Utica Lawyers

Terry Jones is a trial lawyer who has spent his entire career representing both plaintiffs and defendants in significant personal injury cases and wrongful death actions. He has litigated hundreds of cases, including automobile liability, product liability, medical malpractice and premises liability matters, many of which have involved catastrophic personal injuries or deaths. Mr. Jones also has been involved in the defense of a number of class action cases. He enjoys a Martindale Hubbell rating of AV Preeminent, the highest available rating for professional competence and ethics.

Mr. Jones has completed the ADR training program in the U.S....

Attorney Snavely’s civil litigation practice includes the defense of healthcare providers in professional negligence and licensure actions; the representation of both defendants and plaintiffs in premises liability, auto accident, product liability, and construction actions; and the representation of plaintiffs and defendants in other civil litigation matters.

Attorney Snavely also represents and provides advice to healthcare providers on a variety of matters, including employment contracts, credentialing, peer review, end of life issues, medical records, risk management, controlled substances and nonprofit corporation law.

Attorney Snavely is admitted to all Pennsylvania courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the...

John A. Lauer is a Senior Partner with the law firm of MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton LLP, where he is Chairman of the firm's Trusts & Estates Group. He is also a member of the firm's Business and Tax Groups. John's practice consists primarily of Estate and Tax Planning, Estate and Trust Administration, Elder Law, and Business Law.

John received his Bachelor of Science in accounting from Gannon University in 1986 and his Juris Doctor from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 1996. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Prior to beginning...

Kimberly A. Oakes is a partner in the law firm of MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton LLP, where she is the head of the firm’s Family Law Practice Group.

Ms. Oakes focuses her practice primarily in the area of family law. She has experience in handling divorces, adoption, alimony and spousal support, child support, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, paternity, prenuptial agreements and postnuptial agreements.

As a litigator, Ms. Oakes also has experience in Insurance Defense and Workers Compensation matters.

Bryan focuses his practice in the areas of Oil & Gas Law, Estate Planning & Administration and Real Estate Law. Bryan has 15 years experience in private practice and working as in-house counsel for oil and gas-related companies. In the last 5 years, Bryan has acquired approximately 30,000 acres of oil and gas properties, divested some 10,000 acres of oil and gas rights and placed a 100-mile potential pipeline right-of-way for divestiture. Additionally, he has completed the transfer of more than 1,000 properties and been responsible for the performance of due diligence and title analysis on more than...

Attorney Charbel Latouf has been diligently serving the Erie, PA and surrounding counties since 1999. He has a passion for representing those charged with a crime such as DUI/DWI, felony and misdemeanor charges. Attorney Latouf also handles serious injury claims ranging from car accidents, slip and fall, injury at work, and any other injury that was caused due to the negligence of another person. Over his career, he has been ranked to the top 100 criminal defense attorneys and has also been rated by Strathmore's Who's Who International in Law for both personal injury and criminal defense. It is our...

Mr. Spoden is a senior partner at MacDonald Illig. He concentrates his practice in the area of corporate, commercial and business law, with a special emphasis on taxation and estate planning for small business owners. He is also active in the area of business formation, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

Mr. Spoden is experienced in small business counseling including industrial, professional and service corporations.

Mr. Spoden is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Since he started his law practice in 1997, Attorney Melaragno has worked with individuals who were injured, through no fault of their own, in car accidents, motorcycle accidents, tractor trailer accidents, slips and falls and a variety of other circumstances. Attorney Melaragno and his partners have tried or settled cases with a success rate of over 99%, recovering more than $3.2 Million for their injured clients in the last 4 years alone.


Attorney Melaragno was selected to serve on the Panel for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees for the Western District of Pennsylvania on February 6, 2004 and from that...

Attorney Quinn chairs the Litigation Division, and he practices exclusively in civil litigation. He has been handling personal injury cases for over 30 years and has been involved in all types of civil cases including auto accident, product liability, medical malpractice and many other types of personal injury cases.

Attorney Quinn has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in personal injury and medical malpractice cases. He has been able to maximize the money awarded by a jury for a personal injury victim. He is also very familiar with how insurance companies view personal injury claims and litigation and how to obtain maximum...

Jamie R. Schumacher is an Associate in the Litigation Department at MacDonald Illig where she concentrates her practice in the areas of commercial litigation, employment litigation, insurance defense, and municipal/ordinance enforcement. She is also a member of the firm's Commercial/General Litigation Practice Group, Labor & Employment Practice Group, Government Services Practice Group, Marketing Committee, and the Recruitment Committee. Ms. Schumacher is licensed to practice in all Pennsylvania state courts, the United States District Courts for the Western and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ms. Schumacher is the former chair of the Young Lawyers Division...

James J. Stuczynski is a lifelong resident of the Erie area. After graduating from Cathedral Prep in 1971, he attended and graduated from Alliance College in 1975, summa cum laude. He furthered his education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, graduating in 1979 and returning to Erie to accept a position with Ely & Bernard. In 1985, he became a partner in Bernard & Stuczynski and has continued to practice with its successor firm, Bernard Stuczynski & Barnett. After a practice which handled a wide variety of legal claims, Attorney Stuczynski has specialized in handling insurance and...

Nate is a lifelong resident of the Erie area. After graduating from Girard High School, Nate attended Cornell University where he earned his undergraduate degree in Industrial & Labor Relations. Afterward, he attended the Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree. While at Penn State Law, Nate was a senior editor of the Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation. Since joining Bernard Stuczynski Barnett & Lager, Nate has focused his practice on Car Accidents, Personal Injury, Estate Administration, and Workers’ Compensation.

Ms. Stefanovski devotes her practice entirely to litigation. She has experience in the specific areas of insurance defense, personal injury defense and premises liability.

Lydia Horan Caparosa is an Associate in the Litigation Department at MacDonald Illig. She is a member of both the firm's Commercial/General Litigation Practice Group and the Insurance/Personal Injury Practice Group. Ms. Caparosa is licensed to practice in all Pennsylvania state courts as well as the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Caparosa graduated from Pennsylvania State University with degrees in Finance and International Politics in 2011. Thereafter, Ms. Caparosa earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. While at the University of Pittsburgh, Ms. Caparosa worked as...

Scott Wallen is a partner at MacDonald Illig where he concentrates his practice in the areas of estate planning and administration, corporate mergers and acquisitions, corporate formation, business succession planning, elder law, nonprofit corporations law and healthcare law. Mr. Wallen is also a Certified Public Accountant and routinely handles matters involving federal and state taxation issues including corporate and individual taxation and sales tax issues. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and the American Academy of Attorney-CPAs (AAA-CPA). Mr. Wallen is affiliated with the Trusts & Estates and Business Transactions Practice Groups at...

Dallas Hartman of Dallas W. Hartman P.C., Attorneys at Law serves clients from six office locations throughout Northwestern Pennsylvania and Ohio in injury matters. He has been named one of the Top Lawyers in Pennsylvania by Super Lawyers for the five years in a row.

Attorney Toohey's practice is concentrated in the areas of business and real estate law, and estate planning and administration. He was involved with the formation and initial operation of Spectrum Control, Inc., Lake Erie Institute of Rehabilitation and Growing Places, Inc. He has represented clients and been personally involved in the development of condominium projects and other real estate developments. He has also represented several municipalities and authorities. Attorney Toohey is deeply committed to civic causes and has served on the boards of several civic, educational, and religious institutions.

Third Generation Attorney.

Dale Huntley is a Senior Partner in the Litigation Department of MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton, LLP. His practice consists primarily of the defense of all types of claims including premises, vehicle and insurance coverage and insurance subrogation matters.

Mr. Huntley received his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and his juris doctor from the University of Idaho where he was a member of the law review.

Mr. Huntley is a member of the firm's litigation and special insurance services groups.

Concerto Law and Christine Jarzab Kuntz, Esq. counsel nonprofit organizations. I provide both one-time services (such as entity formation, contract drafting and negotiation, or obtaining tax-exempt status) and long-term services, such as providing on-call legal services to your organization. A concerto is a musical term for a collaboration between a soloist (your business) and the orchestra (me, your attorney). At Concerto Law I value long-term client relationships, practical advice, and sensible, manageable solutions. Sometimes, though law may be on your side, the value of my services is in designing a solution that best protects your legal...

Mr. Walczak concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate governance, business transactions and finance, and creditors' rights.

Mr. Walczak acts in the capacity of general counsel for a number of business, non-profit and governmental organizations, providing legal advice on corporate, transactional and tax matters. Mr. Walczak is listed in the Bond Buyer Municipal Market Place Guide (commonly known as the municipal bond attorney's Red Book), and regularly provides tax advice and board counsel tax opinions with respect to tax-exempt financing transactions.

Mr. Walczak also represents creditors in complex creditor-debtor matters, including the negotiation of workout agreements and the representation of creditors...

John Fessler has been a civil litigator for more than 25 years. His practice is concentrated primarily in the areas of insurance defense, commercial litigation and personal injury. John has represented insurance carriers in a variety of cases over the years, including those involving automobile policies, commercial general liability policies and homeowner policies.

Attorney Fessler also has an extensive real estate practice, providing counsel to buyers, sellers and lending institutions, as well as regularly participating in Sheriff Sales.

He is AV Preeminent peer-review rated,* the highest rating, through Martindale-Hubbell. Mr. Fessler was awarded the 2007 President's Award from the Erie County Bar...

Jenna Bickford is a partner in the Business Transactions Group of MacDonald Illig. She represents clients across a number of practice areas including Business Transactions, Real Estate, Government Services and Public Finance, and Health Care.

Ms. Bickford routinely represents business clients of all sizes with a variety of legal needs including business formation, contract matters, corporate and regulatory compliance, and mergers and acquisitions. She has also taught mergers and acquisitions as an adjunct instructor at Mercyhurst University.

As a member of the Real Estate Group, she regularly handles both residential and commercial real estate transactions and assists clients with title matters. She...

William R. Brown concentrates his practice in the areas of Business Transactions, Commercial Real Estate and Creditor Rights.

In the area of Business Transactions, Mr. Brown advises businesses and individuals with respect to formation and governance of business entities, commercial transactions, contract formation and interpretation, real estate acquisition, disposition and development and structuring of financial relationships.

Mr. Brown also represents commercial and institutional lenders with respect to secured lending, construction financing, syndicated loans and participations, letters of credit and tax-exempt financings. As counsel to major commercial banks, Mr. Brown is regularly involved in the negotiation, structure, documentation and closing of major real...

My practice is primarily focused on leading the firm’s family law practice, helping clients to navigate through the turmoil of divorce and custody. I also have experience in estate planning and administration, elder law, litigation including personal injury and automobile accidents, zoning/land use and in assisting businesses to develop strategies geared toward growth and development.

I have extensive experience in all types of family law matters and litigation, including:

Complex Divorce and simple divorce
Collaborative Practice, which provides an alternative to litigation
Pre- and post-nuptial agreements, and separation agreements
...

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law with honors, Ms. Seelinger gained valuable trial experience as an Assistant District Attorney in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. After spending time in the trial division, appellate division and juvenile division of the District Attorney's Office, Attorney Seelinger left to start her own law firm. Attorney Seelinger is lead counsel for Seelinger Law where she represents clients in the areas of bankruptcy law and criminal defense.