'Plant Your Flag': Pennsylvania-Based Pietragallo Expands Across the River to the Garden State

Pittsburgh-headquartered Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti has announced it is expanding to a new brick-and-mortar location in New Jersey which will be led by partner Scott A. Coffina, who has deep ties in the Garden State.

Pietragallo Gordon announced that its sixth location will be in Marlton, which will be led by Coffina, who co-chairs the firm’s government enforcement, compliance and white-collar litigation practice group. The firm currently has 10 attorneys licensed in New Jersey and plans to add to that number. Their practices cover several specialties, including government enforcement and white-collar litigation, qui tam and False Claims Act litigation, internal investigations, employment, health care, commercial litigation, professional liability, and Title IX and sexual misconduct.

In a conversation with the Law Journal, Coffina said that the Delaware River is not that wide, but from a legal market perspective, the practices on both sides are very different. He said he sees New Jersey as an important market, independent of Philadelphia, and that this is an opportunity for himself and others to leverage their contacts throughout the state.

“If you are not in New Jersey, you are not in New Jersey, even if you are right across the bridge and able to come over,” Coffina said. “We thought having the presence will put us top of mind for potential clients and really make them think that we are in New Jersey as opposed to just capable of working in New Jersey, like other jurisdictions.”

Scott A. Coffina. Courtesy photo

Coffina, who joined Pietragallo Gordon a year ago, said that he has been focused in New Jersey in his own career and that this expansion was part of the conversation when he decided to join the firm.

Coffina shared that the new office is about 2,200 square feet, which will house himself, another attorney, and a rotating roster of lawyers based on their needs.

The newest location adds to offices already located in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Sharon, Pennsylvania, as well as Steubenville, Ohio, and Weirton, West Virginia. Coffina said the firm chose a beautiful space in Marlton because of its convenient location to highways and proximity to both the Camden and Burlington County courts.

“We did not just want to have people working from home in New Jersey without an office because that does not really plant your flag here and demonstrate your presence,” Coffina said. “It is just a convenience play for the attorneys who are working there. And the culture of the firm is such that we like to come into the office and collaborate.”

Coffina formerly served as senior deputy chief counsel to Gov. Chris Christie and as Burlington County prosecutor. He has also served as an associate counsel under President George W. Bush and as an assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia.

“We are very excited to expand into New Jersey with our new Marlton office,” Pietragallo Gordon founding partner and chair William Pietragallo II said. “Our firm already serves a number of clients in New Jersey. Although our Philadelphia office is nearby, New Jersey is a different legal market and court system, and we are confident that we and our clients will benefit from our physical presence in the Garden State.”

The Marlton office is located at 50 Lake Center Dr., Suite 110.