Peter C. Amuso

Peter C. Amuso

Peter Amuso concentrates his practice on education law and zoning, as well as the firm’s criminal defense matters. 

 

Peter Amuso’s law career was inspired by his hero, his grandfather. Peter’s grandfather immigrated to the U.S. as a young boy from Sicily in 1913 and became a prominent attorney in his hometown. No matter how successful he became, his office door was open to all who needed legal advice or help, even if payment came in produce, eggs, meat or other items from fellow immigrants. 

 

Peter followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and attended Georgetown University on an Army ROTC Scholarship, graduating magna cum laude in 1994. He delayed his active duty service in the Army to attend Harvard Law School, graduating with honors in 1997. 

 

After graduating from Harvard, he served overseas as an active duty Army officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Peter worked on the defense team of an innocent Army soldier accused of homicide while serving in Kosovo. The soldier’s acquittal made the banner headline “NOT GUILTY” in the Stars and Stripes. His boss framed the article, and it still hangs in Peter’s office. 

 

Peter left the Army in 2002 and returned home to Pennsylvania. He joined a large Philadelphia law firm, where he handled litigation at every level from Pennsylvania state trial courts, the federal district courts in Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. 

 

Peter then managed zoning and land use litigation for a major developer throughout eastern Pennsylvania and across the country. 

 

Peter is especially passionate about school labor law. When advising school districts or arguing in court, his frame of reference is always his children and how he wants them to be educated. Peter recently won the first case in front of the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education interpreting the PA School Code on the quality of transportation a school district must provide to the students of a charter school. Peter is a frequent speaker for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, addressing issues ranging from labor negotiations to legal ethics. 

 

Peter has expertise across the full spectrum of zoning matters. He is solicitor for the East Norriton Township Zoning Hearing Board. He has represented developers, individuals, and public and private schools, and nonprofit organizations in every conceivable zoning and land use matter in front of zoning hearing boards across southeastern Pennsylvania. 

Peter has always zealously fought for clients facing the full power of the criminal justice system. He has earned not guilty verdicts for clients facing difficult cases and understands the full range of options. He uses his expertise to ensure the best possible outcome. 

 

Peter is also involved in the communityHe was elected to the school board of the School District of Springfield Township in 2005, and he served his four-year term as Chair of the Property Committee, overseeing the construction of a new elementary school as well as a substantial middle school renovation. He was the 2007 Democratic nominee for District Attorney of Montgomery County, as well as the 2010 Springfield Township Democrat of the Year. He is a Life Member of his local VFW Post 7919 and a member of the Arthur Savage American Legion Post 100 in Wyndmoor. 

 

Peter is married to his college sweetheart, with whom he has four children, ages 6 to 12. He serves as the CYO Athletic Director and coaches the track team at his parish, Our Mother of Consolation, located in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. 

 

Peter has served as pro bono counsel for the Friends of Historic Bethlehem Pike, and has taught business law and criminal procedure as an adjunct professor at Chestnut Hill College.  

 

Peter is an active member of the Montgomery Bar Association, Bucks County Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association and Pennsylvania School Boards Solicitors Association. 

Court Admissions

1997, Pennsylvania 

1998, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces 

2002, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania 

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 

2004, U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania