To her roles as wife, mother to two young daughters, attorney for a major Pittsburgh law firm and an avid runner, a North Huntingdon native took on another position as of last week — president of the Allegheny County Bar Association.

Erica L. Laughlin, 42, of Pine, a shareholder at the Pittsburgh-based firm of Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky, has set as one of her top goals as president of the more than 5,000-member organization, restoring the community’s faith in the legal system.

“One of the ways to do this is through community engagement, outreach and education,” said Laughlin, a 1997 Norwin High School graduate and daughter of Linda Lesko of North Huntingdon and the late Joseph Lesko.

“We will create ways Pittsburgh lawyers can make a genuine, positive impact in the community,” said Laughlin, who will be the county bar association’s 114th president and ninth woman to hold the position. She replaces Joseph R. Williams, whose term expired Thursday.

Laughlin said she had her eye on setting that goal long before the Supreme Court’s controversial ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

Her goal for the association came from a discussion last September far before the Roe decision.

“It stemmed from a much broader discussion related to ensuring the community’s access to a fair and impartial justice system and the desire to instill faith in the community in that system,” Laughlin said.

The bar association plans to form a community service committee dedicated to developing and increasing community service opportunities the members of the bar, Laughlin added.

Laughlin, who also is a member of the Westmoreland County Bar Association, hopes to further the association’s mission of increasing diversity within the legal profession, and aims to begin implementing the ACBA’s recently-adopted strategic plan that includes increasing membership, enhancing members’ experiences and developing marketing and branding initiatives.

“The ACBA has helped to shape my career and the careers of so many others,” so the opportunity lead the bar association is an honor and privilege “that I will not take lightly,” said Laughlin, whose terms runs for one year.

It is a career that Laughlin said she considered when she was a young girl.

“I made the decision to become an attorney in third grade after someone had remarked to me that I should become an attorney. I always knew that was the direction I wanted to go in,” said Laughlin, who participated in argument and debate at Norwin.

“I loved the idea of persuasive advocacy even then,” Laughlin said.

Laughlin has worked at Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky since 2004, with her practice focusing primarily on civil litigation in both state and federal courts. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2004, after earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism and psychology from Duquesne University in 2001. She has been a shareholder since 2017.

Outside of her roles as wife, mother and attorney, Laughlin is a member of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Corporate Circles Board, the Steel City Impact Board and the Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Advisory Council. She is passionate about the arts and loves to travel. She fits distance running into her schedule, completing more than 20 half-marathons.

“Running is my therapy – it’s when I can clear my head and it’s when I craft my best arguments and positions. When you feel better mentally and physically, you perform better in all other aspects of life. I’ve always been active and prioritizing health and fitness is something I want my girls to recognize the importance of as well.”

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