Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” as a Tier 1 firm in Pittsburgh for Business Organizations (including LLCs and Partnerships), Commercial Finance Law, Corporate Governance Law, Corporate Law, Financial Services Regulation Law, and Litigation – Real Estate. SGK also achieved metropolitan Tier 2 rankings.
• Mergers and Acquisitions
  Mr. Bashaw soon made a name for himself in corporate and transactional work for the firm’s many corporate clients. Working closely with our former Managing Shareholder, Robert D. German, he helped build a remarkable roster of clients and increasingly more sophisticated corporate transactions. His depth of experience with corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and technology clients made him an indispensable part of SGK’s Corporate Services Group.
• Business Transactions

Employment Law

• Non-compete Agreement
  A Texas federal judge recently blocked the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) attempt to ban essentially all non-compete agreements.  The FTC Rule, published earlier this year and set to go into effect on September 4, 2024, was met with a wave of litigation.  The court determined that the FTC lacks the statutory authority to promulgate the FTC Rule.  The court went on to call the rule arbitrary and capricious as it chose to impose a sweeping prohibition that would prohibit entering into and enforcing virtually all non-competes rather than targeting specific, harmful non-competes.  Following the ruling, a spokesperson for the FTC stated that they are seriously considering a potential appeal.

Property Law

• Real Estate Litigation
  SGK attorneys collaborate to offer a broad range of commercial and individual legal services to a diverse group of clients. Our particular strengths and capabilities lie in the fundamental and strategic areas that affect virtually all businesses and their principals, including general corporate matters, mergers and acquisitions and other business transactions, technology transactions, real estate law, employee benefits, labor and employment law, tax planning and counseling, litigation, services for financial institutions, estates and trusts, and energy and natural resources. Our clients, large multi-national, publicly-traded corporations, family-owned or other closely-held businesses, start-up and emerging businesses as well as family offices and high net-worth individuals, trust us to be their advisors and counselors on matters that affect them and their businesses most deeply. We deploy our knowledge, sophistication and creativity to achieve their goals, ever mindful of the faith that our clients have placed in us.

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  Cooper, German, Kelly & Purcell, P.C. was youngest of the firms which combined to form Sherrard, German & Kelly, P.C. It was first established in 1975 by a group of attorneys who were formerly associated with another Pittsburgh law firm. Originally known as Houston, Cooper, Speer & German, Henry Cooper led the new firm with innovative planning for individual estates, particularly with retirement plans for medical practices and soon it became well-known in the Pittsburgh area for its concentration in these new areas of law. Rita Kelly, a member of the firm, attended law school at night during the 1950s while teaching fulltime at local high schools. She was admitted to practice in 1958, at a time when women lawyers were not common and nor immediately accepted within the profession. Her skills and talents brought acceptance and then admiration and respect for her uncompromising professionalism. When her name was added to the firm’s name in 1973, she became one of the first woman attorneys to have her name ‘on the door’ of a major Pittsburgh firm. Her name continues to be used by Sherrard, German & Kelly, P.C. With offices in the Oliver Building, and later the Frick Building and Chatham Center, the firm developed an active and highly-regarded practice for corporate transactions for closely-held businesses and estate planning for business owners and individuals.
• Trusts
  “We are truly grateful to all who shared their feedback during the evaluation process and are proud to be recognized with this award again. This acknowledgment highlights the relentless commitment of our SGK team. As we look ahead to the next year, we draw motivation from this honor and reaffirm our promise to continue providing the exceptional services our clients rely on,” stated Eric C. Springer, SGK’s Managing Shareholder and Director – President.

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy
• Tax Law
  A primary reason for the firm’s long-time success, reputation and growth can be greatly attributed to the leadership of Robert D. German. Rob was a proud graduate of Notre Dame and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and he received his Masters of Law in Taxation from New York University. He then joined Cooper, German, Kelly & Purcell, P.C. to work alongside his father, Ralph German, focusing his practice on corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, non-profit law, tax law, and estate planning. Rob was instrumental in the formation of the firm in 1990 and was the driving force and primary Managing Shareholder of the firm for 25 years. During that period, Rob oversaw the development of Sherrard, German & Kelly, P.C. into one of Pittsburgh’s most well-known and highly-respected law firms. He served as outside corporate counsel and Corporate Secretary for the firm’s long-standing and flagship client II-VI Incorporated (now Coherent) and also rose to become a highly-regarded Chairman of the Board of Directors of JDRF International (“JDRF”). His commitment to his work, community and client service and SGK inspired all those around him. Robert D. German passed away on September 6, 2015 following a long battle against acute myeloid leukemia but his reputation, leadership and wisdom continues to propel the firm and all those who knew him.