In Memoriam

Peter D. Solymos (1943-2022)

Peter D. Solymos had over 40 years of experience in all types of civil litigation including accident, products liability, malpractice, corporate, personal injury, social security and workers’ compensation.

He tried in excess of 75 cases before juries in York, Adams, Lancaster, Dauphin and Cumberland Counties and the Federal Court from the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Pete represented clients on appeals before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, Superior Court and Supreme Court. During his active litigation career, he represented numerous individuals, corporations and national insurance companies.

He had an active domestic relations practice and had formerly served in excess of 15 years as a court appointed custody conciliator for the York County Court of Common Pleas.

Pete had years of experience representing municipal and private clients before various boards of supervisors, planning commissions, zoning boards, municipal authorities and school boards. He represented Hallam Borough, numerous zoning boards and other municipal bodies.

Pete was a graduate of York Junior College, the Pennsylvania State University and the Tennessee School of Law. He was a member of the American, Pennsylvania and York County Bar Associations and was admitted to practice in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Courts and the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and before the Middle and Eastern District Courts of Pennsylvania and the United States Supreme Court. Pete was a member of the York Masonic Lodge #266 and served on boards and committees of charitable organizations.

Read Pete’s obituary HERE.

Learn more about Pete HERE.


Peter R. Andrews (1939-2022)

Peter R. Andrews was one of the founding shareholders of CGA Law Firm. He began practicing with the firm in 1967, which was formerly known as Laucks & Monroe. Pete provided legal counsel to all types of businesses and municipal entities. He represented clients in commercial, banking, and public finance transactions for 53 years. Pete was adept at developing a keen understanding of his client’s business challenges and goals and took pride in providing invaluable solutions to meet their needs. His experience allowed him to join his business clients’ needs with the community and civic goals to the benefit of all parties.

Pete Routinely Handled the Following Types of Matters:

  • Public finance matters and loan negotiation
  • Bond issues, stock sales, and transfers
  • Business counseling, entity formation, and corporate governance
  • Commercial real estate transactions
  • Mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures

Pete was experienced in all aspects of municipal finance. He served as underwriter’s counsel, issuer’s counsel, trustee’s counsel, and bond insurer’s counsel in virtually every area of both tax-exempt and taxable public finance. He represented the York County Industrial Development Authority and General Authority of South Central Pennsylvania for years. Typical financing projects included multi-family housing, health care institutions, public parks, and industrial parks. In addition, Pete represented numerous sewer authorities and condominium developers and associations throughout York County.

Read Pete’s Obituary HERE.

Learn more about Pete HERE.


Gary M. Gilbert (1940-2022)

Gary Gilbert, Jon Countess, and Pete Andrews founded Countess, Gilbert, Andrews in 1967. They grew the firm from a small office on Market Street to a custom-designed office on Duke Street to their present location in the CGA Professional Center on George Street, where the firm was rebranded to CGA Law Firm. CGA currently has over 70 employees with offices in York, East Berlin, and Hanover. Gary was incredibly proud of CGA and continued to practice law until he passed away in January 2022.

Corporate law was the primary focus of Gary’s legal practice and he had many businesses that were his loyal clients for decades. He successfully negotiated many mergers, acquisitions, and generational transfers of business ownership and participated in numerous leveraged buyout transactions that made it possible to keep viable businesses in the York area and sustain local employment opportunities. Gary represented developers of residential, commercial, and industrial projects, and real estate brokerage firms. Gary was able to counsel his clients on matters pertaining to the purchase and sale of assets, business valuations, transfers of stock, buy-sell agreements, and contractual matters.

Gary served on many boards, holding a leadership position or providing legal counsel to help and serve others, including the Pennsylvania Bar Association (House of Delegates); the York County Bar Association (former President); The Stewart Companies (Board of Directors); Esophageal Cancer Action Network (Executive Board); National Kidney Foundation York Chapter (Legal Counsel); Byrnes Health Education Center (Board of Directors); and the Valparaiso University National Business Council (Board of Directors).

Read Gary’s obituary HERE.

Learn more about Gary HERE.


Jon C. Countess (1934-2014)

Jon Countess was one of the founders of CGA Law Firm and practiced law for 50 years. Immediately after graduating from Dickinson law school in 1965, he began practicing with Laucks & Monroe, which eventually became CGA Law Firm. He always knew that his primary draw to the legal profession was to meet interesting people and to help them solve their problems. Jon passed away in 2014, but during his years at CGA Law Firm, he focused on estate planning and administration, municipal law, real estate law, and corporate and business law.

Jon specialized in meeting both the personal and professional needs of his clients. He often worked with small businesses and professionals to provide both business succession planning and personal estate planning or administration. He attributed his success to taking the time to get to know his clients, their families, and their goals. He crafted solutions that were tailored to their circumstances. His experience included:

  • Estate and tax planning/compliance
  • Probate administration
  • Trust administration
  • Municipal law
  • Business, land and asset acquisitions and sales
  • Leases and general business contracts
  • Family transition/succession planning

Jon was a supporter and participant of numerous civic, social, and business organizations throughout his life. He served on the Board of Directors for Catholic Social Services, Lutheran Social Services (now SpiriTrust Lutheran), the York Symphony Orchestra, and the York County Bar Association. He was chairman of the Attorneys Section of the United Way of York and served as Vice President on the Board of Governors for the Country Club of York. Jon also served as Solicitor for York County Recorder of Deeds Office for 15 years.

Read Jon’s obituary HERE.

Learn more about Jon HERE.