Paws and Laws: Exploring the Legal Landscape for Pet Owners 2026

For more than four decades, Sam has tried highly complex cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Sam has represented a wide variety of commercial and financial institutions, including insurance companies, in state and federal courts throughout the United States regarding complex lending issues, complex litigation matters including insurance coverage issues, intellectual property issues, as well as sophisticated probate and trust litigation. He is also very active in corporate governance and healthcare litigation. This experience includes extensive jury and non-jury trials. His insurance coverage work has included defending insurance carriers in litigation involving class actions asserting claims made under policies providing for environmental coverage, business loss, business interruption coverage and title insurance coverage issues. Additionally, he has also advised insurance carriers and defended insurance carriers in connection with policies which provided coverage to municipal governments and institutions of higher learning. In addition, Sam has long experience representing manufacturers in products liability litigation and various clients in intellectual property/patent litigation, including the counseling of clients through product recall issues and other compliance problems involving the Consumer Product Safety Commission. As a highly successful trial lawyer, Sam is well respected by bench and bar, and has been honored as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, for which he recently served as Pennsylvania State Chair. Since 2012, Sam has been named to The Best Lawyers in America® in commercial litigation, product liability, and estates and trusts litigation. He was selected as the Best Lawyers Pittsburgh “Lawyer of the Year” for Litigation – Banking and Finance Law in the 2019 and 2021 editions, for Litigation – Trusts and Estates in the 2020 edition, and for Product Liability Litigation – Defendants in the 2022 edition. He has been selected for the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® list by his peers since 2004. He has also been selected to the Corporate Counsel Super Lawyers® list for a number of years. He has been appointed by the local Federal Bench to serve as both a Discovery Master, and also as a mediator. He served for eight years as a Chair of a federal and state appellate program with Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Judges from all Pennsylvania Appellate Courts and currently Chairs a Federal Practice Committee for the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

With more than five decades of experience in the investment management and financial planning fields, Bob chairs the board of directors of Fragasso Financial Advisors. He has combined his experience in the industry with his entrepreneurial spirit, carefully constructing a vision that has positioned the firm for growth and longevity, devoid of proprietary product bias. Bob has positioned highly evolved executive and operational management teams in place to provide unparalleled quality assurance and perpetuity for the firm. Bob serves as an advisory member of the Fragasso Investment Committee and of the executive leadership team. He is a Certified Financial Planner™ Board Emeritus Professional. Bob has been honored by many national and local organizations including Barron’s Magazine and was named “Most Admired CEO’s & Top Executives” by the Pittsburgh Business Times in 2016 and the “2015 Veteran of the Year” by the Veterans Leadership Program of Western PA. He has shared his entrepreneurial wisdom in his book, Starting Your Own Practice: The Independence Guide for Professional Service Providers, John Wiley & Sons, 2020 and is frequently asked for his investment insights by local and national media, including Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Business Times, Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com and Forbes.com among others. Bob is the son of immigrant parents and grew up in the inner city of Pittsburgh. His love for investment management began early when he saved his earnings from his paper route to purchase mutual funds, which he later used to buy his first home. Bob earned his bachelor’s degree from Duquesne University and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is a vocal advocate for veterans and was awarded the Globe and Anchor Award from the Marine Corps Scholarship Fund. Bob may be best known for his tireless commitment to animal welfare in the region, currently serving as the chairman of the board for Animal Friends. He began the Animal Friends for Veterans program where trained emotional companion dogs are provided at no cost to veterans encountering physical and emotional challenges. Bob serves on boards including the Viragh Institute for Ethics in Business Advisory Council (VIEBAC) of Duquesne University and has been a guest lecturer at the Duquesne University Graduate School of Business and Western PA Region, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bob is a graduate of the FBI’s Citizens Academy.

Samantha is counsel in the Firm’s Trusts Estates and Wealth Preservation group, where she focuses her practice on representing individuals, families and closely held businesses in tax and estates and trusts-related matters. Prior to joining Dentons Cohen & Grigsby, Samantha was an associate for another Pittsburgh area law firm, where in addition to her estates and trusts concentration, she worked closely with the business services and public and nonprofit groups. Samantha’s experience spans the full spectrum of estates and trusts capabilities, including counseling clients with regard to their individual estate planning needs, advocating for clients in the Orphans’ Court, administering estates of various levels of wealth, and preparing Federal estate tax returns, Federal gift tax returns, and Pennsylvania inheritance tax returns. In addition, Samantha devises Wills, Codicils, Powers of Attorney and Trusts, and prepares Briefs, Petitions, Motions and other pleadings for estates and trusts and civil litigation-related matters.

Partner Alexandra L. Kovalchick brings more than 16 years of experience in diverse family law matters including divorce, support, custody and protection from abuse to Pollock Begg. Aggressive, yet practical and creative in her law practice, Alex connects with her clients early on by identifying their ultimate goals and plans her strategies for the case with those goals in mind. Alex believes in being straightforward with her clients and empowering them with the information necessary to make informed decisions regarding their case. She recognizes that when it comes to issues related to a client’s family and their finances, it’s of the utmost importance for the client to understand the process and the consequences and the benefits of each decision made. Whether through litigation or settlement, she helps clients prepare for the future and understand how they are going to get there. Alex is active in the local legal community serving on the ACBA Judiciary Committee and as co-chair of the ACBA Health & Wellness Committee. She is also a fellow of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. A Butler native transplanted to the city’s Brighton Heights neighborhood, Alex relaxes in her spare time through yoga, volleyball and an occasional jog or hike. Her greatest joys are spending time with her rescued American Bully, Ham, her niece, Dilek, and canine nephew, Bear.

Pittsburgh divorce attorney Megan A. DelVecchio, a partner at Pollock Begg, was drawn to family law because she enjoys working one-on-one with clients and making a true difference in their lives. Megan works to alleviate clients’ anxiety and eliminate surprises throughout the divorce process. Her goal is always to provide the best representation while calming fears and putting her clients at ease. She brings extensive trial experience, specialized training in mediation and skilled technique working collaboratively to settle cases out of court to her family law practice at Pollock Begg. Megan joined Pollock Begg after solidifying her family law focus working at two Pittsburgh-based law firms. Along the way, she garnered recognition on the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars and the Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch lists. Megan is passionate about enhancing the local legal community; participating in numerous divisions and sections of state and local bar associations and presenting continuing legal education seminars for the Matrimonial Inns of Court, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Allegheny County Bar Association and her alma mater, Duquesne University School of Law.