LOURDES SÁNCHEZ RIDGE is a partner in the Pittsburgh office of Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP where she practices in the areas of government enforcement, corporate compliance and internal investigations, government related civil litigation and municipal law including land use. She has counseled and investigated corporations and individuals on matters of domestic and international concerns such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), health care fraud, bribery and corruption, securities fraud and fraudulent conveyances. She has substantial experience in the courtroom in both state and federal court where she has tried numerous bench and jury trials in a multitude of jurisdictions. She has also represented clients before state and federal grand juries.
Prior to joining Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti, LLP, Ms. Sánchez Ridge was the Chief Legal Counsel/City Solicitor for the City of Pittsburgh where she was responsible for all legal matters concerning the City of Pittsburgh. There, while supervising a law department, she represented the City of Pittsburgh in matters involving municipal law, employment , civil rights, zoning and land use, permits and licenses, building code violations, the Tort Claims Act, First Amendment issues and government ethics. She has substantial experience in representing elected and appointed officials in high profile matters and has experience in handling the media.
Ms. Sánchez Ridge was a prosecutor in Miami-Dade County, Florida in the mid-1980s. She then served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C. prior to moving to Pittsburgh.
Ms. Sánchez Ridge has presented on a variety of topics before varied audiences. Examples of her presentations include the Association of Corporate Counsel on the topic of internal investigations; a large multi-national consortium of law firms, Mackrell International. on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”); the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter Association of Certified Fraud Examiner on financial fraud; the Pennsylvania State Mayors’ Association on cities’ role on immigration issues. Ms. Sánchez Ridge has also served as a Subject Matter Expert and lecturer at Carlow University’s Fraud and Forensic Master’s Degree Program.
In addition to her involvement in her field of practice, Ms. Sánchez Ridge is also involved in the community. She serves as a Governor for the Allegheny County Bar Association. She also serves on the Board of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh. She served as the Chair of FamilyLinks, a social service non-profit organization, the Chair of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where she was the Founder of the Hispanic Scholarship Program; she was a Trustee at Carlow University; a Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs; and, a Director at the Allegheny County Community College Foundation and Global Pittsburgh. Ms. Sánchez Ridge has also earned several awards: the Carol Las Mansmann Helping Hand Award, National Football League (NFL) Hispanic Leadership Award and the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Hispanic Bar Committee El Sol Award.
She is fluent in Spanish.