About Us

William Bentley Ball

(Founder)(1916-1999). One of the preeminent religious liberty advocates and scholars of his era, William Bentley Ball argued numerous times before the Supreme Court of the United States in landmark First Amendment cases, including the Amish schooling case of Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972), and culminating in the case of Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District (1993), in which a deaf student won the right to have a hearing interpreter aid him in his religious school classroom setting. Mr. Ball mentored all of the attorneys in the Firm as they honed their skills in courtroom advocacy, effective writing, professional integrity and devotion to their clients, to their families and to the cause of justice.

Philip J. Murren

(Member) Admitted to bar, 1975, Pennsylvania; 1978, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: LaSalle University (B.A., Honors Program, 1972); Villanova University (J.D., 1975). Professional Memberships: Cumberland County, Dauphin County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations; National Diocesan Attorneys Association. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Legislative Practice; Constitutional Law; Education Law; Zoning Law; Business and Nonprofit Associations; Exempt Organizations. Experience: Mr. Murren has served as counsel for litigants or amici curiae in over 20 cases filed in the Supreme Court of the United States and has practiced continuously with the Firm since 1975. E-mail: murren@bmc-law.net.

Richard E. Connell

(Of Counsel) Admitted to bar, 1975, Pennsylvania; 1978, U.S. Court of Military Appeals; 1979, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: University of Scranton (B.S., summa cum laude, 1972); Villanova University (J.D., 1975). Bar Memberships: Cumberland County, Dauphin County and Pennsylvania (Member, Sections on: Real Property; Probate and Trust Law; Elder Law) Bar Associations. Experience: Capt., JAG, U.S. Army, 1975-1979. Practice Areas: Civil Practice; Legislative Practice; Estate Planning; Estate Administration; Commercial Law; Real Estate; Zoning Law; Health Care. E-mail: connell@bmc-law.net.

Teresa R. McCormack

(Associate) Admitted to bar, 1989, Pennsylvania; 1993, U.S. Supreme Court. Education: Rosemont College (B.A., 1986); Widener University School of Law (J.D., 1989). Academic Honors: Order of the Barristers. Member, Moot Court Honor Society. Experience: Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Lee F. Swope, Past President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, 1989-1991. Bar Memberships: Cumberland County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Adoption Law; Health Care; Legislative Practice; Nonprofit Organizations; Civil Practice. E-mail: mccormack@bmc-law.net.

David R. Dye

(Associate) Admitted to bar, 2002, Pennsylvania; 2006, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; 2007, U.S. District Court, Western and Middle District of Pennsylvania; 2009, 3rd Circuit Courts of Appeals and Federal District Courts in New York, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Education: Widener University (J.D., 2001); De Sales University (B.A., Theology, 1984). Experience: Lancaster County District Attorney's Office 2002-2006; private practice since 2006. Professional Memberships: Cumberland County Bar Association and Pennsylvania Bar Association. Practice areas: Constitutional Law; Administrative Law: Nonprofit Organizations; Education Law; Legislative Practice. E-mail: dye@bmc-law.net.

KATHERINE M. FITZ-PATRICK

(Associate) Admitted to the bar, 2008, Pennsylvania. Education: York College of Pennsylvania (B.S., Magna Cum Laude, 2003); Penn State University, The Dickinson School of Law (J.D., 2008). Professional Memberships: PA Bar Association; Cumberland County Bar Association. Practice Areas: Education Law; Legislative Practice; Nonprofit Organizations. Experience: Ms. Fitz-Patrick served as a Staff Attorney to the PA School Boards Association for over 9 years prior to joining Ball, Murren & Connell, LLC. She is the Editor of The School Law Handbook (11th Edition, PSBA, 2018). E-mail: fitz-patrick@bmc-law.net.