Avoiding Legal Malpractice (Civil Litigation Update 2026 session)

Ms. Whalen is a Member at the law firm of Burns White LLC based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is an experienced trial lawyer with a practice focused on the defense of licensed professionals, including the representation of lawyers and other professionals in licensure and disciplinary matters and legal malpractice claims. Ms. Whalen is an active member in the Pennsylvania Bar Association Professional Liability Committee, the Pennsylvania Bar Association Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility Committee and the Allegheny County Bar Association Professional Ethics Committee. She regularly speaks on a variety of topics affecting legal professionals, including risk avoidance and ethics throughout western Pennsylvania. Ms. Whalen has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer annually since 2013. She was also selected nationally by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® annually since 2018 for insurance law. Ms. Whalen received her law degree from the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University in 1999 and received her undergraduate degree from Allegheny College in 1996.

Amy Coco is a shareholder at the Pittsburgh law firm of DiBella Weinheimer, where she has focused her practice on Professional Responsibility for more than 30 years. She represents lawyers, judges, and law students in matters involving ethics, licensure, professional responsibility, risk management, and law practice management counseling. Amy is the current President of the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) and previously served six years on its Board of Governors. Within the ACBA, she has chaired the Nominating Committee and By-Laws Committee, the Professional Ethics Committee (where she continues to serve as a Duty Officer), and the Lawyers Insurance Committee. She has also served on the Council of the Solo and Small Firm Section and chaired subcommittees within the Women in the Law Division. At the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), Amy is Co-Chair of the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee. She served as the PBA’s Woman At Large Governor (2021–2024) and chaired its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Team from 2022 to 2024. She is also the Director of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law’s Incubator Program, mentoring lawyers as they establish solo practices. In addition, she is a member of the Washington County, Philadelphia County Bar Associations, as well as the American Bar Association and its Center for Professional Responsibility and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL). A frequent lecturer and writer on professional liability, diversity and inclusion, and ethics issues, Amy has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law since 2024 and has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer annually since 2018. In 2022, she was recognized as one of Pittsburgh’s Top 50 Lawyers. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1994, and her B.A. in Journalism from Indiana University Bloomington in 1989.

Josh is a member of the Professional Liability Department at Marshall Dennehey, P.C. where he co-chairs the firm’s Disciplinary Board Representation Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on representing and defending professionals in a variety of professional liability matters, and regularly represents attorneys in legal malpractice, wrongful use of civil proceedings and disciplinary matters. He also represents many other types of professionals in the federal and state courts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and before disciplinary boards. Josh has devoted his legal career to the protection of professionals and is highly regarded in this arena throughout the state. He is the former chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Professional Liability Committee; co-chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Professional Responsibility and Professional Guidance Committees; and is an active member of Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Ethics Committee. He is also a co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Amicus Brief Committee. Josh is a former Hearing Committee Member serving the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He serves as a Zone One delegate to the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s House of Delegates and as a Judge Pro Temp for the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. A prolific writer, Josh publishes extensively on malpractice avoidance and authors a recurring column in The Legal Intelligencer on professional liability topics. He frequently presents to legal and business organizations throughout Pennsylvania on professional liability themes. He graduated with a dual major in Political Science and Japanese Studies From Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. After college, he worked for two years as a coordinator for international relations in Chiba, Japan. He then obtained his juris doctor from Rutgers University School of Law. He is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating for professional competence and has been recognized by “Best Lawyers in America” for Professional Malpractice Law- Defendants, and as a Pennsylvania “Super Lawyer.”