Pennsylvania Lawyers

Pellegrino “Pino” Certa is a Pennsylvania lawyer who has offices in Pittsburgh. However, Pino often works with people who live and work outside of PIttsburgh, so he can easily travel to meet you at a location where you feel most comfortable.

While Pino is a Pennsylvania lawyer, he has teamed-up with lawyers from other states who are not licensed to practice in Pennsylvania but have a significant amount of experience representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse. This page provides more information on Pino, followed by information on some of the non-Pennsylvania lawyers that may also be available to help with your case. As noted below, if you allow Pino to have other lawyers work on your case, the legal fee to you is the same — there is no additional legal fee for the additional help.

Pellegrino “Pino” Certa

Pellegrino “Pino” Certa is a Pennsylvania lawyer who has been practicing law for more than 20 years. Although his law office is located in the Aspinwall neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pino has represented clients in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Washington, California, Oregon and Canada.

Unlike many lawyers who only have experience representing plaintiffs or defendants, Pino spent the first 12 years of his law practice representing major insurance companies so that he could better understand the legal strategy used by insurers and defendants in order minimize recoveries sought by people who were victimized by the negligence or intentional acts of others. Pino now uses that knowledge to help children and adults who have been hurt or victimized by others, including clients who are faced with a defendant or insurance company that refuses to take responsibility for their actions.

Although Pino does not have a history of representing survivors of child sexual abuse, he is closely tracking the on-going effort in Pennsylvania to reform the civil statute of limitations for survivors of childhood sexual abuse so that he can immediately act to ensure that the criminals and enablers are held accountable. Pino looks forward to working closely with families to try to ensure that sexual predators, and the organizations or institutions that enable them, are held accountable.

Pino was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended college at St. John’s University, where he received his B.A. in 1990. He graduated from Albany Law School of Union University with his J.D. in 1993.

Non-Pennsylvania Lawyers

If you or someone you love was sexually abused as a child, Pino may ask for permission to work together with one or more of the attorneys listed below. While not licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, the attorneys listed below have significant experience representing adults who were sexually abused as children. If these lawyers are part of your legal team, the legal fee remains the same, which means you receive the benefit of more than one law firm working for you for the same cost.

Michael T. Pfau

Attorney Michael T. Pfau

Michael T. Pfau has practiced law for more than 25 years. He has tried over 50 cases to juries, the bench, and arbitration panels. While every case is different and prior results do not guarantee or predict future results, Michael has obtained multiple verdicts in excess of $1 million, and he has recovered tens of millions of dollars in settlements for his clients. In 2012, he obtained an$8 million jury verdict against a Catholic religious order, which is believed to be one of the largest verdicts of its kind.

Michael graduated magna cum laude from Boston College, where he earned a number of academic honors, and then received his law degree from Michigan law school. Michael has been named a perpetual “Super Lawyer” by Washington Law and Politics, receiving that honorable distinction every year since 2003.

While Michael has dedicated a large part of his practice to representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse against sexual predators and the institutions that employ and protect them. While every case is different, he has had tremendous success prosecuting claims of child sexual abuse across the country. In this endeavor, Michael has been lead counsel for hundreds of abuse survivors, and he has recovered nearly $100 million dollars for his clients over the past 10 years in lawsuits against the Catholic Church, the Mormon Church, the Boy Scouts of America, and other institutions responsible for child sex abuse.

Michael is involved with a number of community activities, and he takes special pride in working with the disadvantaged and with children who have special needs.

Michael is licensed to practice law in Washington and currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

Jason P. Amala

Attorney Jason P. Amala

Jason P. Amala has represented hundreds of survivors of childhood sexual abuse. He has recovered tens of millions of dollars for those clients, and was part of the trial team that obtained an $8 million verdict for a client who was abused at a parish run by a Catholic religious order.

Jason started representing abuse survivors more than ten years ago when he was asked to help a number of men who had been abused at a Catholic boarding school outside of Seattle. The litigation eventually led to the bankruptcy of the Christian Brothers religious order.

Jason has successfully pursued claims against the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts of America, the Mormon Church, and numerous schools and state institutions. He has also been closely involved with a number of Catholic bankruptcies, including the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Christian Brothers religious order, and has been the lead appellate lawyer on a number of watershed cases that have expanded the rights of abuse survivors and crime victims. The prior results Jason has obtained for his clients do not guarantee or predict the future results of his work, but they do reflect his dedication to helping survivors of child abuse.

Jason graduated with distinction from the University of Washington Honors College, and then obtained his law degree from Seattle University School of Law, where he graduated second in his class and received a number of top honors.

Jason is licensed to practice law in Washington and currently lives in Seattle, Washington.

Vincent T. Nappo

Attorney Vincent T. Nappo

Vincent primarily represents survivors of childhood sexual abuse against the individuals and powerful organizations responsible for the abuse, such as the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church.

Vincent has a long history of advocating on behalf of underprivileged and underrepresented communities. Today, he continues to fight for those who have been wronged by the greed, negligence, and careless acts of others. He serves as a guardian ad litem for abused and neglected children, and he volunteers his spare time to help victims of domestic violence.

Vincent graduated summa cum laude from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and then earned his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law.

Vincent is currently licensed to practice law in Washington and lives in the Seattle area.