Pittsburgh, Pa. – February 8, 2005 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Pepper Hamilton LLP announced that Ralph A. Finizio, a commercial litigator, has joined the firm as a partner in the Pittsburgh office.
“Ralph is a first-rate litigator with tremendous depth serving businesses and construction clients,” said Richard I. Thomas, the partner in charge of Pepper’s Pittsburgh office. “He enjoys an outstanding personal and professional reputation in the Pittsburgh community, and we’re delighted to welcome him to Pepper.”
Mr. Finizio’s practice emphasizes construction-related claims and directors and officers litigation. He has litigated cases in 11 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and he has served as a private and court-appointed mediator and arbitrator.
Before joining Pepper, Mr. Finizio was a director of Houston Harbaugh, P.C., in Pittsburgh, where he was chairman of that firm’s Litigation Practice Group and a member of its Executive Committee. Earlier in his career, he practiced in Washington, D.C., and was a member of the legal department of PPG Industries.
Mr. Finizio serves on the Allegheny County Bar Association Judiciary Committee, which evaluates candidates for state and federal judgeships, and he is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Judicial Selection and Administration Committee and the American Bar Association Forum on the Construction Industry.
Mr. Finizio is a member of the board of directors of Achieva, a nonprofit organization serving people with mental retardation, and he is pro bono legal counsel to the Variety Club of Pittsburgh, a charity for children with disabilities.
Mr. Finizio is a graduate of Washington & Jefferson College (B.A. 1979) and the University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D. 1982). He is a member of the Pennsylvania bar.
Pepper’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group, with more than 100 lawyers, handles complex commercial litigation, arbitrations, mediations and minitrials, ranging from single-issue injunction cases to multimillion dollar contract disputes. The scope of the practice is broad and includes litigation involving antitrust and competition, bankruptcy and reorganization, class actions, construction, ERISA, health care services, health effects and products liability, insurance and reinsurance, intellectual property, labor and employment, real estate, securities and shareholder disputes, and white collar criminal defense. The firm’s litigators also work closely with transactional and regulatory lawyers to address all aspects of a client’s needs.
Pepper’s Construction Practice Group includes more than 20 lawyers who concentrate on construction, surety and government contract law. The group combines experience and sophistication in construction litigation and counseling with knowledge of the regulations that govern contracting with local, state and federal governments, and handles all aspects of public and private construction litigation and contracting.
Pepper’s Pittsburgh office, with 41 lawyers, offers clients the resources of a large, multi-office firm with a regional, national and international practice. In addition to litigation, lawyers in the office focus on corporate and securities law, intellectual property and patent matters, labor and employment law, financial services, municipal and project finance, real estate, tax, sports and environmental law. The office, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, opened in 1995.
Pepper Hamilton LLP (www.pepperlaw.com) is a multi-practice law firm with 400 lawyers in six states and the District of Columbia. The firm provides corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation and the world. The firm was founded in 1890.
