The Pennsylvania Defense Institute

President Blazure’s President’s Promise

Greetings Defense Bar and all those interested –

Let’s face an unavoidable issue – ours is an internally competitive industry.  While we certainly work within our firms and with close colleagues, there can be a certain hesitation in reaching out to the “defense bar” in general for fear of losing out.  Indeed, each new client we get was someone’s old client and vice versa.  However, while competitive, it need not be an uncooperative industry.  Indeed, we each have a broad base of knowledge and the Venn diagram of our personal knowledge with that of our colleagues does not cross over so much that collaboration is not welcomed.

Who am I, though?  My name is Ryan Blazure, and I have been practicing in the Northeast quadrant of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for 26 years, largely in the field of civil defense.  In this regard, I work for the firm of Thomas, Thomas & Hafer and am active with both general liability and workers compensation matters, with the general liability aspect focusing on retail and hospitality.  I also branch out into business work to keep things interesting.  I am proud to serve as PDI’s President this year.

Returning to the point of my earlier paragraph, the Pennsylvania Defense Institute offers numerous ways we can become involved in our industry and rise to the level of leaders. There are numerous, valuable opportunities to present your thoughts either on the written page or via the spoken word.  Further, if you just want to soak up some of that knowledge, we are almost always in the planning or otherwise anticipatory stages of a thought- provoking, accredited CLE.  In this regard, should you desire to be a part of any of those intellectual endeavors, your thoughts are welcomed.  We are always looking for new presenters and we are always on the lookout for new written articles for our publication, Counterpoint.

I cannot forget about PDI’s social events, though. Throughout our Commonwealth we offer numerous opportunities to get together with your colleagues and enjoy one another’s company.  It is during these times that we can have some enjoyable collaborative sessions and find out what our brothers and sisters in other cities or regions are dealing with, ever able to offer some assistance.

So, our competitive industry need not be an uncooperative industry.  We can and should be here to help one another and assist where we are able without fear of losing work.  We each have something to offer to one another, and we should strive to do so. 

I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can.

Ryan C. Blazure, Esquire

PDI President