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February 2, 2018 – Pittsburgh, PA – Rothman Gordon is pleased to announce the addition of three employment attorneys: Samuel J. Cordes, John (J.) E. Black, and Nicholas A. Krakoff, as well as Paralegal Lea Anne McCabe-Ferita and Legal Assistant Melissa Damp, making the firm now home to one of the largest plaintiff employment practices in Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review calls Cordes “the Archangel of employment rights” in Western Pennsylvania; an “excellent and extremely creative lawyer, which makes him dangerous for the opposition.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes, Cordes is “extremely smart in the scholarly sense and has that practical street smart sense. You don’t see that combination in too many lawyers.” 

Chambers USA – America’s Leading Business Lawyers notes, he is “smart, and highly rated for employment litigation. Juries love him.”

During his 30 year career, Cordes has tried more than 50 employment cases to successful verdicts. He also has successfully litigated more than 25 appeals before federal and state appellate courts. He has tried numerous high profile employment discrimination cases in the Western District of Pennsylvania. He was lead counsel in the largest individual ADEA verdict and largest pregnancy discrimination verdict ever awarded in the Western District of Pennsylvania, and won the first employment case under the Americans with Disabilities Act to be tried to verdict in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Just this past year, Cordes won the first case in Pennsylvania in which the Court found a public employers’ failure to provide retiree spousal health care benefits to a gay couple violates the federal civil rights laws and the U.S. Constitution.

“For as long as I have been practicing, Rothman Gordon has been the gold standard for labor and employment law in Western Pennsylvania,” Cordes said. “I am honored to be joining the long line of exceptional labor and employment layers who have practiced in this firm since the 1950s.”

“We are thrilled to have Sam, J., and Nick join our team,” said Rothman Gordon Managing Shareholder Bill Lestitian. “There is no question that we have the strongest employment practice of any law firm in Pittsburgh.”

About Rothman Gordon

Rothman Gordon is a Pittsburgh-based law firm that has been advocating its clients' interests since 1954. Rothman Gordon has created a suite of services for individuals, organizations, and closely-held and family businesses. Our areas of practice include alternative dispute resolution; business and corporate law; commercial real estate; business and commercial litigation; estate planning and administration; elder law; taxation and employee benefits; financing and commercial loans; employment and labor law; employment litigation; oil & gas for landowners; and workers' compensation and social security disability.