Nine Eastburn and Gray Attorneys Recognized as 2024 Best Lawyers Award Recipients
Eastburn and Gray, P.C. is proud to have nine lawyers awarded in the 2024 editions of The Best Lawyers in America® and the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America.
Eastburn and Gray shareholders, Mark S. Cappuccio, D. Rodman Eastburn, Marc D. Jonas, John A. VanLuvanee, and Julie L. Von Spreckelsen, have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.
Eastburn and Gray shareholders Erin K. Aronson, Sarah A. Eastburn, Michael E. Peters and Zachary A. Sivertsen have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America®.
John A. VanLuvanee was named The Best Lawyers® 2024 Land Use and Zoning “Lawyer of the Year” in Philadelphia.
Ms. Aronson received the “Ones to Watch” award for her work in the field of Land Use and Zoning Law. She represents clients in a range of industries with regard to their transactional and litigation needs. In particular, she has a depth of experience meeting client needs in the areas of Real Estate, Corporate, Labor and Employment, Education and School Law. Ms. Aronson is a graduate of the University of Delaware and Villanova University School of Law.
Mr. Cappuccio has been included in the field of Land Use and Zoning Law and Real Estate Law. His legal practice includes tax assessment law, commercial litigation, real estate, and zoning and land use law. He represents individuals, businesses and municipalities in a variety of real estate matters including land use, zoning and condemnation cases. He is an experienced civil trial and zoning attorney with a wide breadth of industry knowledge in commercial litigation matters and has extensive experience in litigating tax assessment cases. While he litigated for taxing authorities in excess of two decades, ten years ago the focus of his work shifted to the representation of numerous real estate entities and large corporations for whom he has litigated valuation cases extensively before the courts at the trial and appellate levels. Mr. Cappuccio earned his law degree from Capital University Law School and two undergraduate degrees from the University of Delaware.
Mr. Eastburn is recognized for his work in the field of Trusts and Estates law. He works extensively with the owners of closely-held businesses and their families to organize their estate planning and business succession planning. He appears regularly before the Internal Revenue Service, Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, and Orphans’ Courts Divisions throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, which have jurisdiction over probate, estate and trust matters. He is a frequent consultant to other attorneys in the Bucks County area with respect to tax, estate and trust matters. Mr. Eastburn is a graduate of Amherst College, Georgetown Law School, and Temple Law School’s graduate tax program.
Ms. Eastburn received the “Ones to Watch” award for her work in the field of Trusts and Estates and Litigation – Trusts and Estates. She practices in the areas of Wills, Trusts and Estates, Orphans’ Court Litigation and Taxation. She frequently advises clients at all stages of estate planning including wealth transfer, asset protection, elder law, and succession strategies. Ms. Eastburn is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Hofstra University School of Law and Villanova University School of Law’s graduate tax program.
Mr. Jonas was named The Best Lawyers in America® “Lawyer of the Year” for Litigation in Land Use and Zoning Law in Philadelphia in 2023, 2021 and in 2018. He was also named the 2017 “Lawyer of the Year” for Land Use and Zoning Law in the Philadelphia Area. This year, he was awarded for his work in Land Use and Zoning Law and Litigation – Land Use and Zoning. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Mr. Jonas has established a reputation by his peers as one of the preeminent land use attorneys in Pennsylvania with extensive experience in real estate, land use/zoning, and municipal law, representing individuals, businesses, and municipal boards. He serves as solicitor to the Zoning Hearing Boards of Towamencin, Upper Merion, and Lower Salford Townships. He also serves Straban Township as special counsel for litigation matters. Following his service in the United States Air Force Reserve, Mr. Jonas began his legal career as law clerk to President Judge James S. Bowman of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. He is a previous board chairman of the Montgomery County Planning Commission.
Mr. Peters received the “Ones to Watch” award for his work in the field of Land Use and Zoning Law and Municipal Law. He has been representing clients in zoning and land development matters for more than ten years, appearing before zoning hearing boards and governing bodies throughout the Commonwealth. Mr. Peters represents municipalities in all aspects of municipal government, advising his clients on issues from the routine to the most complex challenges faced by municipalities. He has litigated cases on behalf of private and municipal clients throughout Pennsylvania, at the trial court and appellate level, in Pennsylvania’s state and federal court systems. Mr. Peters is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and The George Washington University Law School.
Mr. Sivertsen received the “Ones to Watch” award for his work in the field of Land Use and Zoning Law, Litigation – Real Estate, and Municipal Law. He practices land use and zoning, real estate, litigation, construction, and municipal law at Eastburn and Gray. He has appeared on behalf of clients before zoning hearing boards, municipal governing bodies, courts of common pleas, and the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court in land development matters, applications for zoning variances, and zoning appeals. Mr. Sivertsen received his law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law. He earned an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree from Cornell University.
Mr. VanLuvanee was named The Best Lawyers in America® “Lawyer of the Year” for Land Use and Zoning Law in the Philadelphia market in 2024, 2018 and in 2014. This year, he received the award in Land Use and Zoning Law and Real Estate Law. Mr. VanLuvanee has been continuously ranked in this publication since 2007. As one of Pennsylvania’s premier land use attorneys, Mr. VanLuvanee handles zoning, subdivision and land development matters, as well as real estate transactional matters, for both developers and property owners. During his career, he has been involved in many significant, precedent-setting land use cases decided by the Commonwealth Court and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. For more than 30 years, he has served as counsel to the Home Builders Association of Bucks/Montgomery Counties. He is an active member of the Legal Action Task Force and Judicial Task Force of the Pennsylvania Builders Association and the Legal Action Network for Development Strategies (LANDS) sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders. Mr. VanLuvanee is a graduate of Kalamazoo College and the University of Michigan Law School.
Ms. Von Spreckelsen is recognized for her work in the field of Land Use and Zoning Law and Litigation – Land Use and Zoning. She has been representing commercial, institutional, industrial, and residential real estate developers, businesses, individuals, and distinguished industrial and institutional clients in all aspects of real estate law, including zoning, subdivision, land development, municipal-related, and transactional matters for more than 15 years. She frequently represents clients in front of municipal bodies and state courts throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Ms. Von Spreckelsen is a graduate of the University of Delaware and Dickinson School of Law.
Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers recognitions are compiled based on an exhaustive Purely Peer Review® evaluation. More than 123,000 industry leading lawyers are eligible to vote (from around the world), and we have received more than 20 million evaluations on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world.
