After 54 years of law practice and dedication to his clients, CGA Law Firm founding member Peter Andrews has announced his retirement. Pete provided legal counsel to individuals, families, and all types of businesses and municipal entities. He represented clients in commercial, banking and public finance transactions.

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 assisted 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.

Representative Matters

• Represented the General Authority of South Central Pennsylvania in the issuance of $250,000,000 bonds for WellSpan Health expansion project
• Prepared condominium documents for and represent numerous condominium projects and associations
• Represented York County Economic Development Corporation in the acquisition, financing and construction of the Philadelphia Street Industrial Plaza
• Represented the General Authority of South Central Pennsylvania in the issuance of $75,000,000 bonds for the York County Judicial Center
• Represented York County Industrial Authority in the planning and construction of the York Revolution’s “People Bank Baseball Park.”

Ongoing clients of Pete Andrews If you are a client of Pete Andrews and need assistance with a legal issue, please contact CGA President, Jeff Rehmeyer, who can direct you to the best CGA attorney to handle your case.

Founding and Growing CGA

When Pete joined the firm in 1967, Laucks and Monroe was located on Market Street, but over the next few years the firm grew and needed more space. Jon, Pete, and Gary were good friends with an architect named Terry Slonaker, who agreed to design a law firm building for them. He developed a modern design to accommodate all their special requirements and would be the first building in York that was designed specifically to be a law firm. To Pete’s great surprise, HARB approved the plans. Since Pete had just built his home in Seven Valleys, the other attorneys figured that he was the logical partner to oversee building and construction of the new project. They hired Paul Smith to manage the construction of the new building on Duke Street and the project took almost one year to complete. Shortly after the building was finished in 1988, Sam Laucks left the firm and start a practice with his son, David, in Red Lion. When Sam left, the three most senior attorneys took the opportunity to rebrand themselves. Mel Campbell designed the logo, “Countess, Gilbert, Andrews” and the attorneys wrote the mission that still defines the firm today. (CGA’s purpose is “to provide exceptional legal service and be a force for good in the community.”) The attorneys loved the custom-designed building on Duke Street, the ample parking behind the building, and the proximity to the York County Court House and the Lafayette Club (which was right across the street!)  The legal team continued to grow. When there were 17 attorneys, they could no longer remain comfortably in the Duke Street building. So in 2005, the attorneys purchased the Professional Center at 135 North George Street. The building was renovated and move-in day just happened to fall during a snowstorm that winter.  Pete had an office on the fourth floor, where he had a great view of York City, but the real joy in the new building came several years later when one of Pete’s two accomplished daughters moved back to York and joined the firm as a paralegal. Pete’s daughter, Meg, moved back with her family from Texas. Practicing law with his daughter, who shares his interest and enthusiasm for the law, is a savored privilege.

Career Highlights

Adoption Law and Hugh Hefner’s “The Big Bunny” One of Pete’s career highlights was assisting Dr. Barbara Tremitiere with adoptions. Barb Tremitiere was a social worker for 30 years before she became a college professor. Their working relationship began at church when Barb turned around in her pew at First Presbyterian Church and asked Pete what he knew about adoption law. During her time as a social worker, she placed nearly 3,000 children into adoptive homes (or “forever families” as she called them).  Pete performed many adoptions for Dr. Tremetiere, but his favorite was assisting her with the legal work for children that were fleeing Vietnam. Barb was finding homes for 210 children at the behest of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. To secure a quick and secure means of travel, she contacted Hugh Hefner of Playboy and suggested that he donate his jet for good publicity. Hefner agreed and Pete was able to board Heffner’s plane called “The Big Bunny” with Barb and 20 of the rescued children. Securing an Aroma Permit  Another highlight for Pete was assisting in the business transactions for the Starbucks plant project that was being built in the North of York. There were many memorable negotiations for that project. For example, he learned that one needs a permit to release aroma from the plant. No one knew where or how to apply for such a permit, so he eventually found his way to the Governor who was able to grant the permit.  Another special memory on that project was watching Kenny G, who was an initial Starbucks investor, play his saxophone in front of a stack of person-sized bags of coffee beans for the grand opening.

Legal Team Support

Linda Miller, Legal Assistant One person in particular at CGA was with Pete for almost 33 years. Linda Miller was Pete’s Legal Assistant. He worked with her when he was the Stewartstown Borough Solicitor and she was the Borough Secretary. He was impressed by her ability to learn quickly and be so capable. When CGA had the opportunity to hire her, the firm quickly gave her an offer.  When Linda started working at CGA, she worked primarily in Business Law with Pete. Linda describes Pete as a great teacher who always made her feel like an essential part of the team. Linda loved working with Pete. Together they saw many changes in the legal field. These changes included the invention of the fax machine, which increased the demand for an immediate response, and the switch from manual typewriters to electric typewriters to desktop computers to mobile phones. Each of these inventions increased the pace and quantity of output. Pete and Linda worked together until Linda retired on December 31, 2013.  Contact CGA Business Law Legal Team

Pete’s Family

Pete and Sandy

Pete is ready to spend less time working and more time with his family and friends. Pete and his wife, Sandy, have been married for 57 years. They met on a blind date during their years at Dickinson College. Pete was a senior and a fraternity brother’s girlfriend arranged the match.

His Daughters, Kate and Meg

Pete and Sandy have two lovely daughters, Kate and Meg. Kate lives in South Carolina with her husband and their twins who are sophomores in college. (Elaine studies at American University and Peter studies at Wofford College.) Meg returned from Texas with her husband and their two high school-aged children (Theo is a junior and Rory is a senior at York Suburban High School.)

Pete and Sandy have two lovely daughters, Kate and Meg. Kate lives in South Carolina with her husband and their twins who are sophomores in college. (Elaine studies at American University and Peter studies at Wofford College.) Meg returned from Texas with her husband and their two high school-aged children (Theo is a sophomore and Rory is a senior at York Suburban High School.)

From those who know Pete best

“Pete, Jon and I never had an argument. We might not have always agreed on a matter but we were capable of working it out. When we disagreed, we came up with a better solution without hurting the business or our relationship. Our relationship with each other was always good. We respected one another and together we built a terrific firm. I wish Pete a wonderful and well-deserved retirement.”  Gary Gilbert “When I arrived at CGA (then Laucks and Monroe), Pete was assigned to be my mentor. I cannot thank him enough for his guidance and insights into the practice of law. Pete has been one of the most influential people in my professional life, and I attribute a certain degree of my success to Pete.” Larry Young “All three founding attorneys had a profound influence on me both professionally and personally. Pete stood out as a gentleman of refined taste and style. In addition to being a well-respected attorney, he was also a great resource for advice on many topics including law. To my siblings and I, he was “Uncle Pete” who taught us invaluable lessons, such as how to play a proper game of pool. He loved to travel and was the first person I always checked in with for advice on hotels and restaurants. He had a great collection of matchboxes from all the places he visited and I loved to bring him matchboxes to add to his collection. I have many happy memories of ski trips and other vacations with Pete and his whole family throughout the years. I feel privileged to have had Pete as a mentor and friend.” Frank Countess “Upon recommendation of my high school principal, I met with Pete, who was the first attorney that I came to know at CGA. Pete became a primary reason that I elected to go to law school, deciding to attend his alma mater, the Dickinson School of Law that is now part of the Pennsylvania State University. After I passed the Bar Exam, I had the opportunity to begin working with Pete on a daily basis, so Pete influenced the development of my practice and career substantially. Pete served as a valued role model and mentor to me, and others, at the Firm. Pete was always judicious in both his actions and words. I recall, on many occasions, Pete participating in meetings and being able to impact the participants with his insight, often mesmerizing all in the room. Additionally, Pete suggested to me at one time many years ago that I should consider Firm leadership, which prompted me to become a member of our Firm’s Executive Committee and thereafter President of the Firm. Many times, when acting as a leader of the Firm or as an attorney for its clients, I sought Pete’s counsel or at least thought to myself, what would Pete do? Pete’s leadership, counsel, and support have always served clients, the Firm and me very well.” Jeff Rehmeyer

Best Wishes for Retirement

Pete is a long-standing and highly regarded attorney within the firm and the community. His friends describe him as someone with good humor and panache because he rarely loses his temper and handles new situations with grace and style. CGA congratulates our founder, colleague, and friend on his well-deserved retirement!