Stefanie Pitcavage Mekilo is a shareholder in Saxton & Stump’s Business Litigation and Strategic Solutions and Environmental, Workplace Safety and Utilities Group. Based in the firm’s suburban Harrisburg office, Stefanie is a seasoned litigator who advises clients on complex commercial, regulatory, environmental, and energy matters in state and federal courts nationwide.
Stefanie regularly represents businesses in ‘bet-the-company’ litigation and arbitration, guiding clients through their most significant disputes with a strategic, business-focused approach. She litigates matters involving breach of contract, business torts (including fiduciary duty, fraud, conspiracy, and misappropriation of confidential information), shareholder and business breakups, restrictive covenants, constitutional challenges, and intellectual property disputes. Stefanie has substantial experience obtaining and defending against emergency injunctive relief.
Before going into private practice, Stefanie served for 12 years as a judicial law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, including as the career law clerk for the Hon. Christopher C. Conner (Ret.), a Saxton & Stump attorney. In that role, she drafted hundreds of judicial opinions and participated in dozens of jury and bench trials, hearings, and injunction proceedings. That experience gives Stefanie valuable insight into how cases get decided, allowing her to anticipate issues early, develop creative yet practical litigation strategies, and advocate effectively in high-stakes disputes. Her years in chambers also allow her to evaluate disputes with the perspective of both an advocate and a neutral, informing her judgment about when litigation is necessary—and when a negotiated resolution better serves her clients’ business objectives.
Stefanie also frequently advises clients on complex environmental, energy and regulatory matters, including regulatory challenges, enforcement actions, agency proceedings, and permitting and compliance matters. Stefanie has represented clients in citizens’ group and other appeals before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board and in proceedings seeking judicial review of agency action. Her experience in both commercial litigation and regulated-industry disputes allows her to advise clients when business risk, litigation strategy, and regulatory exposure intersect.
Stefanie is president of the Middle District of Pennsylvania Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and the co-chair of the organization’s CLE Committee. She also volunteers her time in her community as a member of the Board of Directors of the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg, chair of the Board’s Dress for Success Committee, and a member and immediate past president of the organization’s Junior Board.
Stefanie received her law degree, summa cum laude, from Widener University Commonwealth Law School, where she later served as an adjunct professor. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bloomsburg University.