Kayden’s Law Update 2026

Mr. Persick is a Partner at Weber Gallagher in King of Prussia. Credited for his ability to resolve complex family law issues, he represents clients involved in divorces, custody disputes and adoptions. Mr. Persick’s experience also includes cases dealing with juvenile dependency and the termination of parental rights. He has represented the prevailing party in many notable cases, including a Berks County decision granting punitive damages on tort claims raised in the context of a divorce action. The case is believed to be one of the few decisions, if not the only one, granting this relief. In a case that received national attention, Mr. Persick represented the Chester County Department of Children, Youth and Families in state court proceedings relative to the placement of an African-American child for adoption with an African-American family over the objections and collateral lawsuits of a white foster family as well as in other contested adoptions. A former assistant public defender for Chester County, he has served as a member of the executive committee of Brian’s Run, a Chester County charity that raises funds for physically challenged individuals. Mr. Persick has also been involved in fundraising activities for Chester County Hospital, including the hospital’s May Festival, Dash for Diabetes and the Women’s Resource Center. He delivers annual talks on young people and the law to various secondary schools in Chester County. Mr. Persick is a fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and has been a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Family Law Section Council, legislative co-chair, and Family Court Rules Committee, the Orphans’ Court Rules Committee of the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County and was former Co-Chair of the Chester County Bar Association’s Family Law Section. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from Dickinson College and his J.D. from Dickinson School of Law.

Shawnee S. Burton is a founding partner of Lancaster Law Group. She received her B.A. from the Pennsylvania State University and worked as a legal assistant for two years before attending law school in Boston. Ms. Burton received her Juris Doctor from the New England School of Law (now known as New England Law÷ Boston). Ms. Burton is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Ms. Burton’s entire career spanning more than two decades has been entirely focused on complex Family Law litigation. In 2025, Ms. Burton was accepted as a fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She belongs to the Family Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Lancaster Bar Association where she is the former chair of the Family Law Section. Ms. Burton has served the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas as a guardian ad litem and as a parenting coordinator; she is also certified in collaborative law.

Judge Melissa T. Pavlack is a 1982 graduate of Parkland High School and a 1986 Dean’s list graduate of Muhlenberg College. She received her Doctor of Laws degree from Widener University School of Law in 1989 and was admitted to the Bar of the Pennsylvania Courts in November of 1989. After her admittance to the Bar, she completed a two-year judicial clerkship with the Superior Court of Pennsylvania working for the Honorable Donald E. Wieand. Before joining Pavlack Law Offices, P.C., in January 1996, Judge Pavlack worked for Mondschein Associates. From January 1996 until November 2017, Judge Pavlack was a partner in Pavlack Law Offices, P.C. Judge Pavlack has been an active member of the Family Law Sections of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Lehigh County Bar Association. She is the past Editor of the Lehigh County Bar Association Family Law Section’s Newsletter and Case Law Update and served as President of the Lehigh County Family Law Section for two years. Judge Pavlack was elected Judge of the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas in November 2017. She serves in the Civil/Family Division of the Court and as the Administrative Judge of Family Court.

Judge Rovito joined the Chester County Court of Common Pleas in January 2022 and was named the Administrative Judge of Family Court in January 2025. She hears family, criminal and juvenile cases. Prior to her election, she was a sole practitioner in West Chester when, in January 2009, she opened Rovito Law LLC. Her practice was concentrated in all aspects of family law. Judge Rovito also acted as a mediator, arbitrator and a parenting coordinator, both prior to the new rules and after. Prior to opening her own practice, Judge Rovito served as a Family Court Hearing Officer in Chester County for almost 15 years. She presided over thousands of custody conciliations and record support, divorce, and complex equitable distribution hearings. Judge Rovito has also acted as the Juvenile Hearing Officer in both dependency and delinquency matters. After a brief period of time as in-house counsel for a Fort Washington business, Judge Rovito joined the Chester County District Attorney’s Office in 1988, where she assisted with the establishment of the Child Abuse Unit and was the managing attorney of the unit until she left in 1994 to join the Hearing Officers’ Unit. She is a member of the Education Committee for PCSTJ and co-chair of the Family Law Section. She is also a member of the Supreme Court Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee. She is a member of the Chester County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.