OFFICES

As the Eckert Seamans headquarters and home base for more than 140 attorneys, the Pittsburgh office plays a major role in making things happen for the firm's clients.  Pittsburgh attorneys have substantial experience in the wide variety of practice areas that individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, municipal authorities and government agencies need to call upon in the rapidly changing modern world.

Pittsburgh-based attorneys often work closely with those in other Eckert Seamans offices to manage individual cases and share specialized knowledge in their practice areas.  In addition to the following areas, Pittsburgh office attorneys are experienced in antitrust and trade regulations; hospitality, estates and trusts; health law; construction law; and transportation.

Litigation and Commercial Law      

Approximately half of Eckert Seamans' litigation attorneys are based in Pittsburgh.  The firm's litigation strength stems from its ability to handle the full range of business and commercial litigation needs.  Firm attorneys routinely provide litigation advice from the inception through to the conclusion of clients' business transactions in an effort to provide the best possible commercial results and best litigation advantage at every phase of their transactions.  The firm represents clients in state and federal courts at all levels, regulatory hearings, grand jury proceedings, arbitrations and other alternative dispute resolution proceedings.  The firm's attorneys have broad experience in complex, multifaceted civil litigation, including contract actions and matters arising under the UCC, RICO, CERCLA and state and federal antitrust and securities laws.  The firm's extensive experience includes class action and derivative shareholder litigation, franchising disputes, insurance coverage and defense litigation, intellectual property actions and contract disputes. 

Corporate and Real Estate

Corporate attorneys in Pittsburgh provide general counseling for small to large businesses, and often are involved in complex mergers and acquisitions most recently in structuring consolidations in the telecommunications, glass manufacturing, and retail pharmacy industries.  They also advise clients on securities laws, corporate finance, bankruptcy and creditors' rights, financial restructuring and business-related immigration matters.

Attorneys in the firm's real estate department have assisted in transactions relating to the acquisition, financing, development, construction and disposition of virtually every type of real estate, from single family dwellings to business facilities, industrial parks and large industrial plants.  They have also been active in the legal representation of real estate syndications, and have participated in cases involving temporary and permanent takings and condemnation matters.

Labor and Employment

Attorneys knowledgeable in the evolving laws and regulations affecting employment hold in-depth reviews with organizations to anticipate and avoid and defend against litigation.  They have represented employers before agencies and courts throughout the United States in hundreds of discrimination, wrongful termination, ERISA and other employment-related cases.  The firm also provides counseling on union organizational strategies, advises on and conducts union contract negotiations, and represents management in arbitration and National Labor Relations Board proceedings.

Intellectual Property and Technology

Pittsburgh-based attorneys serve individuals, corporations, universities and other organizations, nationally and internationally, in the rapidly expanding arena of intellectual property.  Experienced in all phases of U.S. and foreign patents, trademarks and copyrights, they handle intellectual property enforcement and defense against charges of infringement, licensing agreements, software and hardware marketing problems, technology transfers, validity and infringement studies, and unfair competition and trade secret disputes.

Product Liability

The steady increase in product liability and mass tort litigation over the past decade represents serious financial exposure for corporate clients.  Eckert Seamans has substantial experience in defending product liability and toxic tort suits, in addition to counseling corporate clients on preventing claims and minimizing product hazard exposure.  The firm has served as lead counsel in both national and regional defense of product liability cases and mass tort cases and has coordinated the defense for cases tried in numerous locations across the U.S.

Environmental and Energy

Attorneys provide counsel in a wide range of cases where environmental laws and regulations are involved.  Among other activities, they regularly work with clients to resolve compliance questions, negotiate satisfactory conclusions to adversarial relationships with regulatory agencies, and perform environmental due diligence reviews before mergers and acquisitions. 

Municipal Finance

Attorneys experienced in bonds and taxation represent municipalities, school districts, public agencies and authorities in major debt financing projects ranging from water and sewer systems to housing developments and airports, as well as advising on the intricacies of refinancing public debt.  A team devoted to aiding financially-troubled municipal governments led the recovery effort for the first municipality to be declared healthy again under Pennsylvania's Distressed Communities program.