Shelly R. Pagac

SHELLY R. PAGAC is a Partner at Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP, where she is the Practice Group Leader for the Employment and Labor Practice Group.

Ms. Pagac has been counseling, training, and defending employers since 1988. Ms. Pagac has successfully defended her clients in state and federal courts throughout the United States including: Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. She has litigated cases in all areas of employment law including: non-compete agreements, class actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, and various state tort claims, such as defamation, wrongful discharge and breach of contract. In litigating these matters, Ms. Pagac has tried a number of cases to verdict, which resulted in her becoming a member, in 2009, of the Academy of Trial Lawyers of Western Pennsylvania. The Academy is a prestigious organization whose members are by invitation only with an equal number of plaintiff and defense attorneys meeting the trial criteria for membership. Ms. Pagac currently serves on the Academy’s Board of Directors.

Recently, because of the impact of the #MeToo movement, a large portion of Ms. Pagac’s practice involves conducting investigations. In addition, in 2019, Ms. Pagac tried a five day sexual harassment trial in the Western District of Pennsylvania to verdict.

Ms. Pagac is an approved mediator for the Federal District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Pagac is a former Board member for the Professional Liability Attorney Network. PLAN is a national organization of independent, AV-rated law firms, with attorneys specializing in Professional Liability; Directors & Officers; Coverage/Bad Faith; Cyber; Employment Practices Liability/Labor & Employment; ERISA/Fiduciary; and Financial Institutions.

Ms. Pagac is committed to giving back to the community. She is currently Vice President on the Board of the Bricolage Theatre. In 2019, she was Co-Chair for Quantum Theatre’s 2019 Q-Ball, its annual fundraiser. Previously, some of Ms. Pagac’s community activities included the following: Chair of the Women in Law Division of the Allegheny County Bar Association for 2016-2017; Board of Directors for Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, a victim’s rights organization, from 2008-2014; Board of Governors for the Allegheny County Bar Association from 2006-2011, 2012-2015, and 2016-2017; Zone 12 Governor for the Pennsylvania Bar Association; a fellow of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation and the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation.

Ms. Pagac has received various awards. In February 2018, the Women’s Bar Association of Western Pennsylvania awarded Ms. Pagac with the Susan B. Anthony Award, which honors an individual who promotes equality in the legal profession. In 2014, Ms. Pagac received the Nora Barry Fischer Award from her law firm which recognizes an attorney within the firm who has given back to the legal profession and the community at large. In June 2011, the Allegheny County Bar Association awarded Ms. Pagac the prestigious Philip Werner Amram Award, which recognizes individuals who personify professional excellence and have demonstrated substantial commitment to the ideals of the Allegheny County Bar Association and to the betterment of the community. Based on professional achievement and peer recognition, she has been selected in the Top 50: 2015 Pittsburgh Super Lawyers and in the Top 50: 2015 Women Pennsylvania Super Lawyers. In addition, she has been selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer 2013 through 2020 in the area of Employment Litigation Defense.