to a massive accounting fraud perpetrated against it by corporate officers. That litigation resulted in a $2.8 billion verdict against the company’s former CEO and a $100 million settlement with the company’s former investment bank. Anne Marie’s practice has taken her to trial in venues as diverse as Alabama state and federal courts, New Hampshire state court, AAA arbitrations, and the Tribal Court of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.

Within the firm, Anne Marie is a founder of the firm’s Women’s Initiative and is former Chair of the firm’s Associate Committee.

Nationally, Anne Marie serves in ABA Section of Litigation leadership as a member of both the Professional Development and Membership and Marketing Committees. She formerly served as co-chair of the ABA Section of Litigation’s Regional Meeting Committee, the Section’s liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, and co-chair of the Section of Litigation’s Woman Advocate Committee.