Amy Joseph Coles

Biography

CO-CHAIR, PITTSBURGH OFFICE

Amy Joseph Coles concentrates her practice primarily in the areas of general commercial litigation, complex civil litigation, construction litigation, and class action defense.

Amy has handled a wide range of disputes for construction owners, contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers; she has also represented banks, financial services providers, healthcare corporations, and pharmaceutical companies in state and federal cases.

She frequently writes on litigation matters, including:

  • Co-author, “Audit Provisions in Private Construction Contracts: Which Costs Are Subject to Audit, Who Bears the Expense of the Audit, and Who Has the Burden of Proof on Audit Claims?” Journal of the American College of Construction Lawyers, Summer 2012.
  • Author, “Contractors Beware,” Building & Bonding: The Construction Group Newsletter, Fall 2008.
  • Co-Author, Design-Build Deskbook, 4th Edition.
  • Co-Author, “Pennsylvania Court Rules HMO Compensation Formula and Data Are Confidential Trade Secrets,” Health Law Monitor, Fall 2002, Vol. VII.

Amy previously served as a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Gary L. Lancaster of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. While in law school, she was the managing editor of the Journal of Law and Commerce.

News & Views

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Recognitions

  • 2023, "20 People to Know in Law," listed in the Pittsburgh Business Times
  • 2023–2025, Commercial Litigation, listed in Best Lawyers in America©
  • 2013–2024, Pennsylvania “Super Lawyer” in Construction Litigation, listed in Super Lawyers
  • 2007–2008, 2010–2012, “Pennsylvania Rising Star,” listed in Super Lawyers
  • 2015, “Lawyer on the Fast Track,” listed in The Legal Intelligencer

Affiliations

Memberships

  • Allegheny County (PA) Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Construction Lawyers Society of America
Professional Activities

Amy is a member of the Young Lawyers Division and currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Construction Law Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association. She is also a Charter Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America.

Amy is the co-chairman of Project Eviive, a non-profit organization that strives to bring clean water to developing communities around the world. She served as an adjunct professor of the Duquesne Law School Trial Advocacy Program, as well as a coach to the Law School’s trial competition teams.

Credentials

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Education

  • Allegheny College, BS, cum laude
  • University of Pittsburgh School of Law, JD, magna cum laude