Brian W. Castello

A Pittsburgh native, Brian is a litigator through and through. He specializes in distilling complex disputes into simple messages and stories that persuade judges and juries. He takes pride in understanding his clients, earning their trust, and advancing their interests through litigation from start to finish. Brian’s experience stretches beyond any one particular area of litigation. His specialty is the practice of litigation. That involves understanding how courts work, how to communicate with decisionmakers, how to tee up issues for decision, and — most importantly — how to advance and protect a client’s interests throughout the litigation process.

During his career, Brian has handled every aspect of a case. He has managed the initial investigation and fact gathering. He has led small-scale and large-scale document collection and discovery. He has taken and defended depositions. He has written dispositive motions. He has conducted direct and cross examinations in federal court and state court. He has written appellate briefs. He has secured favorable settlements.

Some of Brian’s representative matters and victories include:

• Complex torts. Brian has successfully represented many clients in complex tort-based cases, including Giant Eagle in its opioids litigation, the NFL in its painkiller litigation, and KBR in its burn-pits litigation.
• Complex contractual disputes. Brian has also successfully represented many clients in cases dealing with complex contractual disputes, including IBM in a dispute relating to technology in a major stadium, HCA in various health-care disputes regarding out-of-network billing, and a major financial institution in disputes arising out of the mortgage crisis.
• Insurance recovery. Brian currently represents Giant Eagle in its efforts to secure coverage relating to the opioid litigation. Brian has successfully represented other policyholders in connection with a wide range of liabilities, including mass torts, governmental investigations, professional liability, environmental remediation, and employment claims.
• Employment discrimination. Brian has represented several of the largest employers in the Pittsburgh region in employment-discrimination matters, including recently securing a favorable settlement.
• Antitrust. Brian has represented clients in all areas of antitrust law. In particular, Brian has represented clients in large antitrust-related MDL proceedings.
• False advertising. Brian has represented clients facing allegations of false advertising under the Lanham Act and other similar statutes, including recently securing a favorable settlement in litigation spanning multiple federal district courts.
• Patent infringement. Brian’s engineering background has allowed him to assist clients in patent infringement litigation. Brian served as a member of a team that represented a pharmaceutical client through a multi-week federal trial and on the subsequent appeal to the Federal Circuit.
• Class actions. Brian has defended clients facing class actions in federal and state courts.

In addition to his time in private practice, Brian sharpened his litigation skills during his service as a federal prosecutor and as a federal judicial clerk. He served for two years as an Assistant United States Attorney in Pittsburgh. There, he prosecuted a variety of crimes, including bank robberies, drug and gun offenses, and child exploitation crimes. He also served for two years as a federal judicial clerk — one year for Judge Phipps in the District Court, and one year for Judge Phipps on the Third Circuit. Prior to Brian’s time in government service, Brian worked for four years at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C.

Brian was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Brian and his wife reside in North Allegheny with their two boys and their dog.

Brian is an active member of the Pittsburgh community. For example, since 2019, Brian has volunteered with Literacy Pittsburgh, which is the region’s largest literacy organization.