Our firm is built on a foundation of academic excellence, practical wisdom, and hard work. We have lawyers at DeForest Koscelnik Yokitis Kaplan & Berardinelli who are consistently recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and as Pennsylvania “Super Lawyers”, honors received by only top attorneys based on the recommendations of their peers.

Our lawyers have a wealth of valuable legal experience and they complement each other well. Walter DeForest and Jackie Koscelnik formed the firm in Pittsburgh in 1994, following careers at Reed Smith Shaw & McClay. While continuing to represent a number of clients, Mr. DeForest and Ms. Koscelnik served, respectively, as outside general counsel and associate general counsel to Carnegie Mellon University from 1993 through 2002. George Yokitis and Mindy Shreve are nationally recognized litigators who previously headed the Pittsburgh office of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis from 1994 to 2001. Gary Kaplan joined the firm in 2003; before that he headed the Information Technology practice at Reed Smith LLP. David Berardinelli began his legal career at our firm as a summer associate and then as an associate after graduating Harvard Law School in 1996. Mr. Berardinelli served as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York from 2000 to 2005, after which he returned to the firm and has become a partner who is well-seasoned in jury trials and white collar crime defense. On December 1, 2008, Will Skinner, formerly of McKenna Long & Aldridge, established our firm’s Los Angeles office.

At DeForest Koscelnik Yokitis Kaplan & Berardinelli, we believe that all clients are entitled to personal attention and outstanding service for reasonable fees. We pride ourselves on our diligence and accessibility and are generally available to our clients around the clock.

We welcome your inquiries and will gladly provide additional information about our firm as well as appropriate client references.