Erika Vasques Cornelison

Erika is a member of our Professional Liability Department where she focuses her practice on public entity and civil rights litigation, employment law and a broad range of professional liability claims.  She defends claims made and suits brought against a variety of professionals including attorneys, insurance agents and brokers, real estate professionals, corporate officers and directors, as well as public sector entities and businesses.

Erika is a seasoned trial attorney with nearly a decade of experience representing and defending her clients’ interests throughout Pennsylvania state courts. She has practiced law in both civil and criminal sectors. Notably, she has also practiced at the appellate level before the Pennsylvania Superior Court. In addition to her law practice, Erika served as an arbitrator for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Civil Division. 

Prior to joining Marshall Dennehey, Erika dedicated several years of her career practicing public interest law in the government sector. She provides a unique perspective and expertise to her practice defending various municipalities, law enforcement officials, and employers in both private and public sectors. Through her work, Erika has attended countless CLE courses and training conferences on topics such as unlawful searches and seizures, excessive use of force, unlawful restraints, community health and safety issues, special education, race, gender/sexual orientation and other civil rights issues. 

Erika received her juris doctorate from Duquesne University School of Law. During law school, she was passionate about working at the Youth Advocacy Clinic representing children, adolescents and young adults in criminal, juvenile delinquency and special education matters, and was awarded the Clinical Legal Education Outstanding Student Advocate Award for her work as a certified legal intern at the clinic.

A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Erika received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and graduated summa cum laude. She was also awarded the Evan Pugh Senior Scholar Award for graduating within the top 0.5 percent of her class and the Faculty Award for Academic Excellence for her work as a research and teaching assistant.