5 Christmas Survival Tips for Divorcing Parents

2023/12/06

Divorce and custody issues can make Christmas and other holidays stressful for parents. Children are very perceptive and will feel your stress. Here are some ways to lower your stress and survive the holidays: Focus on new traditions. Christmas will never be the same as it was when you were married. Maybe that is a good thing. As I talked about in my Halloween post, focus on your favorite traditions and cut out the ones you went along with for your spouse. So, if you hated spending the day traveling to visit family members, skip it this year. Instead, do something you enjoy like spending the whole day baking cookies, sipping eggnog and listening to Christmas music. Never liked that fake tree, go cut down a real one. Decide if you can handle spending some of the time together. Sometimes, even in contentious divorces, parents decide to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning together. If you can make it about the children and not be tense, have it. If you have doubts that one or both of you will behave, it is best to divide the time. Figure out the schedule ahead of time. Do not wait until Christmas Eve to decide who gets the kids when. If you both want Christmas Eve, try to figure out a compromise such as alternating who gets Christmas Eve each year. You can also work in other holidays. For example, you can agree that if you get Christmas Eve, your spouse gets Christmas Day and/or Easter Sunday. Be flexible, your children will thank you. Coordinate gifts. It is not fair to your children if you both buy them the same thing. Worse yet, focusing on topping the other parent takes the spirit out of the holiday. Talk to your kids, appropriately. Open and honest communication with children is best. Read More

Halloween: What Divorcing Parents Need to Consider

2023/10/09

Halloween has always been a special holiday for children, and parents enjoy reliving it through their eyes. However, divorce can put a damper on things if the parents do not plan ahead and work together. Here are some tips to help things go more smoothly: Decide who is doing what for the costumes. It is no fun for kids if their parents are too busy fighting over who is doing what when it comes to the costumes. Take your ego out of it. If the other parent really wants to take the lead on the costume let them and agree you will take the lead next year. Or, if you have more than one child, you each are in charge of one of them. Determine if you are both going to trick or treat together. The determinative question is whether both of you can get along and make it a positive experience for your child. That usually means being willing to leave your new significant other out of the picture. Remember, the focus is on your child and not to make your ex jealous or upset. If you cannot make it a positive experience, it may be better to alternate years. Determine where you are trick or treating. If you are both still living at home, this one is easy. If you are now living in separate homes and both neighborhoods trick or treat at the same time, you have to select a location. Think of this from the child’s perspective. Do they have friends in the new neighborhood and feel excited about it? Would they rather spend their first Halloween where it is familiar? Remember that divorce is an opportunity to create new traditions. If you do not have your children on Halloween, you can still create new traditions around the holiday and the fall season. Read More

This Might Be Why So Many Celebrities Are Getting Divorced Right Now. Is there really such a thing as divorce season?

2023/10/05

Carla Schiff Donnelly authored “This Might Be Why So Many Celebrities Are Getting Divorced Right Now. Is there really such a thing as divorce season?,” which was published in Huff Post, on October 5, 2023. Read More

Michael O. Bethune and Adam Garret selected to the ACBA Young Lawyers Division Bar Leadership Initiative

2023/09/26

We are pleased to announce that two Pietragallo attorneys, Michael Bethune and Adam Garret, are among the 14 attorneys selected to the Allegheny County Bar Association’s (ACBA) Young Lawyers Division Bar Leadership Initiative Class of 2023-2024. The Bar Leadership Initiative (BLI) is a year-long program which creates a pipeline for the involvement of young lawyers within the area legal community. The goal of BLI is to aid and encourage young lawyers in developing their professional and community leadership skills, and to position themselves to assume a leadership position within the Allegheny County Bar Association. Read More

Carla Schiff Donnelly speaks on Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section’s Podcast: Law in the Family

2023/09/14

Pietragallo partner Carla Schiff Donnelly recently spoke on an episode of Law in the Family, a podcast from the Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section, titled, “The Prenuptial Agreement Intake: Laying the Foundation for an Effective Agreement”. The Law in the Family podcast is intended to provide insights for lawyers about the practice of family law in Pennsylvania, in this episode Ms. Donnelly discussed the initial meeting and discussions that come with prenuptial agreements. The podcast is available below, and can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. Read More

Carla Schiff Donnelly to speak at 2023 Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession Fall Retreat

2023/11/03

Carla Schiff Donnelly will be speaking at the 2023 Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Commission on Women In the Profession Fall Retreat held November 3-4, 2023 in Hershey, PA. Ms. Donnelly will be speaking the second day of the conference on the panel entitled “Writing Your Way to Success”. This program will discuss the importance of writing in the legal profession, helping attendees of all skill levels to refine their writing, and avoiding pitfalls that derail success. Ms. Donnelly will be joined on the panel by, Samantha E. Dorn, Esq. of Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas and Rhonda M. Fulginiti, Esq. of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC. More information and registration for the retreat can be found here.   Read More

28 Pietragallo Lawyers Named in 2024 The Best Lawyers in America® and Ones to Watch

2023/08/17

Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP is pleased to announce that 28 lawyers have been named as 2024 The Best Lawyers in America® and Ones to Watch. In addition, partners Marc Stephen Raspanti and Tama Beth Kudman have received “Lawyer of the Year” awards. Mr. Raspanti received his award for his work in Health Care Law in Philadelphia, and Ms. Kudman received her award for Criminal Defense: General Practice in West Palm Beach. Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Their process is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area. The following were chosen as The Best Lawyers in America: Gaetan Alfano Bet-the-Company Litigation Commercial Litigation Employment Law – Individuals Employment Law – Management Litigation – Labor and Employment Charles Avalli Family Law Litigation – Trusts and Estates Trusts and Estates Joseph J. Bosick Construction Law Pamela Coyle Brecht Qui Tam Law Kerri Lee Cappella Family Law Robert J. D’Anniballe, Jr. Litigation – ERISA Phillip R. Earnest Construction Law Insurance Law Litigation – Construction Mark Gordon Insurance Law Litigation-Insurance Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers Kenneth Horoho, Jr. Family Law Tama Beth Kudman Criminal Defense: General Practice – Lawyer of the Year Criminal Defense: White-Collar David E. Lamm Product Liability Litigation – Defendants James F. Marrion Product Liability Litigation – Defendants Shelly R. Pagac Employment Law-Management Litigation – Labor and Employment Richard J. Parks Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law Corporate Law Litigation – Real Estate William Pietragallo, II Bet-the-Company Litigation Commercial Litigation Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants Francis E. Pipak, Jr. Workers’ Compensation Law – Employer Kevin E. Raphael Criminal Defense: White-Collar Health Care Law Marc Stephen Raspanti Criminal Defense: White-Collar Health Care Law – Lawyer of the Year Qui Tam Law Lourdes Sánchez Ridge Criminal Defense: White-Collar Douglas K. Read More

Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP and Gentile, Horoho & Avalli, P.C. to Merge

2023/08/01

Business and Commercial Litigation Firm Adds Family Law and Estate Administration/Orphans’ Court Practice AUGUST 1, 2023 – Two established Pittsburgh law firms have agreed to merge, bringing a highly-experienced family law and estate planning, administration, and litigation practice to a nationally-recognized business and litigation firm. Effective August 1, 2023, Gentile, Horoho & Avalli, P.C (GHA) will merge with Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP (Pietragallo). All seven GHA attorneys, well-known for their experience in complex and high net-worth divorce and custody disputes as well as intricate estate/trust cases will now join Pietragallo, a multi-disciplined business and commercial litigation firm, with offices in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Sharon, PA, Steubenville, OH, Weirton, WV, and Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The merger comes on the heels of Pietragallo’s expansion into Palm Beach Gardens in 2022. Pietragallo’s clients range from Fortune 200 and large privately-held companies to municipal entities and entrepreneurial businesses in a broad diversity of industries and business sectors. Gentile, Horoho & Avalli brings to Pietragallo more than 30 years of experience in providing exceptional legal counsel in the areas of family law and estates and trusts as well as complex orphans’ court litigation. “We are excited to engage with these outstanding practitioners in a new sphere of domestic-business litigation,” said Pietragallo chairman William Pietragallo II. “Our practices share a common commitment to achieving results.” “The lawyers at Pietragallo have distinguished themselves as leaders in our profession and in the communities they serve,” said Kenneth J. Horoho, Jr. “The blending of our two firms will provide our current clients with experienced business litigation attorneys who are known for problem-solving and results.” The family law/estate litigation attorneys joining Pietragallo include: Kenneth Horoho, Jr., Partner Charles Avalli, Partner Kerri Lee Cappella, Partner Carla Schiff Donnelly, Partner Lorraine W. Mervan, Special Counsel Robert D. Weinberg, Associate Adam J. Read More

Kerri Lee Cappella elected as President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers

2023/07/13

Kerri Lee Cappella was recently elected as President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Congratulations Kerri! Read More

Kerri Lee Cappella Recognized as “Pennsylvania Top 50: Women Super Lawyer and Top 50: Attorneys in Pittsburgh”

2023/06/15

Kerri Lee Cappella has been selected as a Pennsylvania Top 50: Women Super Lawyer and a Top 50: Attorney in Pittsburgh for 2023 Ms. Cappella’s practice focuses exclusively in the area of matrimonial law, where she has spent over 30 years concentrating on complex, high net worth marital estates. Ms. Cappella became a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in 2009 and will serve as the President of AAML Pennsylvania Chapter beginning July 2023. She has been active in the American, Pennsylvania, and Allegheny County Bar Association Family Law Sections. Additionally, Ms. Cappella was listed among the Best Lawyers in America Women of Influence in Family Law in 2017. She also co-authored Slicing up the Pie: Equitable Distribution in Pennsylvania, in its 2009, 2012, and 2016 editions. She was a charter member of the Allegheny County Chapter of the Matrimonial Inns of Court.  Ms. Cappella earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Penn State University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a research-driven, peer influenced rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The mission of Super Lawyers is to bring visibility to those attorneys who exhibit excellence in practice. Read More