The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has appointed Dion G. Rassias as Board Chair and former Sen. John C. Rafferty, Jr. as Vice-Chair, effective April 1, 2023.
Mr. Rassias is a trial lawyer with the Philadelphia law firm, The Beasley Firm LLC. He was first appointed to the Board in April 2018 and was reappointed in February 2021. He has extensive trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts and regulatory agencies throughout the six states where he is admitted to practice.
He has tried and settled a growing list of cases which have resulted in multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for people and families who have been catastrophically injured and damaged as the result of medical malpractice, professional malpractice, partnership disputes and law firm disassociations, defamation and false light, products liability, civil rights violations, discrimination and harassment, and related personal injury actions.
In addition, he has tried and settled many complex commercial litigations involving business disputes, antitrust claims, contracting disputes, healthcare issues, bank fraud, and trade secret litigation.
Mr. Rassias previously served as a Hearing Committee Member from 2010-2016.
Former Senator John C. Rafferty, Jr. was first appointed to the Board in February 2019 and was reappointed in October 2021.
Prior to his appointment to the Disciplinary Board, Sen. Rafferty served the 44th Senatorial District which included Berks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties. Since leaving the Senate after serving four terms, he re-joined the firm Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin, PC.
Throughout Sen. Rafferty’s time in the Senate, he served as the Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, Vice Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and member of the Appropriations, Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure, and Law and Justice Committees. He was also appointed to serve on both the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
Before he ran for the Senate, Sen. Rafferty practiced law in private practice focusing on education, real estate, zoning, business, and estate law. He also served as a former Pennsylvania deputy attorney general in the criminal law division where he investigated and prosecuted Medicaid fraud.
Sen. Rafferty previously served as a member of the Methacton School Board, the Montgomery County Board of Assessment Appeals, and the Lower Providence Board of Supervisors.
The Disciplinary Board was created by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to review conduct and assure compliance by all attorneys to the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct. The Board assists the Supreme Court in the licensing and discipline of attorneys in Pennsylvania. Its mission is to protect the general public, maintain a high standard of integrity in the legal profession and safeguard the reputation of the courts of Pennsylvania.
Disciplinary Board Members, which include ten lawyers and two non-lawyers from across the Commonwealth, meet regularly to decide cases, policies, and board administrative matters. All members of the Disciplinary Board serve as unpaid volunteers.