Begin the Conversation

Four ways to start the conversation.

Family law matters arrive at the firm in different shapes. Some are early questions — "is this even a divorce I need yet, or can we work through it?" Others arrive with a hearing in two weeks and a binder of documents. The intake process is built to match the matter, not force every caller through the same door.

The free ten-minute call is real and stays. Anyone gets one. The longer paid sessions exist because deeper conversations require dedicated, undistracted attorney time — and pricing them honestly is more respectful than pretending they take less time than they do. If you engage the firm within thirty days, the consultation fee is applied as a credit toward your retainer. The session pays for itself.

Free Ten-Minute Call

$0 · 10 minutes · Brief intake call to determine fit.

For anyone with a family law question. The free call is designed for one purpose: to figure out whether you need a lawyer, and if so, what kind of conversation makes sense next.

You'll speak directly with Attorney Levine — not a screener, not a paralegal. Ten minutes is enough to understand the contour of a matter, identify whether it's something the firm handles, and either answer the question on the spot or recommend a longer session. Most callers leave the ten minutes knowing more than they did before.

This call does not include legal advice on a specific matter, document review, or strategy planning. For that, the longer sessions below are the right fit.

Scheduled as Attorney Levine's calendar permits, typically within a few business days.

Focused Question Session

$175 · 30 minutes · A specific question, examined directly.

For someone who has a specific question and needs a real answer. Not a strategic overhaul of a case — one or two narrow issues, examined directly.

Common Focused Question Sessions:

• "My spouse just served me with a complaint. What does this mean and what do I do this week?"
• "I have a custody order from 2019 that's not working. Can it be modified, and how?"
• "My ex is threatening a PFA. What should I be doing right now to protect myself?"
• "My MSA is sitting on my desk waiting for signature. Can you spot-check it before I sign?"

Thirty minutes is enough to give you a clear answer to a specific question, not enough to build a case strategy. If, once we begin, the matter clearly needs more time, we can extend or schedule a Strategy Session below — the $175 applies as credit either way.

Credit if retained: If you engage the firm within thirty days, the $175 is applied as credit toward your retainer.

Scheduled as Attorney Levine's calendar permits. Same-day availability is sometimes possible for matters where the timing genuinely matters; most sessions schedule within the same week.

Strategy Session

$300 · 60 minutes · The complete picture before deciding how to proceed.

For someone facing a serious matter who wants a complete picture before deciding how to proceed. The Strategy Session is designed to do four things in one hour:

1. Understand the matter. The full shape of what's happening — financial, procedural, and personal.
2. Identify the leverage points. What positions you well, what doesn't, and what can be addressed before any filing.
3. Walk through the realistic outcomes. Settlement ranges, what trial would likely produce, and where the case is most likely to actually resolve.
4. Build the next-step plan. Whether that involves engaging the firm, working with a different professional, or proceeding without counsel for now.

The Strategy Session is the format used most often by clients who eventually engage the firm for representation. It's also used by clients who, after an honest conversation, decide they don't need ongoing counsel — and walk away with a clear plan they can execute themselves.

Common Strategy Session matters:

• Divorces involving real estate, retirement, equity compensation, or business interests
• Custody matters with relocation, complex schedules, or contested decision-making
• Support matters with multiple income sources, self-employment, or significant assets
• Cases where the other party has already retained counsel and you need to match their preparation

Credit if retained: If you engage the firm within thirty days, the $300 is applied as credit toward your retainer.

The Strategy Session is reserved for matters where preparation produces a meaningful return on the hour. Not every inquiry results in a session; the firm declines matters that fall outside its reach. For matters that are accepted, sessions typically schedule within the same week, with same-day availability possible when the matter is genuinely time-sensitive.

Quick Contact Form

Free · Online form · Reviewed personally by Attorney Levine.

For matters where a written first contact makes more sense than a phone call — an upcoming hearing, a question that needs context, or a situation that's hard to explain by phone. Submit a brief description and the firm will respond with the right next step: a free ten-minute call, a paid session, or a referral if the matter falls outside the practice.

The Quick Contact form is also the right entry point if you've already used one of the free interactive tools and want to walk through the output with an attorney. Mention the tool by name in the message and Scott can review it before the call.

Submissions are reviewed personally by Attorney Levine. For matters within the firm's practice scope, a response typically follows within one to two business days. Genuinely urgent matters can be flagged in the message and receive expedited attention.

How the Firm Approaches Intake

The firm handles a deliberately limited number of active matters at any one time. This is what allows the level of preparation and direct attorney involvement that defines the practice — and it's why intake is selective. Every call and form submission is reviewed personally by Attorney Levine. Most inquiries result in a conversation; some result in a referral when the matter would be better served elsewhere; a small number do not result in a meeting at all.

Scheduling reflects the same principle. Sessions are scheduled as the calendar allows, with same-day availability possible for genuinely time-sensitive matters and most sessions typically scheduled within the same week. The firm does not maintain a queue of pre-scheduled consultation slots; each session is held when the matter is ready to be addressed and the attorney is ready to do the work.

Allegheny County and Surrounding Counties

The firm's court appearance practice is exclusively Allegheny County. Eighteen years of focused practice in one jurisdiction produces a level of familiarity with the judges, the hearing officers, the procedures, the filing conventions, and the local culture of practice that broader geographic coverage would dilute. Allegheny County is what the firm does.

For matters originating in surrounding counties — Westmoreland, Washington, Butler, Beaver, Armstrong, Fayette — the firm provides paid consultation, document review, and second-opinion services on the same structure as Allegheny County matters. The firm does not appear in court in those counties. If your matter requires court representation outside Allegheny County, Attorney Levine can help identify appropriate local counsel during the consultation, drawing on a network of family law attorneys built over two decades of practice.

One exception: mediation services are available for parties from any Pennsylvania county. Mediation is conducted by video conference and does not involve court appearances, so geography is not a barrier to the work. A mediated agreement is filed by each party's own attorney in their home county.

This narrowing is intentional. A focused practice produces better work than a broad one, and the surrounding counties are well-served by capable local family law attorneys who know their own courts the way Scott knows Allegheny County. The honest answer, sometimes, is the right local attorney.

Why structured this way.

Family law attorneys in Pittsburgh charge widely varying rates for consultations — some give all consultations for free, some charge several hundred dollars regardless of length, some charge nothing initially but bill against retainer once engaged. None of these are wrong. The structure here reflects how the firm actually works.

The free ten-minute call exists because not every question needs a paid session. Many family law matters are resolved without representation, and many callers just need a clear answer to a single question. Charging for that conversation would be wrong.

The $175 and $300 sessions exist because some questions need real attorney time. A thirty-minute conversation with a lawyer who has spent eighteen years in Allegheny County family law is not the same as a thirty-minute conversation with a search engine. Pricing the time honestly — and applying it as credit if you engage the firm — is the structure that respects both your time and ours.

The credit-if-retained structure means the session is functionally free for clients who hire the firm. If you engage representation within thirty days of a paid session, the consultation fee comes off the retainer. If you decide to proceed differently, you've paid for an hour of attorney time and walked away with real strategic guidance.

Common Questions About the Process