Joseph A. Pecora

Joe represents clients in matters involving real estate and property law, business law, executive employment, and administrative issues for independent schools. His practice includes both litigation and transactional matters, allowing him to advise clients through disputes, negotiations, and day-to-day legal needs.

As a litigator, Joe has successfully advocated for both plaintiffs and defendants in courts, arbitrations, and mediations throughout the Philadelphia region in matters involving:

  • Contract disputes and other commercial litigation;

  • Breach of real estate agreements of sale;

  • Seller disclosure disputes and fraud claims;

  • Pennsylvania’s Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act (also known as Act 135);

  • Partition actions between co-owners;

  • Ejectment and possession actions;

  • Boundary line and easement disputes;

  • Quiet title actions;

  • Landlord/tenant disputes, including claims for violation of Philadelphia’s Lead Paint Disclosure and Certification Law;

  • Orphans’ Court litigation, including petitions to determine title to a decedent’s interest in real property under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3546;

  • Contractor and construction disputes, including claims arising under Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act;

  • Mechanics’ lien claims and defenses; and

  • Property damage and nuisance claims.

In his executive employment and school-administration practice, Joe advises independent schools and school administrators on employment agreements, compensation structures, and governance-related matters. He regularly assists schools and school executives with negotiating and drafting employment agreements, addressing workplace and contractual disputes, and resolving separation issues through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration.

Joe also maintains an active transactional real estate practice, where he prepares deeds and assists clients with drafting and negotiating agreements of sale, promissory notes, mortgages, and leases (both residential and commercial).

Joe is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania and is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Real Property Section. Joe received his law degree from Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law and is a proud alumnus of both Villanova University and St. Joseph’s Preparatory School.