Contact Information
Biography
Work: Neighborhood Legal Services Association (NLSA), Pittsburgh, PA
2018-present Director of Advocacy
1995-2018 Managing attorney with full caseload
1987-1995 Unit Chief, Consumer Unit, Pittsburgh office
1984-1987 Consumer specialist in Litigation Unit, South Side
1981-1984 Managing attorney in neighborhood office, Hill District
1978-1981 Staff attorney in neighborhood office, Lawrenceville
Legal practice: Continue to provide direct client service with a focus on saving
people’s homes. Extensive mortgage foreclosure and bankruptcy work; also other consumer
cases such as judgment execution, utility terminations, tax delinquency. Helped to
design the Allegheny County mortgage conciliation program and led training locally.
Invited to participate in a state-wide committee formed by the Administrative Office
of the Pennsylvania Courts to encourage the establishment of mortgage conciliation
programs in each county. One of two Legal Services attorneys in Pennsylvania to participate
as a trainer in a seminar presented by AOPC to Common Pleas judges and court administrators
in October, 2010. Train and supervise the NLSA bankruptcy law students. Created and
maintain a Bankruptcy database on the NLSA system which provides current information
on legal and practice issues.
Managerial responsibilities: In charge of the strategic direction for NLSA casework and advocacy. Providing case management reviews, performance reviews and creating systems as needed to respond to the ever-changing demands of our practice. Help to supervise the legal work done by attorneys, paralegals and law students for all offices. Designed and continue to organize our summer intern program which has been very successful both in giving the law students valuable practical experience and expanding client service. Member of the attorney hiring committee, and hire the paid law students. Help to write and create budgets for grant applications.
Education
- B.A. University of Pittsburgh, 1974
- J.D. University of Pittsburgh School of Law, 1978
Profile Information
About
- Pennsylvania; WD PA
- Third Circuit Court of Appeals
- United States Supreme Court
- 2006 Edwin O’Connor award, given by the Allegheny County Bar Foundation
- 2009 Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network Excellence award
- Elder Law Justice Project
- Frequent lecturer for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on bankruptcy and consumer topics.
- Frequent lecturer for other organizations locally, state-wide and nationally. Recent topics have included the intersection of consumer law and domestic violence at two National Consumer Law Center conferences; mortgage diversion programs for the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network conference in Harrisburg; overview of mortgage foreclosure litigation for the Butler County Bar Association; Bankruptcy law and pro bono clinics, for the Allegheny County Bar Association.
- Contributing author to “Pennsylvania Consumer Law” published by Bisel; I wrote the chapter on Judgment Execution and update it each year.
- Active member of the ACBA Ethics committee since 2008, meeting monthly to review inquiries from attorneys about the Rules of Professional Responsibility.
- Selected to serve on the Standing Rules Committee for the Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Pennsylvania.
- Created a workshop on consumer law and financial literacy which I present to local women’s shelters.