Overview
Faculty
J. Helvy Esq.
Mr. Helvy is chair of the Family Law Practice Group at McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC. He has been practicing domestic and family law since his admission to the Bar in 1988. Mr. Helvy is a past chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section. He has chaired the Legislative, Membership, Program and Specialization Committees of the PBA Family Law Section and has testified before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee regarding pending family law legislation. Mr. Helvy is a member of the Central Pennsylvania Collaborative Professionals, and the Bar Associations of Dauphin, Cumberland and Lancaster Counties. He serves on the Board of Directors for PA FSA. He has been included in the Woodward/White, Inc. publication, The Best Lawyers in America, Family Law Section, each year since 2007 and the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list each year since 2008. Mr. Helvy was named as the Central Pennsylvania Family Lawyer of the Year for 2013, 2016 and again for 2020 in The Best Lawyers of America. He has been selected by his peers for recognition as a Local Legal Leader by Harrisburg Magazine and has been recognized as one of the Select Lawyers by Susquehanna Style Magazine. Mr. Helvy is a frequent speaker on behalf of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI) and county bar associations on the topics of divorce, custody and support. He is also a course planner of the PBI Family Law Institute, an annual program designed to help family law attorneys stay abreast of the latest developments and trends in the law, held in Philadelphia and simulcast throughout the state. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, Middle District of PA and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit and Federal Circuit. Mr. Helvy is a graduate of Dickinson School of Law, J.D, and West Chester University, B.A., cum laude.
Hon. Kim D. Eaton
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.
Christine Gale, Esq.
Ms. Gale is a shareholder with the Pittsburgh firm of Frank, Gale, Bails and Pocrass, P.C. She handles all family law cases involving equitable distribution, pension and business valuation, support, alimony, custody and adoption matters throughout Pennsylvania in both trial and appellate courts. Ms. Gale has authored numerous publications for and speaks regularly at the semi-annual Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law workshops and has been a regular author and panelist for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. She has been a panelist and author for all of the Annual Family Law Updates with the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Ms. Gale has served three terms as a council member for the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Family Law Section and is a past chair of Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Family Law Section. She co-authored the Pennsylvania Family Practice Manual with Frederick N. Frank, Esq., in 1990; authored the Tax Aspects of Divorce in Pennsylvania in 1993; and regularly lectured for the Law for the People seminar, sponsored by the Allegheny County Bar Association. Since 2008, she has been named as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer and is listed in the Best Lawyers in America. Ms. Gale received her B.A. in 1975 from the Pennsylvania State University and her J.D., with honors, in 1981 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Cheryl L. Young, Esq.
Ms. Young is a shareholder in the Norristown family law practice group of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller. She is past president of the Montgomery Bar Association and past chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section. Ms. Young is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and served two terms on the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates, past chairperson of the PBA Membership Committee and chairperson to the Outreach to Children Committee. Ms. Young is on the Board of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association and is Vice President of the Montgomery Child Advocacy Project. Ms. Young received a Bachelor of Arts in Sciences in 1982 from Michigan State University. Thereafter, she attended American University, Washington College of Law, and graduated with her J.D. in 1985. Ms. Young is a frequent speaker for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and other professional organizations.
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