Conti Law helps families with estate planning, other legal issues
Coping with the loss of a loved one can be a very emotional and tumultuous process.
Planning for those times may also be stressful with navigating legal processes, locating wills, managing estates and other assets.
Attorney Michele Conti understands this. She has been helping families face those challenges for more than 20 years.
“We work our whole lives, whether we start at 16 or 18 or after college,” Conti said. “We work our entire life not just to pay the bills, but at the end to hopefully leave some sort of legacy.
“No matter how much money that is, leave something for our loved ones. If we don’t plan ahead of time, the person or the people you intend your assets to go to may not actually be the recipient who inherits.
“It’s important if you want somebody in particular, whether it’s a family member, a friend, a charity, a loved one to receive something, then it’s important that you put that plan in place before you pass away.”
A Pittsburgh native, Conti received her law degree from Duquesne University, followed by a Master of Law degree in taxation from Villanova University. She honed her skills in estate planning and estate administration at several legal firms.
About nine years ago, she launched her own practice. Starting from her home, the practice has grown to two office locations with a team specializing in estate planning, estate and trust administration, guardianships, business, real estate, special needs and tax planning.
The tax planning is mostly for clients with multimillion-dollar estates to navigate federal estate taxes.
Conti Law is headquartered in Oakdale at 7880 Steubenville Pike. Its other office opened about six months ago in Waynesburg at 3157 Mt. Morris Road.
Family beginnings
Conti was drawn to legal practice at a young age. She recalled “negotiations” with her parents, Alexander and Pamela Sabo, on everything from playtime to snacks and bedtime.
“Ever since I was small, I knew I would do something in the law,” Conti said. “I didn’t watch ‘Law & Order.’ It was more so just arguing the point of everything. As a child, everything was a negotiation. My mother always said, ‘I’m sure you’re going to be an attorney.’ It just seemed like a good fit.”
The team
The team at Conti Law believes services should be accessible and affordable to all.
Attorney Blake Birchmeier lives in Waynesburg and is primarily at that location. His focus is on real estate and business law. He is an Ohio Northern University grad who has been with the firm for a couple years.
Birchmeier, who practices law in both Pennsylvania and Ohio, has made a difference for multiple families.
“He’s very matter of fact and down to earth, which is great because he’s handling more of the transactional aspect of our practice, ” Conti said. “He’s just very transparent and honest with the clients. There’s really no wiggle room when you do transactional work.”
The third attorney on the team is Samantha Gormley, who specializes in estate administration and guardianship matters.
She came to Conti Law recently, after graduating from the University of Dayton School of Law last year. Gormley is at the Oakdale office.
“She’s incredible with our clients, especially in the estate administration practice because they are grieving their loved ones,” Conti said. “She’s a great point person who can listen to what they have to say. She’s comforting and an extremely fast learner.”
Conti Law also has other staff eager to lend a helping hand and compassionate ear to clients.
They include Corrie Knabe, estate administration paralegal, Jason Conti, estate administration assistant, Kasey Duran, estate planning paralegal, Kristin McManus, office coordinator and Allison Mercurio, receptionist.
Conti said everyone in her firm is prepared to work with families to the best of their abilities no matter how many calls or visits it takes.
“Everybody in our office is comfortable doing that,” Conti said. “We all understand our clients are not attorneys. They don’t live in this arena. We do not discourage them from asking those questions.
“I always figured that being transparent for our clients and making sure they understand what we’re doing for them and why we’re doing it was necessary. Everybody on our team from the receptionist — who’s the first person they speak to when they call in — down to the office manager, the paralegals, the attorneys, we all have that same approach when working with clients.”
Conti can be heard on the radio Saturdays at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on 1320 WJAS-AM. The 30-minute episodes focus on her practice and the essentials of estate planning.
For more information about the firm, visit the website at contilawpgh.com or call 724-784-0239.
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