Attorney
Lori J. Cerato

Experienced elder law attorney providing trusted legal guidance in estate planning, estate administration, guardianship, and Orphans’ Court matters throughout Pennsylvania.

Professional Experience

Lori J. Cerato, Esq. established her Elder Law practice in August 2000 in Stroudsburg, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. A Scranton native, Attorney Cerato graduated from the University of Scranton, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in History. After working in the banking industry for several years, she enrolled at the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, receiving her Juris Doctorate in 1993. During her final year at Dickinson, Attorney Cerato worked as a law clerk to the Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Insurance in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

In August 1993, Attorney Cerato began a two-year judicial clerkship with the Honorable Ronald E. Vican, President Judge of the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. From January 1994 to August 1995, Attorney Cerato also served as law clerk to Senior Judge James R. Marsh. From September 1995 to August 4, 2000, Attorney Cerato was an associate attorney with O’Malley & Harris, P.C., a regional insurance defense litigation firm. During that time, Attorney Cerato handled all aspects of civil litigation throughout the Northeast Pennsylvania region, including appellate practice.

Attorney Cerato opened her practice in Stroudsburg on August 7, 2000 concentrating on Elder Law which includes estate planning, long term care planning, estate administration, guardianship, and Orphan’s Court litigation. While her practice is focused in Monroe County, Attorney Cerato has handled client matters in other counties such as Lackawanna, Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Carbon, Luzerne, Wayne and Pike.

Admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, United States Middle District Court, and the Supreme Court of the United States, Attorney Cerato is a member of the Elder Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She is a Fellow of the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation.

In 2014, Attorney Cerato served as President of the Monroe County Bar Association (MCBA) where she has been a member since 1993 and on the Executive Board from 2010 to 2015. During her term as President, Attorney Cerato oversaw restoration of the front porch of the MCBA building located in Stroudsburg’s historic district, began the task of establishing an archive of MCBA history, which resulted in a publication honoring the MCBA Centennial, and led a group of past presidents and young lawyers in creating a strategic plan for the first time in the 100-year history of the MCBA. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania appointed Attorney Cerato to a six-year term on the Supreme Court Orphan’s Court Procedural Rules Committee from 2014 through 2019. She is a member of the Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Decedents’ Estates Laws, a standing group of attorneys and judges who assist the General Assembly with recommendations.

Attorney Cerato is Secretary of the Monroe County Hospital Authority having been appointed to the Authority by the Monroe County Commissioners. She is President of the Monroe Animal League, a spay/neuter advocacy 501 (c)(3) established in 1943. She resides in Barrett Township with her husband, E. David Christine, Jr., the retired District Attorney of Monroe County.