Magistrate District
05-2-31
The Magisterial District Philip would serve encompasses City Wards 8, 10, and 11. The communities in this district are Bloomfield, Garfield, Friendship, Highland Park, East Liberty, Morningside, Stanton Heights, and Upper Lawrenceville.
Meet Philip
Philip (he/him/his) is a product of this community and his family. His family instilled in him the attributes of hard work, compassion, and justice. Philip’s maternal great grandparents came to this country from Syria. His great grandfather worked at the historic ALCOA aluminum factory for over 40 years. Philip was raised with pride in Syrian culture (especially the cuisine!). Philip understands the complexities and struggles of families trying to make a new home in Pittsburgh. He believes as a community we need to accept and support our neighbors. All of them!
Philip’s father, Paul Roberts, played a significant role in Philip’s life and is the biggest influence on why Philip decided to run for Magistrate. Philip grew up watching his father be a leader in the community. Paul was the Pastor of Eastminster Presbyterian Church in East Liberty. Paul devoted his professional and personal life to inner city ministry, specifically focusing on racial reconciliation. Philip grew up watching his father love and serve this community through acts of service and compassion. He attended, alongside his father, peace rallies, protests against gun violence, protests for racial equality, and workshops on recognizing and addressing trauma in our community. Serving this community with love and compassion is second nature to Philip, because he was raised that way.
Philip is a proud product of the Pittsburgh Public School District. He attended and graduated from Schenley High school and was a Pittsburgh Promise recipient. He went on to attend Seton Hill University in Greensburg. At Seton Hill Philip was a NCAA Scholarship Awarded Athlete, Ambassador for the Blackburn Center Against Domestic Violence, Ambassador for The United Way, and Ambassador for The Make a Wish Foundation, and volunteer with Haiti H2O. Philip earned a Bachelor of Science and began a career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in sales and marketing. Philip left the Pirates to pursue his dream and attend Michigan State University’s School of Law. Two life changing events happened in Michigan. First, he earned his law degree and began forging the experience and skills to serve this community as Magistrate. Second, and most important, he met Christin, his wife and best friend. Philip and Christin have two children and two dogs and live in East Liberty. Philip loves giving back to his community by serving on the board of Open Hand Ministries, serving and volunteering with The American Heart Association, and volunteering with Off the Floor Pittsburgh.
Experience
Currently, Philip works as an Assistant Solicitor at the Allegheny County Law Department. He specializes in Litigation, Municipal Law, and Property Law. Prior to working at the County Law Department, Philip worked in criminal law for the District Attorney’s Office where he developed strong advocacy and trial skills. He litigated jury trial, nonjury trial, and pretrial motions in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Criminal Division. Philip managed a caseload of 140 criminal cases all at various stages from pre-trial discovery to post-sentencing motions. Additionally, Philip completed a Judicial Clerkship in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Family Division where he gained experience in judicial legal writing and determining credibility as a fact finder. Philip conducted conciliations with attorneys and pro se litigants on various family law matters. Another public service position held by Philip was when he worked in Washington D.C. with the Office of Personnel Management as a labor relations specialist. Philip drafted comments for advisement on executive actions and legislation. Additionally, he reviewed federal labor disputes between individual employees and federal agencies.
In the private sector, Philip has worked for a civil defense law firm and for a financial institution. With the latter, he worked in regulatory, risk and compliance. Notably, Philip was certified as a mediator in Michigan and mediated district court cases (Michigan’s version of our Magistrate District Court). This experience allowed Philip to become well versed in mediating property disputes and small claims civil cases. Philip has molded himself into a well rounded and experienced attorney. He has experience in criminal law, family law, property law, and civil litigation. These are all practice areas that a Magistrate maintains jurisdiction. We can be confident that Philip has the experience needed to step in and excel as our Magistrate!