Michelle Piscopo of Blank Rome LLP is emerging as one of the Philadelphia region's leading young matrimonial lawyers, an industrious litigator who has teamed with key lawyers at the firm and handled major cases from the beginning of her career. Still in her early forties, the Delaware county native is a relative newcomer to the profession, but peers throughout the region like and respect her approach to her work. She works closely with well known Blank Rome attorney Mary Vidas, and since the retirement of Leonard Dubin they make up the firm's Center City family law practice (By comparison, the firm's Manhattan office has more than 15 family law practitioners). Piscopo, serious-minded and well organized, is a prime example of advancing a career by impressing talented and influential bosses: She worked as a paralegal to Blank Rome co-chairman Alan J. Hoffman and litigator Norman E. Greenspan, both leaders at the 450-lawyer firm. And though not yet a partner at Blank Rome, today she is a proven divorce-law practitioner and is likely to have a respected role in the field for years to come. Piscopo, the second of three ("The middle child is a natural arbitrator - we learn unique problem-solving skills"), grew up in Glenolden, and later Drexel Hill; her father, Albert Piscopo, is former chairman and CEO of the fund management firm Glenmede Trust. Don't conclude, though, that young Michelle enjoyed special privileges: "We all had part-time jobs, even while we were in school - we definitely had a work ethic instilled in us." After graduating from Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, she went on to nearby Widener and earned a degree in psychology. Divorce law was not exactly a calling, though: For two years she substituted in Delaware County schools, long enough to determine that "elementary education wasn't the right fit for me." She worked in collections for an equipment-leasing company, got a taste of business disputes, and found she could handle them. At night she earned a paralegal's degree, and later joined a small litigation practice in Center City. By 1997 she was helping prepare major commercial-litigation cases at Blank Rome, earning the confidence of many superiors, all of whom (as well as her father), encouraged her to go to law school. Remarkably she went full time to Temple Law, and continued to work summers at Blank Rome; by mid 2001 she was a lawyer, and in three years was focusing exclusively on matrimonial law. Unlike many divorce lawyers Piscopo says she enjoys the large-firm environment, with its broad expertise ("The access to first-rate legal talent is part of what attracts clients") and its intense demands on lawyers and staff alike ("I've enjoyed it at every level, from the first day"). Over the years she and Vidas have represented many high-profile clients in the region. On multiple occasions the firm has cited her for her pro bono work. Michelle Piscopo lives in Center City, a short distance from the firm's Logan Square headquarters. She enjoys travel and yoga.