PHILADELPHIA – Stradley Ronon Partner Mark E. Chopko served as a speaker for the Seventh-day Adventist Church Pastors’ Summit on Abuse on Sept. 11. Chopko presented “Pastors’ Legal Responsibilities Regarding Abuse,” and “Pastoral Care for the Abuser.” The first session focused on the legal obligation to report abuse and neglect to civil authorities, and the second session examined ways in which pastors could minister to abusers while simultaneously protecting families and children. The live-streamed summit was broadcasted simultaneously to Adventist Churches around the world.
Chopko chairs Stradley Ronon’s nonprofit and religious organizations practice group and advises clients, including colleges and universities, in matters involving structural, business, governance, regulatory and complex litigation. He also teaches a seminar on church-state law at Georgetown University Law Center. A former general counsel for the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops, he has participated in more than 30 Supreme Court cases as counsel for religious groups in friend-of-the-Court briefs.
About Stradley Ronon
Counseling clients since 1926, Stradley Ronon has helped private and public companies – from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations – achieve their goals by providing pragmatic, value-driven legal counsel. With offices in eight strategic locations, our responsive team of more than 200 attorneys seamlessly addresses the full spectrum of our clients’ needs, ranging from sophisticated corporate transactions to complex commercial litigation.