Samuel J. Cordes, Esq. Samuel J. Cordes & Associates, Pittsburgh Mr. Cordes is the Principal of the Pittsburgh law firm, Samuel J. Cordes & Associates. He primarily represents plaintiffs in employment discrimination, ERISA and civil rights actions. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he was an editor of the Journal of Law and Commerce. He also holds an M.A. in Journalism. He is a Fellow of the National College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a member of the Allegheny County Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is rated AV by Martindale-Hubble and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and was named the Pittsburgh 2012 Employment Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in America. He was selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers®, the Top 100 Lawyers in Pennsylvania and Top 50 Lawyers in Pittsburgh. Mr. Cordes has tried numerous high profile employment discrimination cases in the Western District of Pennsylvania. He was lead counsel in the largest individual ADEA verdict and largest sex/pregnancy discrimination verdicts ever awarded in the Western District of Pennsylvania, and won the first employment case under the Americans with Disabilities Act to be tried to verdict in the Western District of Pennsylvania. Some of his noteworthy appellate cases include: Ryder v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 128 F.3d 128 (3rd Cir.1997), cert denied, 522 U.S. 1116 (1998); Brewer v. Quaker State Oil Refining Corp., 72 F.3d 326 (3d Cir. 1995); Fiscus v. Wal-Mart, 385 F.3d 378 (3d Cir. 2004); Boyle v. Allegheny County, 139 F.3d 386 (3d Cir. 1998); Robinson v. Pittsburgh, 120 F.3d 1286 (3d Cir. 1997); Fowler-Nash v. Democratic Caucus of Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 469 F.3d 328 (3d Cir. 2006); Armour v. County of Beaver, 271 F.3d 417 (3d Cir. 2001), cert denied, 535 U.S. 1079 (2002); Pivirotto v. Innovative Systems Inc., 191 F.3d 344 (3d Cir. 1999); Snooks v. Duquesne Light Corp., 314 Fed. Appx. 499 (3d Cir. 2009). Mr. Cordes teaches and writes extensively on employment law and legal ethics. He has authored or co-authored more than twenty articles on employment law topics for local and national publications. He often lectures on employment law topics for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, as well as other local and national organizations.