Pittsburgh Attorney Named Chair of the Pa. Supreme Court Disciplinary Board
Gary Gentile also reappointed to a three-year term on the board
(Lemoyne, Pa.) - The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania announces that Gary G. Gentile, a partner in the Pittsburgh law firm of Goldberg, Gruener, Gentile, Horoho and Avalli, has been named chair of the Disciplinary Board. He has also been reappointed to a second three-year term.
The Disciplinary Board is an independent agency funded by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania consisting of 16 members, 14 attorneys and two non-lawyers from across the state. It assists the Supreme Court in carrying out its exclusive jurisdiction over the licensing and discipline of attorneys in Pennsylvania. The members meet regularly to decide cases, policies and board administrative matters.
The Disciplinary Board chair's primary role is to serve as a contact point between the board, the bar and related organizations and the public. The chair speaks for the board in a representative capacity - not in an authoritative one.
Gentile says he became involved with the Disciplinary Board because of its significance to the Pennsylvania legal system. "The function of the board is of critical importance in regulating the interaction between the Bar and the public in the disciplinary process," he said.
Recently, a national legal reform group rated Pennsylvania's attorney disciplinary system fifth in the United States, as well as the nation's most improved. One of Gentile's goals for the Disciplinary Board is to continue the improvement.
"My primary goal shall be to maintain and perpetuate the integrity and quality of the adjudicative process and to attempt to improve efficiency in the grievance and discipline cycle without compromising the quality of the product," he said.
Gentile previously served as vice chair and a hearing committee chairperson for the Disciplinary Board as well as vice chair of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Domestic Relations Rules Committee. He was elected to the Board of Governors of the Allegheny County Bar Association and is a fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Earlier in his career, Gentile served as the director of the juvenile division of the Allegheny County public defender's office and later became the chief counsel of the homicide division. He was an instructor in constitutional law for the City of Pittsburgh Police Academy and served as executive director of the Allegheny County Housing Authority.
A graduate of Washington and Jefferson College, B.S., and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, J.D., Gentile has continuously been listed in the Best Lawyers in America. His peers listed him as one of the top 50 lawyers in Pittsburgh and the top 50 in Allegheny County, as reported in Philadelphia Magazine. Gentile practices family law in western Pennsylvania, primarily in the Pittsburgh area.
The Disciplinary Board's goals are to protect the general public, maintain a high standard of integrity in the legal profession, and safeguard the reputation of the courts of Pennsylvania. The Disciplinary Board was created by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to review conduct and assure compliance by all attorneys to the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct. For more information about the Disciplinary Board please visit www.padisciplinaryboard.org or contact Nathan Pigott at (717) 975-2148 or npigott@hersheyphilbin.com.