Our Legal Team

Firm Partners         

    
     GEORGE B. HECKLER, JR., born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 21, 1947; admitted to bar, 1974, Delaware.  Education:  Baldwin-Wallace College (B.A., 1969); Dickinson School of Law (J.D., 1974).  Omicron Delta Kappa; The Order of Barristers.  Member:  Delaware State (Past Chair, Workers’ Compensation Section) and American Bar Associations; Delaware Worker's Compensation Advisory Council; Defense Counsel of Delaware; Defense Research Institute. [U.S. Army, 1970-1971].  PRACTICE AREAS:  Insurance Defense Law; Workers’ Compensation Litigation; Asbestos and Toxic Tort Litigation; General Civil and Trial Practice.  gheckler@hfddel.com 

         ANTHONY M. FRABIZZIO, born Wilmington, Delaware, March 31, 1955; admitted to bar, 1981, Delaware.  Education:  University of Delaware (B.A., with honors, 1977); Dickinson School of Law (J.D., 1980).  Pi Sigma Alpha.  Deputy Attorney General, State of Delaware, Department of Justice, 1982-1984.  Member:  Delaware State (Member, Sections on:  Workers’ Compensation; Labor Law) and American Bar Associations; Defense Counsel of Delaware.  PRACTICE AREAS:  Insurance Defense Law; Workers’ Compensation Litigation; General Civil and Trial Practice.  afrabizzio@hfddel.com

        MARIA PARIS NEWILL, born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 26, 1965; admitted to bar, 1991, Delaware.  Education:  University of Delaware (B.S.A.S., 1986); Oklahoma City University School of Law (J.D., 1990).  Member:  Delaware State Bar Association (Past Chair, Section on Workers’ Compensation; Past Executive Committee and Secretary, Section on Women and the Law) and American Bar Association; Defense Counsel of Delaware; Defense Research Institute.  PRACTICE AREAS:  Workers’ Compensation Litigation; General Civil and Trial Practice.  mnewill@hfddel.com 

          DANIEL L. MCKENTY, born Danville, Pennsylvania, August 8, 1960; admitted to bar 1988, Delaware and U.S. District Court, District of Delaware; 1989, Pennsylvania.  EDUCATION:  College of Wooster (B.A. 1982); Widener University School of Law (J.D., 1987).  Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award for Trial Advocacy, 1988.  PRACTICE AREAS:  Insurance Defense; Litigation; Personal Injury; Insurance Coverage Defense.  dmckenty@hfddel.com

     
    WILLIAM D. RIMMER, born Englewood, New Jersey, April 3, 1965; admitted to bar, 1991, Delaware and New Jersey; 1992, Pennsylvania.  Education:  Drew University (B.A., 1987); Widener University (J.D., 1991).  Member, Moot Court Honor Society.  Assistant Public Defender, State of Delaware, 1993.  Member:  Delaware, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations.  PRACTICE AREAS:  Workers’ Compensation; Insurance Defense Litigation; General Litigation.  wrimmer@hfddel.com

         JOHN W. MORGAN, born West Chester, Pennsylvania, October 30, 1959; admitted to bar, 1992, Delaware and Pennsylvania; 1993, New Jersey.  Education:  University of Delaware (B.A. 1982); Widener University School of Law (J.D., 1991).  Assistant City Solicitor, City of Wilmington, 1995-1999.  Member:  Delaware State Bar Association (Chair, Labor & Employment Section 1994-1995).  PRACTICE AREAS:  Workers' Compensation; Labor & Employment.  jmorgan@hfddel.com

  
       DAVID R. BATMAN, born Boonsboro, Maryland, September 27, 1960; admitted to bar, 1991, Delaware, New Jersey, U. S. District Court, District of Delaware and District of New Jersey; 1996, U. S. Tax Court; 1997 U. S. Supreme Court.  Education:  University of Delaware (B.S., 1982); Widener University School of Law, (J.D., 1991).  Phi Delta Phi.  Member:  Delaware (Current Chair, Worker's Compensation Section), New Jersey and American Bar Associations.  PRACTICE AREAS:  Workers’ Compensation; Insurance Defense; Asbestos and Toxic Tort Litigation; General Civil and Trial Practice.  dbatman@hfddel.com

     
Firm Associates

         JOHN GILBERT, born Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, October 11, 1962; admitted to bar, 1987, Pennsylvania; 1992, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; 2003, Delaware and U.S. District Court, District of Delaware.  Education:  Trinity College (B.A., 1984); Temple University School of Law (J.D., 1987).  Member:  Delaware State and American Bar Associations.  PRACTICE AREAS:  Workers' Compensation Litigation; Insurance Defense Law.  jgilbert@hfddel.com

 

         CHERYL A. WARD, born Abington, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1976; admitted to bar, 2001, Delaware, New Jersey and U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey; 2002, U. S. District Court, District of Delaware.  Education:  Drew University (B.A., cum laude 1998), Widener University (J.D., magna cum laude, 2001) Phi Delta Phi, Member, Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, Widener Scholar; Law Clerk to the Hon. Haile L. Alford, Delaware Superior Court, 2001-2002; MEMBER:  Delaware State and American Bar Associations; PRACTICE AREAS:  Workers’ Compensation, Insurance Defense.  cward@hfddel.com

         PATRICK G. ROCK, born Burlington, Vermont, September 1, 1972; admitted to bar 2001, Massachusetts, Maine; 2005, Delaware, U.S. District Court, Distinct of Delaware; 2007, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.  EDUCATION:  Thomas More College (B.A., 1996); Widener University School of Law (J.D., 2000).  MEMBER:  Delaware State, Maine State and Massachusetts Bar Associations.  PRACTICE AREAS:  Insurance Defense; General Practice; Civil Trial Practice.  prock@hfddel.com


         KRISTA E. BUTLER, born June 25, 1977; admitted to bar 2002, Pennsylvania; 2004, Delaware.  EDUCATION:  Widener University (B.A., 1999; J.D. 2002, Dean's List.)  MEMBER:  Delaware State, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations.  PRACTICE AREAS:  Insurance Defense; Trial Practice; Litigation. kbutler@hfddel.com


          AYESHA S. CHACKO
, born Wilmington, Delaware, October 2, 1980; admitted to bar 2005, New Jersey, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey; 2006, Pennsylvania; 2007, Delaware.  EDUCATION:  University of Delaware (B.A. 2002); Widener University School of Law (J.D., 2005).  MEMBER:  Delaware State and Pennsylvania Bar Associations.  PRACTICE AREAS:  Workers’ Compensation; Insurance Defense; General Practice; Civil Trial Practice.  achacko@hfddel.com