Profile

Roger L. Wise, Esquire

Email: rlwise@rogerwise.com
Telephone: 724-934-4610

Biography

With more than three decades of legal experience, Roger L. Wise has been a law firm founder, longtime president of a Pittsburgh law firm, a candidate for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, an in-house lawyer for a Fortune 500 corporation, and a military officer. He provides clients with the sophistication of a downtown practice combined with the convenience and personal attention of a local attorney. He concentrates on wills, estates, trusts, corporate and tax law as well as elder law, mediation and arbitration, and civil litigation.

In 2005, Mr. Wise ran for election as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County and won in the primary election. In the process, he received the highest rating given by the 24-member Judiciary Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association, which rates all judicial candidates for their qualifications, experience and integrity. This rating means that he exhibits outstanding legal ability and a wide range of experience; possesses the highest reputation for integrity and temperament; exhibits outstanding citizenship by way of community and professional contributions; and is an exceptional individual who would enhance the competence and dignity of the bench.

Wills, Estates, Trusts, Corporate and Tax – Mr. Wise has practiced in the areas of wealth transfer, wills, trusts, and the administration and probate of estates for more than 30 years. He counsels his clients concerning wealth transfer maximization strategies, asset protection, the creation of living and testamentary trusts, wills, powers of attorney, healthcare powers of attorney and living wills. He also counsels his clients concerning business formation, business counseling and family firm business strategies and conflicts. Mr. Wise is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Pittsburgh and the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association.

Elder Law – Mr. Wise provides counsel to clients in the areas of living wills, powers of attorney, nursing home admissions, and asset protection. He is a member of the Elder Law Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association.

Arbitration and Mediation – Federal and state court systems are increasingly requiring arbitration and pretrial mediation to resolve civil actions, including complex commercial, product liability and construction cases. Mr. Wise has substantial training in alternative dispute resolution techniques, including the facilitative method of mediation. He provides alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services, including mediation, arbitration and early neutral evaluation in civil cases, including vehicular accident, product liability, nursing home, construction, business, commercial, employment and Section 1983 cases. He serves as an arbitrator in underinsured motorists (UIM) and uninsured motorists (UM) litigation. Mr. Wise is approved as a mediator, early neutral evaluator and arbitrator for civil cases pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania and the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association.
Mr. Wise also provides mediation services in probate, estate and orphans’ court litigation, including will contests, claims of undue influence or lack of testamentary capacity, claims of abuse of powers of attorney and alleged breaches of duties by trustees and executors.

Civil Litigation – During his career, Mr. Wise has litigated a wide variety of civil cases involving personal injury, wrongful death and financial injury. These have ranged from death cases, burn cases, nursing home abuse cases, construction accidents, fire loss cases, vehicular death cases, employment cases and actions against stock brokers and brokerage firms for making unsuitable investments and for the churning of investors’ accounts. He also has extensive product liability litigation experience involving a wide range of consumer and industrial products, including industrial compressors and furnaces, steel mill machinery, scaffolding, scissor lifts, hydraulic lift platforms, bicycles, lawn mowers, marine diesel engines used on the Great Lakes, welding electrodes, cutting equipment, industrial solvents, asbestos products, silica products, electrical switches, food blenders, air cleaners and hydraulic presses. He is a member of the Civil Litigation Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association.

Licenses – Mr. Wise is licensed to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He is licensed to practice before the United States Courts of Appeal for the Third and Fourth Circuits. He is also licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and West Virginia on both the state and federal levels.

Professional and Community – Additionally, Mr. Wise has been active in the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Inns of Court for many years and served as its President and Treasurer. Mr. Wise has published guest columns in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Allegheny County Bar Journal, and has lectured on product liability issues for professional organizations such as the American Welding Society, American Society for Metals, Council of Engineering and Scientific Executives and Corporate Counsel Committee of the American Bar Association. He has given presentations to community organizations and church groups. He is a past chairman of the American Society of Testing and Materials’ Committee on the Technical Aspects of Product Liability Litigation.
Mr. Wise served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ruggero J. Aldisert of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1973 to 1975. For a decade, he was an attorney in the Law Department of United States Steel Corporation.

Education and Personal – Mr. Wise graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1973 and has remained in his hometown of Pittsburgh throughout his legal career. He has been married to his wife, Karen, for more than 35 years and has two adult children. He is a Veteran of the United States Air Force, having served as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer from 1969 to 1972.