In addition, while operating his private legal practice in Wind Gap, Attorney Filingo served as an Assistant Public Defender for the County of Northampton over a twelve-year period of time, handling a high volume of cases in all areas of criminal practice. As an assistant public defender, Attorney Filingo spent 10 years doing juvenile dependency/delinquency hearings for the county in which he handled hundreds of cases involving children who had become embroiled in the criminal justice system, as well as children who had been abused and/or neglected by their families. This involved extensive work with county Children and Youth service programs and all other related agencies and service providers including teachers, administrators, and mental health officials. In addition to serving the needs of children and their families while acting as a public defender, Attorney Filingo has handled hundreds of cases for the mentally ill in all of the area hospitals, including the secured ward for the criminally insane at the Allentown State Hospital.

From 1998 to 2013, Attorney Filingo served as an Assistant District Attorney for Northampton County, PA, where he remained as a prosecutor for 15 years before retiring from that position. As an Assistant District Attorney, Attorney Filingo has handled all levels of prosecutions from harassment and disorderly conduct to riot, bombings and criminal homicide. He is credited with having been the first to be named as Chief Prosecutor for Northampton County’s DUI Unit, and when called upon to trouble-shoot and fill-in by the District Attorney on one of the DA’s other specialized units, he served with distinction as a member of Northampton County’s White Collar Crime Team, where he was responsible for the handling of a high volume of complex and serious felony cases, and collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars as restitution for victims. In many of his cases, while serving as a prosecutor on the White Collar Crime Team, Attorney Filingo was required to follow lengthy and complicated document trails with complex codes and numbers to aid in the prosecution and conviction of suspects.

In 2013, after having retired from the county with twenty-seven plus years of service, Attorney Filingo received personal commendations from the Northampton County District Attorney and the County Executive for Northampton County, PA, for providing exemplary/dedicated services to the citizens and taxpayers of Northampton County.

Attorney Filingo is admitted to practice in the local courts of Pennsylvania, as well as within the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He has served as a member on the Northampton County Bar Association’s Fee Dispute Ethics Committee and has served multiple times as an arbitrator for Northampton County’s Arbitration Dispute Resolution System. He has represented clients in both civil and criminal proceedings before State and Federal Courts. As a sampling of his clients, Attorney Filingo has represented doctors, police, judges, professors, teachers, other attorneys and businesses, in both their private and personal legal matters and concerns.

Other awards and honors include achieving his Eagle Scout Award for the Boy Scouts of America as one of the youngest ever in the nation at the age of 14, being admitted as a select member into the National History Honor Society (Phi Alpha Theta) while in college, receiving recognition as a standing member of “Who’s Who in American Law”, being named as a recipient by Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Rating as having “High to Very High Legal Ability” with “High Ethical Standards”, and as a recipient of a 5th Degree Black Belt Ranking (Master’s level) in the martial arts, as well as other black belts, rankings, achievements, honors and awards.

Having completed his tenure of public service for the county, Attorney Filingo now brings to bear his combined level of knowledge and experience for the sole and exclusive benefit of his private clients. Attorney Filingo’s mission is for a “no-nonsense” approach to legal practice, with a friendly and compassionate attitude to the sometimes multifaceted problems and difficulties facing his clients. Attorney Filingo has analyzed everything from people’s most basic problems and needs to the preparation of written arguments to the United States Government’s Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He has defended the position of his clients, both orally and in writing, for over 30 years. He has argued cases within the state court system before judges and/or juries, hundreds of times as well as practicing before federal court judges in both civil and criminal matters. He is a great believer in the Boy Scout Motto “Be Prepared”, as well as having a firm understanding and belief in the system and its inner-most workings.

Through it all, Attorney Filingo has learned of the benefits and pitfalls of the legal justice system. He has had extensive trial litigation experience having taken a large number of cases to verdict before juries and judges, giving him, therefore, a strong foundation and understanding of what’s at the end of the road for a client, as well as what’s at the beginning. He truly is someone who has “Walked-the-Walk” and continues in his enthusiasm to remain ready, willing and able to pass these benefits along to his clients. With Attorney Filingo, no one has to look far to find a seasoned and well-rounded, aggressive level of legal representation right in your own community. Attorney Filingo hopes you never have a problem that needs a lawyer, but, if you do, he would be happy to meet with you to discuss your case. Should you have a problem that needs legal representation, Attorney Filingo can be reached at (610) 863-6640.