Seymour A. Sikov Esquire - Pittsburgh, PA

Overview

Seymour A. Sikov, a well-respected local attorney, (November 2, 1924 - January 16, 2013), was our founder. Sy, as he was known, grew up in Pittsburgh, the son of the late Meyer and Rose Sikov and brother of the late Leonard Sikov. He graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School at 16 and went on to the University of Pittsburgh. He was a member of the ROTC, which led to his service in the United States Army in World War II. Sy came back to Pittsburgh and eventually graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. After being recalled to service during the Korean War, Sy joined the Judge Advocate Corp, serving until 1952. Sy then started in practice with his late father and joined the offices of John Wirtzman in November, 1952, becoming a trial lawyer in the personal injury field of law. The firm then became Wirtzman and Sikov, and later Wirtzman, Sikov and Love when the late Murray S. Love became a partner. Eventually, the firm became Sikov and Love, P.A., which continues today.

Sy was very involved in the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA). He helped to start its annual Bench Bar conference in 1962 to build better communication between judges and attorneys. Sy was involved in the creation of the Video Tape Subcommittee, which led to the use of video tape depositions as evidence in the personal injury trials, which was the first time in any court in the United States. He was the Chair of the Special Masters Program with the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County from 1989 until its suspension in 1999, which program was instrumental in eliminating the large backlog of cases before the court. He won numerous awards and honors from the ACBA (including the Phillip Werner Amram Award and the Professionalism Award from the Civil Litigation Section), the Academy of Trials Lawyers (the Distinguished Service Award), and the University of Pittsburgh (the Distinguished Alumni of the Year from the School of Law Alumni Association). Sy was the First Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Guild of Court Videographers. His last award was a Certificate of Meritorious Service for 60 Years of Practice from the ACBA.

Sy founded the Sikov Elder Clinic at the Pitt School of Law. He helped to train many attorneys, some of whom went on to become judges, including Judge Alan Block of the US District Court for the Western District of PA, Judge Frank Lucchino and Judge Jim Flaherty of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, as well as Justices Sallie Updyke Mundy and Christine Donahue of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Sy was also very proud of the fact that each of his law clerks passed their bar examination on the first try.

Sy was a past president of the Tree of Life Synagogue from 1978- 1980. At the Green Oaks Country Club, he was the treasurer and the parliamentarian for many years.

Sy tried his last case in December, 2012, less than 1 month prior to his passing away, because he loved his work and enjoyed working with his daughter, Carol, his partner at the law firm. He was a professional to the end and is still missed by his office, his family and his friends.