Civil Litigation Update 2026

Justice Christine Donohue serves on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Her term of office commenced in January 2016. Prior to her service as a Supreme Court Justice, Justice Donohue served on the Superior Court of Pennsylvania for eight years. As a lawyer, Justice Donohue was a civil trial lawyer and litigator for 27 years. She was a shareholder in the law firm, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, P.C. and was the practice manager of the commercial litigation department in its predecessor firm, Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling, P.C. She earned her Juris Doctor degree at the Duquesne University School of Law where she served on the Duquesne Law Review. While in practice, she held the AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, she was listed in Best Lawyers in America, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and the Top 50 Attorneys in Pittsburgh. She is an elected Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, International Academy of Trial Lawyers, Academy of Trial Lawyers of Allegheny County and the American Board of Trial Advocates. She is a past president of the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. Justice Donohue is a former judge on the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline, a former chair and member of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners and the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board, and a former member of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Justice Donohue is a member of the American, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County Bar Associations. She served on the Board of Governors of the Allegheny County Bar Association and was also the Chair of its Young Lawyers Division. She is a member of the American Bar Foundation and a charter member of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. She served as a member of the House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Bar Association for two decades. She was twice recognized in Pennsylvania Law Weekly as one of Pennsylvania’s “Women Leaders in the Legal Profession.” Justice Donohue received the Distinguished Alumni Award from East Stroudsburg University in 2016. Justice Donohue received the Woman of the Year Award 2023, Duquesne Kline Women’s Law Association. She also received the Amen Corner’s 2023 Judge Robert E. Dauer Award For Judicial Leadership & Excellence. Justice Donohue spearheaded an effort by trial judges and lawyers to afford young lawyers opportunities to gain courtroom experience, especially presenting cases to civil juries. Bar groups developed a program known as Project LITIGATE encouraging law firms to take a pledge to give young lawyers opportunities to develop litigation skills while the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges endorsed Project LITIGATE and adopted a set of best practices for involving less experienced lawyers in civil jury cases. Justice Donohue taught ethics for attorneys at the Duquesne University School of Law. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Hill House Association, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, Turtle Creek Valley Mental Health/Mental Retardation, Inc. and the National Aviary of Pittsburgh. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Duquesne University School of Law and is a frequent lecturer at seminars on the topics of appellate practice and judicial ethics. Justice Donohue’s chambers are in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She resides in the city of Pittsburgh.

Cate Rowe is a shareholder with the labor and employment law firm of Strokoff & Cowden, P.C. located in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. For over 10 years, Ms. Rowe has been practicing in Central Pennsylvania representing clients in state and federal courts and administrative agencies in a broad range of civil matters, including labor relations, workplace investigations, civil service, public employee retirement, discrimination, and professional licensure. She teaches Employment Law at Widener Law School and serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Administrative Law Section, Immediate Past President of the Central Pennsylvania Labor and Employment Relations Association, and Treasurer of the James S. Bowman Inn of Court. In the Harrisburg community, Ms. Rowe is the Immediate Past Chair of the Harrisburg Community Council, and Parliamentarian of the Civic Club of Harrisburg. She sits as a school board member on the Harrisburg Catholic Elementary School Board and proudly volunteers with Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers and Junior Achievement. Ms. Rowe and her husband, Sean Kirkpatrick, Esq., live in Hershey with their daughter and two dogs, Nova and Archer.

Mr. Wilkinson is a member of Cozen O’Connor in its Philadelphia office, where he concentrates his practice in commercial and appellate litigation in federal and state courts and in lawyer professional responsibility and liability matters. He is also a leader of the firm’s Legal Profession Services practice group. He is a past President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) and Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI). He is a former PBA Zone Governor, a member of the PBA House of Delegates, and is active in various other PBA and Philadelphia Bar Association committees and sections. Mr. Wilkinson is a past Chair of the PBA Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee, and is a past Chair of the Civil Litigation Section. He is also a past Co-Chair of the PBA Civility in the Profession Committee. Mr. Wilkinson is the co-editor of the Pennsylvania Ethics Handbook (5th ed. 2017-PBI Press) and has for many years edited ethics opinion summaries for publication in The Pennsylvania Lawyer. He is a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. He was a Lecturer in Law on professional responsibility at Villanova Law School and has written and presented extensively on various civil litigation and professional responsibility topics. He recently completed a term on the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association (ABA) and previously served as the Pennsylvania State Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. He is active in the ABA Section of Litigation and its Ethics and Professionalism Committee. He has served as a member and Board liaison to the ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism, and the Profession, Public Service and Diversity Committee. He is a member of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL). He also has served in various leadership capacities with the Villanova Law J. Willard O’Brien American Inn of Court. He is frequently retained as counsel to lawyers and law firms on risk management and disciplinary matters and as an expert witness in lawyer professional liability actions. He is a contributing author for the book entitled The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania: Life and Law in the Commonwealth 1684-2017. Mr. Wilkinson is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, and various other federal courts. He received his law degree from Villanova University School of Law where he was managing editor of the Law Review, and thereafter served as a law clerk in the U.S. District for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Deborah is the Associate General Counsel at Cozen O’Connor. She advises clients on risk management, ethics, and professional responsibility issues arising within their law firms and practices. Deborah also works with stakeholders within the firm to advise on ethical aspects of pending matters and to assure adherence to ethical standards and compliance with firm policies. In addition, she advises firm management on lateral recruitment and integration. Deborah handles pro bono representations, including representing clients through the Support Center for Child Advocates. Deborah was appointed to the ABA Standing Committee on Public Protection in the Provision of Legal Services in 2023 and is Co-Chair of the ABA Section of Litigation Ethics and Professionalism Committee. Deborah was elected to the Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates and is Vice Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility and a member of the Women in the Profession and Unauthorized Practice of Law Committees. In addition, she serves as Co-Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Professional Responsibility and Professional Guidance Committee. She is a lecturer in law and teaches a course in Professional Responsibility and Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Deborah is also a regular columnist for Law360, where she shares her insights on current legal ethics issues. Deborah earned her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania and her law degree from Columbia University School of Law.

Ms. Coatsworth is a partner at Margolis Edelstein. She has litigated hundreds of motor vehicle, dealer fraud and lemon law cases from both the plaintiff and defense sides. Additionally, she concentrates her practice in the defense of professionals such as realtors, home inspectors, accountants and physicians. She also has extensive experience with premises liability and product liability and has handled employment and construction work and several fraternity cases. Ms. Coatsworth has defended dozens of car dealerships and real estate sales people for claims of breach of contract and fraud and violations of various fraud-related statutes such as the Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Magnuson Moss Warranty Improvement Act, the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Lemon Laws, the New Vehicle Damage Disclosure Act, the Automotive Industry Trade Practices Act, the Real Estate Sellers Disclosure Law and the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act. Additionally, Ms. Coatsworth specializes in representing Greek letter organizations in all manner of claims including dram shop, hazing, and personal injury. She was selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars from 2011 through 2018 and Super Lawyers in 2021-2025. Ms. Coatsworth currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association as Immediate Past Chancellor, having previously served as Chancellor, Chancellor-Elect, Vice Chancellor, Assistant Treasurer, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Parliamentarian and Elected Member. Additionally, she is a past co-chair of the Women in the Profession Committee, and she is also very active with the State Civil Litigation Section, Women’s Rights Committee, LGBTQ Rights Committee and the Real Property Section. She previously served on the Executive Committee of the Young Lawyers Division of that organization for six years and held the positions of Secretary and Vice Chair of the Division. She also served as a Trustee of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation and a Board Member for Philadelphia VIP. She serves on the Leadership Council of Community Legal Services and the Advisory Board for Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts. In the Pennsylvania Bar Association, Ms. Coatsworth is the Immediate Past Zone One Governor and she co-chairs the Membership Development Committee. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Civil and Equal Rights Committee and Large Firm Management Committee, and she sits on the Executive Counsel of the Civil Litigation Section as a Past Chair and the Women in the Profession Commission’s Executive Council as Co-Chair of the 2026 Fall Retreat. She previously served as co-chair of the PBA Women in the Profession Commission and chaired several of its committees including Annual Meeting, Fall Retreat and Awards Committee. She is also a Past Chancellor of the Louis D. Brandeis Law Society, and she serves on several committees of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania including the Community Outreach Committee and the Jury Diversity Task Force.

Melinda C. Ghilardi is an attorney at Munley Law personal injury attorneys.  Prior to joining the firm, she was the First Assistant Federal Public Defender, an Assistant Federal Public Defender as well as an Attorney/Investigator for the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania for 33 years until retirement in February 2019.  She began her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in Lackawanna County. Melinda is Chair of the House of Delegates Committee on Credentials and Admissions, a Co-Vice Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Federal Practice Committee and serves on the Executive Councils of the Civil Litigation Section and the Commission on Women in the Profession.  She is also on the Board of Directors of the PA Bar Foundation.  She served on the PBA Board of Governors as both the Woman Governor and Unit County Governor.  In that capacity, she was also a member of the PBA Nominating Committee. Melinda has also held the following positions in PBA Committees:  Co-Chair of the Commission on Women in the Profession, Chair of the Diversity Team, Co-Vice Chair of the DEI Team, and Co-Chair of the Bar Leadership Institute.  She is also a long-time member of the PBA House of Delegates. Melinda has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer from 2022 to the present as well as in Best Lawyers in America for 2024.  In 2005, she received the Lynette Norton Award presented by the PBA’s Commission on Women in the Profession. That same year, she received the inaugural Athena Award presented by the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. In 2016, Melinda received the Robert J. Munley Distinguished Service Award from Lackawanna Pro Bono, Inc. Melinda is a member of the American Association for Justice, Pennsylvania Association for Justice, and the Melvin Belli Society.  She is the Treasurer of the Association of Women Lawyers of Lackawanna County.  She has also served as Secretary of the National Association of Federal Defenders and is a past President of the Lackawanna Bar Association. In her community, Melinda is a member of the Board of Directors of the Circle 200 Forum for Senior Level Executive Women and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV).  She also serves on the Legal Committee of the Barbara J. Hart Justice Center. The University of Scranton honored Melinda by establishing an Ignatian Scholarship in her name and, in 2000, presented her with the Frank J. O’Hara Distinguished Alumni Award for outstanding achievement in the field of law.  She is a current member of the Board of Visitors of the University’s Panuska College of Professional Studies. She is a 1976 graduate of Scranton Preparatory School and a 1980 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Scranton.  In 1983, she was awarded a juris doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.