Erie Indemnity announces McLaughlin hiring, incentive plan [Erie Times-News, Pa.]

Aug. 03--Chief U.S. District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin, who this week announced plans to step down from Erie's federal bench, is moving from one venerable Erie institution across the street to another.

McLaughlin, 58, has been hired to be the top lawyer for Erie Insurance Group starting Aug. 26, the company announced Friday.

McLaughlin will serve as executive vice president, secretary and general counsel of Erie Indemnity Co., which is the management arm of Erie Insurance Group. The Erie Insurance corporate headquarters is at East Sixth and French streets, within sight of Erie'sU.S. District Courthouse at 17 S. Park Row.

McLaughlin succeeds James T. Tanous, who retired from the company on June 30. Erie Indemnity reported Tanous earned a base salary of $422,000 in 2012, with the opportunity to earn more in bonuses, depending on the performance of the company.

McLaughlin earns $174,000 a year as a federal judge. His compensation will increase considerably at Erie Insurance, Erie's only Fortune 500 company. As part of his hiring, he is enrolled in an incentive plan that could lead him to get as many as 9,280 shares of Erie Indemnity's publicly traded stock, the company said. The stock closed at $79.15 a share on Friday. That would amount to $734,512 under Friday's stock price.

The company, which said the incentive plan is different from a signing bonus, said McLaughlin could get that much stock if he meets certain performance goals over the next three years.

McLaughlin told the Erie Times-News earlier this week that he had submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama in mid-July and that his last day on the bench will be Aug. 16.

The Erie Times-News first reported his resignation online Thursday, and the story appeared in the newspaper's print edition Friday. McLaughlin in those stories declined to comment on the specifics of his new post, and said only that he had decided to pursue another "legal opportunity," which would be announced after he stepped down from the bench.

Erie Indemnity early Friday instead moved up that announcement and confirmed widespread speculation that McLaughlin was leaving the court to take a position with the company.

While not naming his new job, McLaughlin said earlier this week that he believed it would be "challenging and fulfilling."

McLaughlin declined further comment Friday on the Erie Indemnity position because he remains on the federal bench.

McLaughlin earned a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in 1977 and a law degree from Georgetown Law Center in 1980. Before joining the bench, he specialized in civil litigation at Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, P.C., in Erie.

President Bill Clinton nominated McLaughlin for a lifetime term in August 1994. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October 1994 at age 39, succeeding U.S. District Judge Glenn Mencer, of Smethport, McKean County. He became the chief judge of the Western District of Pennsylvania in April after the unexpected death of former Chief U.S. District Judge Gary L. Lancaster.

As the only U.S. district judge seated in Erie, McLaughlin handles a wide array of civil and criminal matters drawn mostly from a seven-county area of northwestern Pennsylvania.

In his new post, McLaughlin will join the 2,402 Erie Insurance employees who work in the Erie corporate headquarters. The company employs 4,500 people in 11 states and Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) are overseeing the selection process for McLaughlin's replacement.

The candidate will be nominated by Obama and must win confirmation from the U.S. Senate in a process that is expected to last many months.

The U.S. District Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania is headquartered in Pittsburgh and includes courthouses in Erie and Johnstown.

LISA THOMPSON can be reached at 870-1802 or by e-mail. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNthompson.

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