Attorney John Patrick “Pat” Smider, Esq. has served as Divorce Master for Washington County, PA for 17 years, for a ten-year period as one of two half-time Divorce Masters and subsequently for seven years as the sole Divorce Master when Washington County chose to maintain one full time Divorce Master. His current county duties include his position as back-up/conflicts Domestic Relations Hearing Officer and as the Hearing Officer for all Domestic Relations for actions concerning spousal support/APL when there is no child support claim. The latter provides a seamless, dovetail arrangement for the actions in Divorce involving the same parties. In his service as Standing Master in Divorce (n/k/a Divorce Hearing Officer), the Court refers some time-­consuming Discovery matters to Attorney Smider along with some Enforcement and Contempt matters. Adherence to procedural rules is important to Attorney Smider as they give counsel and the parties a level and fair playing field and act as a gatekeeper for actions to be properly evaluated and heard. Attorney Smider oversees the review of documents to obtain A Court Order Establishing Grounds for a Divorce (which Washington County has been requiring for over three years), Motions for Appointment of Master and the obtaining of Divorce Decrees. He previously served on the Family Law Local Rules Committee with Attorney Jozie Johnson which, at their request, promulgated a user-friendly process to appear before a Divorce Master for a Conferences in Washington County. The overwhelming majority of assigned cases are settled by Attorney Smider. Only a handful of Divorce actions reach a Hearing during the year resulting in a Report and Recommendation. Attorney Smider has conducted many Family Law CLE classes involving, procedure, substantive law and ethics. Drake v. Drake 725 A.2d 717 {1999) is the seminal case regarding a spouse’s worker’s compensation claim being addressed in Equitable Distribution and which led to its progeny, a series of Divorce cases involving personal injury claims and the “accrual” analysis of a marital property interest involving such cases. This analysis was first addressed by Attorney Smider in his Master’s Report and Recommendation, adopted by the trial court following Exceptions and ultimately determined to be the correct legal analysis by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in an opinion authored by Madame Justice Neuman. Attorney Smider previously served as a Child Custody Conference Officer and maintains a small private practice outside of his Washington County obligations (having done so for 35 years) and in that regard focuses on real estate, oil and gas interests, small business matters, Estates and Estate planning, all of which are, at times, beneficial in evaluating issues which arise in Divorce actions. 

Ms. Burton is a senior associate with the Pittsburgh firm of Anderson Leech & Long. She has experience in various areas of civil law and litigation and for the past 22 years has been focusing her practice in family law. Ms. Burton is a member of the Pennsylvania, Allegheny County and Washington County Bar Associations. She was a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section Council, and a co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section Legislative Committee, with her terms ending in July 2016. She recently completed her second term as a member of the Allegheny County Family Law Section Council and remains a co-chair of the Legislative Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Family Law Section. Ms. Burton was previously a member of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Matrimonial Inns of Court. She has been a presenter for various continuing education programs and was recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in 2011 and 2013 through 202. Ms. Burton is also collaboratively trained. She received her J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law in 1994 and her B.A. from Lehigh University in 1990.

Josephine L. Johnson is a 1980 graduate of Chatham College. In 1983, Ms. Johnson received her Juris Doctorate Degree from Duquense University School of Law. Attorney Johnson was admitted to practice before the State Courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 1983. She is currently a member of the Washington County and Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Past Chairman of the Washington County Family Law Rules Committee and Past President of the Washington County Family Law Section. She is an associate member of the Allegheny County Bar Association and an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and its Family Law Section. Attorney Johnson served on the Executive Board, as President of the Mental Health Association and presently on the Board of CASA, Inc. She also helped found and served as the President and Secretary of the Washington County Family Law Section. Attorney Johnson is a principal and shareholder of Johnson, Dawson & Associates, P.C. in Washington, Pennsylvania She presently practices in Washington, Allegheny and Greene Counties with the focus primarily on family law issues.

Judge Eaton is the former Administrative Judge of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Family Division and former Supervising Judge of the Adult Family Division where she has served since January 2000. She attended Penn State University, graduating in 1978 with a B.A. in Journalism and remains an active member of the Penn State Alumni Association. At the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Judge Eaton was president of the Class of 1981 and the commencement speaker. Prior to her election, she was shareholder in the firm of Rose, Schmidt, Hasley & DiSalle, PC, where she managed the firm’s matrimonial section. During her career as lawyer, Judge Eaton also served as Chairman of the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Bench Bar Committee (and recipient of the Bench Bar Olbum Award) and the Chair of the Family Law Section’s Public Service Committee, where she co-founded the Pro Se Motions Court program, assisting low-income parties through the court system. She is a featured presenter in the “Judicial Interview of the Child” video, a program used to educate judges, lawyers and parents in custody cases and an initiative by Judge Daniel Clifford of Montgomery County when he was the Chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Family Law Section. She also is a presenter and commentator in the PBA Family Law Section’s video “Tips and Tools for Better Co-Parenting” which is widely disseminated throughout Pennsylvania. In 2017, she received Allegheny County Bar Association’s Philip Amram Award for professional excellence and dedication to the ideals of the Bar Association. She received the James McGregor Award for contributions to the community and is a member of the Board of Governors for the Pitt Law Alumni. She received the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Pro Bono Award for outstanding contributions to Pro Bono activities and is a Fellow in the Allegheny County Bar Foundation. She was named Woman of the Year, receiving the Ma1jorie Matson Award, from the Pitt Women’s Law Association, and she is the recipient of the Allegheny County Bar Association Family Law Section’s Exemplary Service Award. A frequent guest professor for family law classes at both Pitt and Duquesne Law Schools and is a presenter on Family Law at “New Judge School” for newly elected judges across Pennsylvania. Judge Eaton lectures on family law matters at local, statewide and nationwide programs, and is a member of several committees in the Allegheny County Bar Association and previously served on its Board of Governors for two terms. She currently serves on the Supreme Corni’s Domestic Rules Committee. She is a former member of the Juvenile Rules Committee and the Juvenile Court Judges Commission. She serves on the Intergovernmental Pennsylvania Commission for Domestic Law which advises the legislature regarding Domestic Relations issues.

Mr. Kecskemethy is a partner with the law firm of Jaffe & Kecskemethy, P.C. in Butler.  He received his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a Master’s Degree from Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs in 1989.  Mr. Kecskemethy is admitted to practice before all Pennsylvania courts and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.  His practice focuses on litigation in the areas of family law, criminal defense and probate contests.  Mr. Kecskemethy has represented individuals and families throughout Western Pennsylvania, though primarily in Butler and Allegheny counties.  He is trained in both mediation and collaborative law.  Mr. Kecskemethy is a member of the Butler and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, the Allegheny County Bar Association Family Law Section, a former member of the Butler County Criminal Justice Advisory Board, and a past president of the Butler County Bar Association.

Mr. Slesnick is a self-employed attorney concentrating in the area of family law, both traditional and collaborative. He is the immediate past chair of the Family Law Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association. Since June of 2012, Mr. Slesnick has also been a member of the Pennsylvania Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee and, as of January of 2015, is now the chair of the Committee. He has also previously served on a statewide subcommittee of the Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee which created the unified statewide family law firms that are now online and available for use in all counties for pro se litigants. In addition, Mr. Slesnick previously served for two years as the president of the Pittsburgh Matrimonial Inns of Court Chapter and just completed serving on its Executive Committee. He has previously served a three-year term on the Judiciary Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association. Mr. Slesnick has regularly served as a panelist for the Allegheny County Bar Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on family law issues. He received his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and his B.A. from Case Western Reserve University.

Sherri R. Hurst joined the firm of Bowers Fawcett & Hurst, LLC in 2014 and was named a Partner in 2019.   She focuses her practice in the areas of family law, criminal defense and personal injury. Mrs. Hurst earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Slippery Rock University and her Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley School of Law. Mrs. Hurst is extensively involved with the Beaver County Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Western Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers. She was a member of the PBA BLI class of 2014-2015 and previously served as the family law liaison to the PBA Young Lawyers Division. Mrs. Hurst is past president of the Beaver County Young Lawyers Division. She currently serves on the Beaver County Bar Association Criminal Rules Committee, the Domestic Relations Rules Committee, Law Day Committee, Marketing Committee, Technology Committee and is Chair of the Women in the Law Committee and the Social Committee. She has been actively involved with the High School Mock Trial program, previously serving as the District Coordinator and the Regional Coordinator for the Northwestern region of Pennsylvania. Mr. Hurst has been a speaker for several seminars on family law. Mrs. Hurst was born and raised in Beaver County and currently resides in her hometown with her husband and two children.

Ms. Kroll is a summa cum laude and University Scholar graduate of the University of Pittsburgh nursing and law programs. After working for over fifteen years as an intensive care nurse and director of nursing, Ms. Kroll began her practice of law in Westmoreland County. She is also licensed to practice in Florida and has been admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States District Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court of the State of Pennsylvania, and the Supreme Court of the State of Florida. Ms. Kroll was the co-founder of the Key Care Home Health Agency, the director of nursing of the American Geriatric Association, and founder of the Community Health Awareness team. She is a frequent lecturer and has taught and precepted students from the Westmoreland County Community College, University of Pittsburgh and the California University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Kroll has authored numerous articles that combined medical and legal issues. She is a member of the FBI Citizen’s Academy and has served as the legal editor for the Journal of Gerontological Nursing and is an accredited attorney for the preparation, presentation and prosecution of claims for veterans’ benefits before the Department of Veterans Affairs.