About Gerard Michael
Gerard Michael Karam began his legal path after completing a J.D. at Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 1984. He earned a B.S. in accounting from Saint Joseph's University in 1980. Those early choices—law and accounting—shaped a practice that blends courtroom work, case assessment and dispute resolution.
He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1987 and is also admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Soon after taking his license, he joined Mazzoni Karam Petorak & Valvano as a partner in 1987, a role that placed him in private practice early in his career. Several years later he moved into public defense work. He served as an assistant public defender in Lackawanna County beginning in 1991 and became the county’s chief public defender in 1994.
Those years in the public defender's office were hands-on. He tried cases, supervised staff and managed daily courtroom duties. The work required quick legal judgment and a steady presence in trial settings. Later he returned to private practice while keeping ties to the public side of the law through volunteer and bar activities.
He is AV Peer Review Rated by Martindale Hubbell and has been active in professional associations for decades. He has held leadership posts in the Lackawanna Bar Association, serving as a director beginning in 2008 and as president from 2010 to 2011. He served on the board of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association from 2000 to 2005. He has volunteered with the Federal Bar Association Pro Bono Program since 2007 and has been a court-certified mediator for the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County since 2006.
Karam has also taken roles tied to local criminal justice initiatives. He was a member of the Drug Court Development Team in Lackawanna County from 2003 to 2004 and is a certified in-service training instructor for the Pennsylvania Municipal Police. Those positions reflect a mix of litigation, training and alternative dispute work.
He practices at Mazzoni Karam Petorak & Valvano and continues to appear in state and federal courts. His practice includes trial work, mediation and representation in criminal matters, alongside service in mentoring and local bar leadership.
