Mette, Evans & Woodside, SkarlatosZonarich LLC Merge to Become Mette
HARRISBURG, Pa. (April 29, 2024) – Mette, Evans & Woodside and SkarlatosZonarich LLC, two iconic and dynamic Harrisburg law firms, today announced they are formally merging, effective immediately. The firm will retain the formal name Mette, Evans & Woodside, but will be known as Mette.
The new Mette will double its legal team, practicing in the areas of banking and business, personal injury, commercial and employment litigation, insurance regulatory matters, estate planning and administration, real estate, bankruptcy, municipal finance, employment law, and family law. In all, Mette will employ nearly 50 lawyers and support staff.
Established in 1969, Mette, Evans & Woodside is one of Central Pennsylvania’s most respected law firms. Headquartered in Harrisburg, Mette serves clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey in more than 30 practice areas. The firm has deep expertise in its disciplines and a reputation for delivering value with integrity.
SkarlatosZonarich is enhancing Mette’s existing practice areas of estate planning and administration, labor and employment, corporate formation, real estate, trade and professional organizations, and personal injury, while bringing its expertise to new practice areas of elder law, special needs planning, and tax counsel.
SkarlatosZonarich was founded by Angelo Skarlatos and John R. Zonarich in 1977. The firm was led by John B. Zonarich and Kathy Speaker MacNett, and had expanded practice disciplines, added a branch office and created an international legal consortium, LawPact, to help create best practices in small to mid-sized law firms. In 2022, SkarlatosZonarich acquired the Bucks County firm of Harvey Abramson, which concentrated on all aspects of estate administration and planning and elder law. Shortly thereafter, SkarlatosZonarich added Anthony Loscalzo to the Trevose office, who concentrated in tax, estate planning and estate administration.
Management will be consolidated under a three-member board of directors, with John B. Zonarich joining existing board members Ben Ried and Tom Archer. This strategic leadership team is poised to lead the continued growth of the firm and recognizes that the needs of clients continually evolve and present new challenges.
“In 2023, Mette, Evans & Woodside positioned itself strategically to move forward in the practice of law with inspiration and innovation,” Ried said. “Our talks with SkarlatosZonarich began on the heels of our ending 2023 with great momentum. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome John, Kathy and their accomplished team. This merger achieves a critical goal of both firms to join forces to expand depth of talent, enhance practice areas, and position Mette to better serve clients now and in the future with the same integrity and respect the two firms were built upon. Mette offers a fantastic platform allowing for the growth of staff and attorneys alike, with more stability than most small offices can provide and fewer demands than larger firms, and it’s just going to keep getting better. At the heart of all this is good people bringing out the best in themselves for the benefit of our clients and each other.”
John B. Zonarich said, “The needs of our clients continually evolve and present new challenges. This exciting merger will allow us to maximize the collective talents and services of our team and support
staff. Our past successes at SkarlatosZonarich will serve as collective inspiration, while preserving the integrity that our clients have come to know and expect. We are excited to build the next dynamic chapter of Mette.”
Mette will continue to be headquartered at its riverfront office at 3401 N. Front St. in Harrisburg, and will expand its footprint in the Greater Philadelphia region with the SkarlatosZonarich office at Building 7 Neshaminy Interplex, Suite 400, in Trevose.
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Contact: David La Torre, david@latorrecommunications.com