Implicit Bias: The Bias You Didn't Know You Have... But You Do

Debra concentrates her practice in the area of complex environmental and toxic tort litigation and environmental due diligence and compliance with an emphasis upon the defense of groundwater contamination cases involving claims for both property damage and serious personal injury.

Debra’s work has been in both state and federal courts and she has handled matters in jurisdictions throughout the United States, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Michigan and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Debra also has significant experience in other litigation matters including products  liability and chemical workplace exposure cases. She also advises clients on transactions involving purchase and redevelopment of brownfields. Debra also frequently counsels clients on environmental compliance issues with a focus on Underground Storage Tank regulations and Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA) requirements and is well-versed in the new Site Remediation Reform Act and the Licensed Site Remediation Professional program. She frequently represents clients in compliance and enforcement matters with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in the Office of Administrative Law.

Debra is admitted to the bar in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, the United Sates District Courts, District of New Jersey and Eastern and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  Debra is a member of the New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Camden County Bar Associations and has been named to New Jersey Super Lawyers in Environmental Law. Debra is also active in the New Jersey Society of Women Environmental Professionals. She regularly speaks on both environmental law issues and diversity and inclusion issues facing the legal profession.

Debra has been an attorney with Archer & Greiner since 1986 and she became a shareholder of the firm in 1994. Debra is a member of both Archer & Greiner’s Personnel Committee and the firm’s Diversity Committee. She is also a founding member and Co-Chairperson for the Archer & Greiner Women Lawyer’s Network. She earned her law degree, with honors, from Rutgers School of Law - Camden in 1986 and her Bachelor’s degree, with honors, from Dickinson College in 1983.

Representative Experience

• Served as trial counsel in the first arbitration under the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act, which included the development of proposed procedural guidelines later substantially adopted and codified by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in the final rules promulgated by the Department.
• Served as lead trial counsel in the defense of underground storage tank environmental contamination cases in various matters throughout the Middle Atlantic states which typically involve claims for personal injury and property damage related to groundwater contamination with amounts in controversy frequently exceeding $1,000,000
• Served as lead counsel with respect to environmental claims against a petrochemical company at over 150 sites in ten states which involved complex hydrogeologic issues, including hydrocarbon fingerprinting and aging analysis, as well as multiple legal issues under the applicable cost recovery statues and common lawAdvised major petrochemical company on due diligence and environmental issues related to purchase of brownfields petroleum terminal property in New Jersey
• Served as lead trial counsel in the defense of benzene exposure case in claimed workplace exposure to petroleum products

Professional and Community Involvement

Current Board Service

• New Jersey Society of Women Environmental Professionals – Steering Committee
• Burlington County Council, Boy Scouts of America – Vice President, Legal

Current Professional Organization Membership

• Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey – Environment Committee
• New Jersey State Bar Association
• Camden County (N.J.) Bar Association
• Philadelphia Bar Association

Prior Professional and Community Leadership Positions

• New Jersey Society of Women Environmental Professionals – Co-Chairperson 
• YMCA School’s Out – Parent Representative

Awards and Recognition

• Named a New Jersey “Super Lawyer” in Environmental Law for 2006, 2008 - 2010, 2013, 2014
• Recognized by SJ Magazine in its “Top Attorneys” edition for Brownfields (2009-2011, 2014)

Articles and Presentations

• New Jersey Site Remediation Reform Act Makes Major Changes to Clean-Up Process, Client Advisory, 2009.
• Old Dog, New Trick: Cost-Benefit Analysis in DEP Decision-Making, New Jersey Law Journal, December 13, 2010, Vol. 202 No. 11.
• Know Thyself: Affinity Bias in the Legal Profession By: Stella Tsai and Debra Rosen, Women Advocate Newsletter, American Bar Association, March 9, 2015

Ms. Tsai is a business litigation partner in the Philadelphia office with a practice concentrating in regulatory compliance and ethics. Ms. Tsai represents both individuals and multi-national businesses in transactional, regulatory, and litigation matters,  including trial and appellate work. Ms. Tsai re-entered private practice after serving as Chair of Administrative Law at the City of Philadelphia Law Department from 2000-2003 where she managed the attorneys who represent the child welfare and social service agencies. While in private practice, Ms. Tsai has served as national coordinating counsel in products liability litigation, litigated civil RICO and securities fraud matters, prepared decisions and presided over hearings for the City of Philadelphia Civil Service Commission, represented insurance companies in disputes with corporate policyholders over coverage for environmental and bodily injury claims, and counseled business organizations on corporate ethics and governance matters, including financial reporting, cybersecurity, and compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption statutes.

Ms. Tsai served an extended term as an inaugural member of the independent City of Philadelphia Board of Ethics, which is charged with enforcing the City’s campaign finance and ethics laws. In October 2008, the Hon. Michael A. Nutter appointed Ms. Tsai to the City’s Zoning Code Commission (“ZCC”) to lend her expertise in rewriting the City’s complex and outdated zoning code and help modernize how the City will manage future development, and facilitate sustainable growth. Shortly after her appointment, Ms. Tsai was named the Chair of Engagement Committee and 2nd Vice-Chair of the ZCC. In December 2011, the ZCC submitted the final draft of the new Zoning Code, which was unanimously passed by City Council and signed by Mayor Nutter. After the ZCC concluded its work, Mayor Nutter appointed Ms. Tsai to the Board of Trustees of the Community College of Philadelphia, the largest public institution of higher education in Philadelphia. She was recently named as Secretary of the Board.

Representative Experience

• Co-chaired trial team which secured preliminary injunction on behalf of the City of Philadelphia against another governmental agency from carrying out discriminatory elements of a fare plan and dismissal of agency’s appeal to Commonwealth Court; Co-chaired trial team which secured dismissal of preliminary injunction in a civil rights suit, which was dismissed with prejudice, alleging racial discrimination in the implementation of certain regulations of the Pennsylvania Liquor Code.
• Chaired trial team which obtained defense verdict in a bench trial involving multi-million dollar breach of contract claims arising under a stock purchase agreement.
• Made substantial contributions to the system-wide implementation of court reforms designed to achieve the safety, permanency and well-being of at-risk children and youth in Philadelphia.
• Navigated multi-million dollar exempt organizations through high profile governmental audits and investigations and the diverse and complex business transactions arising from cessation or reduction of  operations.
• Secured favorable resolution of international business disputes filed on behalf of or against foreign clients in U.S. federal and state courts.
• Secured summary judgment for corporate defendants in employment discrimination and environmental insurance coverage matters.
• Obtained political asylum for Chinese refugee after 10 years of litigation and appeals.

Professional and Community Involvement

• Co-Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association Professional Responsibility Committee, 2013.
• Member, Community College of Philadelphia Board of Trustees, 2012-2018. Member of Session, First Presbyterian Church in the City of Philadelphia, 2013-2016 Past President and now ex-officio member of the University of Pennsylvania Law School Alumni Society Board of Managers.
• Member, Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates, 2010-present.
• Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Diversity in the Profession Committee, 2012.
• President, Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Pennsylvania, 2011.

Awards and Recognition

• Recognized as a "Super Lawyer" by Philadelphia Magazine (Business Litigation, 2014) 2013 Diversity Attorney of the Year, The Legal Intelligencer.
• Community Champions of Zoning Code Reform, Philadelphia Association of Commercial Development Corporations, 2012.
• Outstanding Scholar Alumnae of the Year, Schreyer Honors College of the Pennsylvania State University, 2012.
• One Love Award, One Love Movement, 2011.
• Sean Peretta Award, The Young Lawyers Division of the Philadelphia Bar Association for community service, 2009.
• The Civil Rights Advocacy Award, Northwest Philadelphia Community Appreciation Awards Dinner, The Hon. Cherelle L. Parker (D-Phila.) 2009.
• The Alumni Award of Merit, University of Pennsylvania Law School Law Alumni Society, 2009.
• Woman of Distinction, Philadelphia Business Journal, 2009.
• Ms. Tsai earned the designation as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in 2007, 2008 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.
• Member, National Asian Pacific Bar Association’s (“NAPABA”) inaugural class of Best Under 40 Lawyers, 2003.
• Woman of Distinction, Hon. Blondell Reynolds Brown, Councilwoman-at-Large, 2003.

Articles and Presentations

• Know Thyself: Affinity Bias in the Legal Profession By: Stella Tsai and Debra Rosen, (Women Advocate Newsletter, American Bar Association, March 9, 2015)
• How Stereotypes Can Interfere With Objectivity and Logic (The Legal Intelligencer, June 8, 2015).
• Good Faith Efforts: A Compliance Defense for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. published by International Law 360, 2014
• Selection Bias: The Great Asian American Divide on Affirmative Action in Fisher, Minority Trial Lawyer newsletter of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation, December 17, 2013
• 25th Annual NAPABA Convention, NAPABA, Speaker, 2013
• Asian Americans and The Law in the Golden Mountain CLE, A & G Diversity Committee CLE, moderator, 2013.
• Get Smart: Deconstructing the MWDBE Certification Process CLE, A & G Diversity Committee CLE, moderator, 2013.
• A Survivor’s Guide To Cross-Border Insolvency And Restructuring CLE, NAPABA International  Committee,  moderator, 2012.
• Linsanity, Linguistics, & the Law CLE, Philadelphia Bar Association, moderator, 2012.
• Boilerplate Contracts: Use at Your Own Risk CLE, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, panelist. 2012.
• How to Solve the Red Zone: 5 Winning Plays for Corporate Leaders, 2012.
• A New Year for Lobbying, 2012, A & G Government Affairs.
• EB-5 Investor Visas: Capital Gains for U.S. Economy, 2011, A & G International Law Update, Co-Author.
• Promises Kept: Corporate Boards Must Change, 2010, S. Keefe, Contributor.
• Spending Your Stimulus Dollars, Contract Mgt. Magazine, 2009, Katherine Ng, Wu & Associates, Co-Author.
• For-Profit and Non-Profit Board Update 2010, 2009, A. Tucci, S. Tsai, F.McElhill, Co-Authors.

Alita T. Wingfield is an Executive Director and Head of Bank Non-Market Risk at Morgan Stanley Bank N.A. In that role, she reports to the Chief Operating Officer and manages the Operational Risk (including Anti-Money Laundering Risk), Compliance Risk and Reputational Risk of the Bank. Prior to her transition from Morgan Stanley to Morgan Stanley Bank, she was the Managing Attorney of the Global Litigation Group and was responsible for writing litigation policies and procedures, providing advice on regulatory reporting, managing and coordinating matter management, internal risk reporting, litigation disclosures, legal reserves, and Sox and internal audit testing.

Alita is the former Chair of the Legal and Compliance Division’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. The Committee is involved in several programs and initiatives, including programs to share best practices with outside counsel law firms, several initiatives focused on women issues, a summer intern program for 1st year law students, Legal Outreach (a college prep and legal education not-for-profit), and the South African Fellows  Program. Until January of 2014, she also served as Chair of the LCD Supplier Diversity Initiative, aimed at increasing LCD use of minority- and women-owned law firms. In recognition of her diversity and inclusion efforts, Alita was awarded the 2013 New York City Bar Diversity & Inclusion Champion Award and the 2013 Corporate Counsel Women of Color Individual Star Diversity Award of Excellence.

Alita is on the Board of Directors of Sanctuary for Families - New York’s leading service provider and advocate for survivors of domestic violence, sex trafficking, and related forms of gender violence.

Alita is also on the Advisory Council of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), a nonprofit trade association comprised of minority and women-owned law firms.  

Alita started her career as a litigation associate at Arnold & Porter in DC. During her career she has worked at large firms (Arnold & Porter and Paul Weiss (NY)), a small firm (Hangley Aronchick, Segal & Pudlin) and in-house (Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley).  

Alita graduated from Spelman College, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in Political Science in 1994. She also holds a J.D. from Howard University School of Law, cum laude. She also obtained a LL.M. in Trial Advocacy, cum laude, from Temple University Beasley School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in New York, Maryland, D.C. and Pennsylvania.  

Alita truly believes that flexibility, a partner in parenting and excellent child care are the keys to her career success. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, watching movies and spending time with her family.  Alita is married to her college sweetheart Eddie, a Morehouse College and Temple Medical School graduate and an Interventional Cardiologist. She has four children, Isaiah (18), Imani (16) and Laila (7) and Anthony (5).