About Us

Our Approach

Since 1921, McQuaide Blasko has been serving clients in Centre County, Blair County, Dauphin County, and throughout Central Pennsylvania. Our attorneys strive to offer each of our clients the highest quality legal expertise, and we are committed to meeting the evolving needs of our clients and our communities.

The priority of our law firm is to understand each client’s business and legal needs and to address those needs in the most efficient, professional, and effective manner. In today’s complex legal arena, we encourage our lawyers to focus their practices in specific areas of the law so they can provide the most up-to-date expertise. Our specialized practice groups — such as employment law, litigation, and taxation — work together closely to integrate legal services for each client.

Whether a client seeks legal services for a simple will or for a sophisticated regulatory issue, our attorneys and staff strive to establish a working style that makes our clients comfortable. At McQuaide Blasko, every interaction between client and attorney is rooted in a very simple premise: We treat you as we would wish to be treated.

Our client-focused legal approach means we keep you informed of progress in your case, respond to your inquiries and telephone calls promptly, recognize you as an intelligent consumer of our services, and are sensitive to your budgetary considerations. From our offices in State College (home of Penn State University), Hollidaysburg, and Hershey, we offer complete legal services focused on you, our client.

Our Clients

The law firm of McQuaide Blasko provides the highest quality representation to diverse corporate, institutional and individual clients throughout Central Pennsylvania. Our attorneys provide complete business, corporate, and commercial law services to clients including:

  •  Start-up companies
  •  Publicly traded corporations
  •  General & limited partnerships
  •  Limited liability companies
  •  Family-owned businesses
  •  Insurance companies
  •  Medical practices
  •  Colleges & universities
  •  Municipal authorities

Our lawyers have extensive experience helping individual clients with legal matters such as:

  •  Powers of attorney
  •  Estate planning & administration
  •  Tax law
  •  Divorce & child custody
  •  Malpractice
  •  Living wills
  •  Prenuptial agreements
  •  Real estate transactions
  •  Personal injury
  •  Employment matters
  •  Property damage

 


McQuaide Blasko is:

Centered on Our Community

Centered on You

Centered on Trust

Centered on the Future

Our History

1921

John G. Love, Jr., the founder of our firm, was the son of the Honorable John G. Love, who was a Centre County judge from 1895 to 1905. In World War I, he served in France as an ambulance driver, and, later as a Master Hospital Sergeant. Upon his honorable discharge from the Army, he completed his studies at University of Pennsylvania Law School.  During his studies, Mr. Love taught at Wharton School of Finance.

Mr. Love, Jr. opened his practice in Bellefonte in the same offices where his father practiced prior to being elected to the bench. He was admitted to the Centre County Bar on August 22, 1921.

1921
1930s

Mr. Love began representing the Penn State College, now Penn State University.

The Bellefonte High School burned down and was a total loss.  In order to construct a new school, Mr. Love developed a concept of financing the construction with a lease-back to the school district. He championed legislation that resulted in what was referred to as the “Bellefonte Love Plan.” The plan was refined in 1947 with the passage of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Authority Act.

1930s
1940s 1950s

Roy Wilkinson, Jr. attended the University of Pennsylvania graduating cum laude in 1939. He became a partner with Mr. Love and practiced under the name “Love & Wilkinson.” On December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Roy Wilkinson, Jr. enlisted in the armed forces, postponing his law practice to serve his country, and rose in rank from a private to major. He was discharged in 1945.

Mr. Wilkinson took over the representation of Penn State University. He became a close friend of Milton Eisenhower, Dwight Eisenhower’s brother. After being elected, President Eisenhower offered Wilkinson a position in his cabinet as Secretary of War,

1940s 1950s
Early 1960s

Charles C. Brown, Jr., John W. Blasko, and Delbert J. McQuaide joined the law firm of Love and Wilkinson.

On behalf of the University, Wilkinson negotiated with the Hershey interests to establish the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine and prepared all documents establishing the relationship between Penn State and Hershey.

John Love died in 1965. Upon his death, Dr. Felix Marley, who was a classmate of Mr. Love’s at Haverford as well as a Pulitzer Prize winning Editor of the Washington Post, stated, “Johnny Love was one of the ablest, most popular students at Haverford as an under graduate.”

Early 1960s
Late 1960s

Charles C. Brown was elected District Attorney of Centre County, a position he served until 1977.

Governor Ray Shafer appointed Wilkinson to a 6-year term as one of the original judges on Pennsylvania’s new Commonwealth Court, and he successfully ran for retention in 1975.

John Blasko was elected Solicitor for Centre County.

Late 1960s
1970s

Law Building Associates acquired the land at 811 University Drive from H. O. Smith & Sons, Inc. in May of 1973 and the building was designed by Harlin Wall, a local architect.

The firm established a medical defense practice group and opened an office in the Hershey-Harrisburg area as well.

1970s
1980s 1990s

Governor Richard Thornburgh appointed Wilkinson to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Del McQuaide served on the Board of Trustees of Juniata College from 1994 until his death in 1997.

John Blasko was named Defense Attorney of the year by the Pennsylvania Defense Institute in 1994.

Charles C. Brown, Jr. was elected Judge of the Centre County Court of Common Pleas, where he served as President Judge until he retired in 2008.

1980s 1990s
2000s

The firm opened an office in Hollidaysburg, which was essentially a merger of Tom Reese’s local practice with McQuaide Blasko.

One of the firm’s Shareholders, Pamela Ruest, was elected Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Centre County. She was the first female judge to be elected in the history of the county.

The Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession announced that McQuaide Blasko was one of two law firms in Pennsylvania selected to receive the “2015 Honor Roll of Legal Organizations Welcoming Women Professionals Award.” More than 40 percent of the Firm’s attorneys and shareholders are women.

2000s
2010s

The firm officially changed its name to McQuaide Blasko, Inc. One of the firm’s Shareholders, Katie Oliver, was elected Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Centre County.

2010s
2020's

McQuaide Blasko, Inc. proudly celebrates its centennial in 2021.  John W. Blasko sadly passed away on June 27, 2022 at the age of 86. One of the firm’s Shareholders, Julia Cronin Rater, was elected Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Centre County.

2020's

Giving Back

McQuaide Blasko is involved in the community. See what we're doing.