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Mr. Skowron is the Managing Partner of the Pittsburgh office, a partner in the Litigation Services Department, and the chair of the Communications and Media Industry Group. He has significant experience in professional liability, product liability, insurance, business tort and contractual litigation, as well as media cases. Mr. Skowron has represented clients on a variety of matters and is also active in pro bono work at Schnader, including prisoners’ rights cases, First Amendment litigation, and immigration matters.

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Community & Pro Bono

Mr. Skowron has a very active pro bono practice and has represented clients on a variety of matters:

  • Successfully obtained asylum for a young man fleeing gang violence in Central America.
  • Represented a wrongfully accused young woman fighting unwarranted criminal charges in partnership with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project.
  • Successfully represented a tenant through arbitration fighting illegal charges by her landlord.
  • Successfully argued for dismissal of a defamation and false light lawsuit brought against a local online newspaper in partnership with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
  • Represented a prisoner in a civil rights case in federal court.

Mr. Skowron also serves in a leadership role in the following community organizations:

  • Board Member of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania
  • Member of Mt. Lebanon Zoning Hearing Board
  • Den Leader in Cub Scout Pack 38 in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Education

  • University of Pittsburgh School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, 2009
  • University of Oxford, M.St., with distinction, 2006
  • Georgetown University, B.S., magna cum laude, 2005

Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia, 2010
  • Pennsylvania, 2009

Court Admissions

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Professional Affiliations

  • DRI’s Commercial Litigation Committee, Publications Chair – Pretrial Practice and Procedure SLG
  • Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, Member
  • Professional Liability Defense Federation, Member

  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of PA Local Rules Advisory Committee, Member

Other Distinctions

  • University of Pittsburgh Law Review, Executive Editor
  • Recognized as a “Rising Star” by the editors of Super Lawyers, 2019
  • Certified as “Ally-Ready” by the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition, 2021

Representative Matters

Mr. Skowron has experience in all phases of litigation through and including trial and appeal, and has represented clients in a wide variety of industries, including financial institutions, private equity firms, law firms, insurance companies, healthcare providers, engineering firms, media companies, and industrial manufacturers. Some of Mr. Skowron’s representative matters include:

  • Represented a private equity firm through trial with regard to alleged breaches of representations and warranties in a merger agreement governing the acquisition of a local company.
  • Represented an engineering firm with regard to a multimillion-dollar claim of professional negligence.
  • Successfully argued for dismissal of a defamation and false light lawsuit brought against a local online newspaper.
  • Negotiated a favorable settlement for a large waste disposal and collection provider in a dispute with a competitor regarding the validity of certain municipal contracts.
  • Represented a newspaper in several appeals regarding Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law requests and successfully obtained court orders requiring disclosure of the requested records.
  • Advised a non-profit on the intricacies of the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law and developed a strategy to assist them in protecting their sensitive documents from accidental and unintentional disclosure via overbroad Right-to-Know Law Requests issued to their governmental business partners. 
  • Negotiated a favorable settlement for a television broadcaster with regard to a dispute about its leasing of transponder space on a satellite.
  • Represented a partnership that was the victim of criminal fraud and legal malpractice, which resulted in a multimillion-dollar settlement.
  • Represented a banking institution in a multimillion-dollar professional liability coverage dispute.
  • Represented lenders with respect to several commercial foreclosures.
  • Represented various industrial manufacturers in ongoing asbestos litigation across the country.
  • Successfully defended an out-of-state construction vehicle vendor in a contractual dispute both at the lower court and on appeal which resulted in dismissal of all claims.
  • Represented a large insurance company in complex antitrust class action litigation that resulted in a favorable settlement for the client. 
  • Represented a newspaper in a challenge to an overbroad gag order before the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
  • Negotiated a favorable settlement for a will contestant with regard to an undue influence claim.

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