JOHN KETTERING is a partner at Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP. He is a member of the Business & Corporate, Bankruptcy, and the Commercial Litigation Practice Groups.

Mr. Kettering has advised and represented clients in a number of business and commercial matters which include:

• Corporate counseling and governance matters to both for-profit and non-profit organizations;
• Representation of creditors in a variety of bankruptcy proceedings in order to protect interests and facilitate recovery;
• Commercial litigation involving a wide assortment of business disputes; and
• Negotiations and direction of corporate transactions.

In his business practice, Mr. Kettering has extensive experience with a variety of matters including the formation and dissolution of businesses, complex business transactions, shareholder litigation, and general corporate matters. He has represented and provided counsel to a variety of businesses which include publicly traded corporations, financial institutions, closely held corporations, partnerships, non-profit organizations, and sole proprietors.

In bankruptcy matters, Mr. Kettering has successfully represented both creditors and debtors in an array of bankruptcy proceedings in courts across the country. Mr. Kettering has represented secured creditors, unsecured creditors, counterparties to executory contracts, as well as other parties in interest, to both protect their interests in property as well as to recover money owed to them. Mr. Kettering has successfully litigated issues in bankruptcy related to the allowance of claims and administrative expenses on behalf of a Chapter 11 reorganized debtor. He has also considerable experience in bankruptcy adversary proceedings including the defense of avoidance actions and preference actions.

In the field of commercial litigation, Mr. Kettering has successfully represented clients at trial and arbitration in many areas of commercial law. This includes matters involving non-compete covenants, defenses of technology corporations on the basis of statutory immunity, and successful arbitration proceedings relating to disputed construction projects. He also has experience with real estate leases, licenses, easements, and zoning and has, successfully, appeared before zoning hearing boards on behalf of his clients.

Mr. Kettering is a member of the Mercer County Bar Association, Judith K. Fitzgerald Bankruptcy Inns of Court, Pennsylvania Bar Association, and American Bar Association. He has also recently published articles in The Pennsylvania Lawyer as well as the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Bar News newsletter. Mr. Kettering has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star in the area of Business and Corporate. He has also been recognized in Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch since 2021 for his practice in Corporate Governance and Compliance Law, Nonprofit and Charities Law, and Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights, Insolvency and Reorganization Law.

Prior to joining Pietragallo, Mr. Kettering served as a judicial intern for Judge Carlotta M. Böhm in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Kettering earned his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh Law School, cum laude. While there, he served as the production editor of the University of Pittsburgh Tax Review. He also published Dr. Strangetax: Or, Why Pennsylvania Should Stop Worrying and Just End the Film Tax Credit, 11 PITT. TAX REV. 69 (2012). During his tenure there, he was awarded with the Gibson Award, the W. Edward Sell Award, the American Bankruptcy Institute Medal of Excellence, and Cali Awards for Bankruptcy, Business Organizations, and Securities Arbitration. He received his B.A. in Economics and History, cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh as a member of the Dean’s Honor List.

Mr. Kettering is admitted to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and Ohio. He is also admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District and Western District of Pennsylvania.