Dec 16, 2012 4 min read

The Washington County Bar Association installed Blane A. Black as its new president during its annual banquet Nov. 30.

Black received the gavel of office from outgoing President Harry A. Stiffler Jr.

Other officers to lead the association in 2013 include David J. DiCarlo, vice president/president-elect; L. Dawn Haber, secretary; and Susan M. Key, treasurer.

A Humanitarian Award, given only once before in the Bar Association’s 120 year history, was presented to M. Scot Curran in recognition of his dedicated service to the association and the legal profession, most notably for his decades of care and concern for the health and welfare of the members of the legal community who seek assistance through the association’s Special Professional Awareness Committee and the statewide Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers organization.

Curran received his JD degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1977 and his B.A. degree from Washington & Jefferson College in 1974.

He has been a sole practitioner since 1985 and his previous professional experience has included Saxton & Curran (1983-1985), Clarke & Curran (1980-1983) and Lawrence R. Zewe Law Offices (1977-1980). He has been a support master for Washington County since 2008. He served on the board of the Pennsylvania Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers from 1990 to 2006 and has chaired the Washington County Bar Association Special Professional Awareness Committee since 1990. He was recently elected to serve on the Washington County Bar Association’s Board of Directors for a three-year term.

The Robert L. Ceisler Professionalism Award was presented to Kenneth L. Baker. The award recognizes attorneys who exemplify the Working Rules of Professionalism and who strive to encourage other attorneys, particularly those newer to the practice of law, to do the same. The award was named for Robert L. Ceisler, now deceased, who set the standard for excellence in professionalism and who spent most of his career teaching and mentoring younger lawyers.

Baker is a 1968 graduate of Washington & Jefferson College, and subsequently attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, graduating in 1971. He then joined Peacock Keller for one year prior to serving a three-year term as an attorney for the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S. Army, before returning to the firm.

Baker, who also attended the Masters in Tax Program at New York University, concentrates his practice in estate planning and administration, real property, and corporate and business matters.

A member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, he has been a frequent lecturer on estate planning and estate administration. He is solicitor for Washington School District and Citizens Library of Washington.

Baker has been an active participant in a variety of community service organizations, having served as a member of the Washington Hospital Planned Giving Committee, president of the Washington Rotary Club, president of the Southwestern PA Easter Seals Society and a member of the board of directors of the Greater Pittsburgh Council of Boy Scouts of America, where he received the Silver Beaver Award.

He was president of the Washington County Bar Association in 1999. He is also a founder and president of the Washington Jazz Society.

Years of Service awards also were presented at the banquet. Receiving a 60 Years of Service Award was Richard DiSalle, a 1952 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, who practiced law in Canonsburg from 1952 to 1969. Following his service as a judge on the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, he joined the law firm of Rose, Schmidt, Hasley & DiSalle in 1982, which thereafter merged with the law firm of Thomas, Thomas & Hafer, in which he is now a partner.

Baker, J. Lynn DeHaven, Roger J. Gaydos Sr., Thomas B. Kostolansky, Clark A. Mitchell and David S. Posner received 40 Years of Service Awards and Jack H. France, Daniel E. Long, William D. Phillips and George R. Sewak received 50 Years of Service Awards.