Alexander W. Brown

Alexander W. Brown is a Westmoreland County native who focuses his law practice on civil litigation and appeals.  Alex has a special affinity for litigation in the federal courts.  He served as a judicial law clerk at the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania for a year after he graduated from law school.

Alex’s civil litigation experience is extensive.  In the Pennsylvania state courts, he has dealt with commercial, contract, and construction disputes, employment law, property disputes, tort claims, land use appeals, real estate tax sale law cases, municipal law issues (including as solicitor for New Stanton Borough), guardianships (he has been appointed as counsel for alleged incapacitated persons) and estate disputes, and Pennsylvania constitutional law.  

As for federal court litigation, Alex’s experience includes defending constitutional law claims under Section 1983 against municipalities and police officers.  Alex has litigated issues under the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments.  He is well versed in the powers of federal courts and their interaction with state courts.  Alex is also comfortable applying the principles of prosecutorial and qualified immunity.  Furthermore, Alex has litigated federal employment discrimination claims, including the defense of religious institutions from those claims.  Alex has additionally dealt with commercial, property (including the Defend Trade Secrets Act), and insurance disputes before federal courts.  

Appellate practice is another of Alex’s strengths.  He has written and submitted numerous briefs to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, and Superior Court of Pennsylvania.  He has orally argued before those courts in precedential cases.  Alex also authored a brief to and orally argued, in 2024, before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in a case requiring interpretation of the Second Class Township Code and the Pennsylvania Constitution.  There, Alex persuaded the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to unanimously reverse the Commonwealth Court.

Alex believes in pragmatic litigation and appeals.  Filing or defending a lawsuit or an appeal often comes with a huge commitment of time and money.  The pros and cons should be carefully weighed before proceeding.