Top best Development Lawyers in Buffalo | 27 available

Samantha Catone is an associate in the firm’s General Liability Practice Group, who focuses her practice on defending large, nationally prominent retailers, manufactuers, malls, and food and beverage franchises and their insurers.. Sammy earned her law degree at the University at Buffalo School of Law, where she was a “Note & Comment” editor for the Buffalo Law Review. She gained additional experience serving a legal internship at the Mental Hygiene Legal Service, a New York State agency responsible for representing and litigating on behalf of individuals receiving services for a mental disability. Before entering law school, Sammy graduated cum laude from Florida State University.

Meghan Brown is an associate in the firm’s Buffalo office. She focuses her practice on general liability, including matters involving personal injury, medical malpractice, and occupational exposures.. Meghan’s experience includes private practice in civil litigation and serving for two years as a law clerk at the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, in Rochester. During law school, she was Executive Editor of the Buffalo Law Review and Articles Editor of the Buffalo Intellectual Property Law Journal, and she was a member of the Jessup International Moot Court Board, and upon graduation earned the Robert J. Connelly award for excellence in trial technique. After law school, she received a prestigious Appellate Court Attorney clerkship with the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department.. She has lectured on legal ethics for the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York and has also served on the Judiciary Committee for the Western New York Chapter. She is an adjunct professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she teaches health law. She has also given CLEs on subjects including legal ethics, appellate practice, and the Affordable Care Act, for the WNY Trial Lawyers Association, the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, the New York State Bar Association, and the Defense Trial Lawyers Association.

Laura A. Colca is a skilled transactional and corporate attorney who brings more than 20 years of experience to her practice. She has led multiple multimillion-dollar merger-and-acquisition transactions, and possesses a deep understanding of the complexities of due diligence, regulatory compliance, and tactical key employee issues in the M&A process. Laura also regularly drafts complex contracts, and is skilled at negotiating critical business governing agreements, including confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, terms and conditions, distribution agreements, licenses, and commercial leases.. Complementing Laura’s transactional experience is her capability in the litigation arena. Laura is also proficient in commercial and business litigation, including representing clients in commercial disputes in both state and federal courts involving breach of contract issues, corporate dissolution, and trade secret misappropriation.. Rounding out her skill set is Laura’s intellectual property experience. Laura is well-versed in trademark law, having successfully obtained numerous federally registered trademarks for her clients. Additionally, Laura has co-chaired a number of complex patent infringement litigations in federal courts across the country, including appearances before the Federal Circuit.

Kenneth Patricia has more than three decades of experience handling high-exposure liability claims. He has taken approximately 60 jury trials to verdict, including cases involving personal injury, automobile liability, labor law, medical malpractice, and premises liability. His clients have included household-name department stores, home improvement stores, supermarket chains, and insurers. He has also handled cases involving product liability and municipal liability.. Ken has extensive appellate experience, and has successfully argued numerous cases before the Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department of New York State.. In 2005, he served as President of the Buffalo Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national trial lawyers organization which is limited to attorneys who have taken at least 20 cases to verdict. In addition, Ken has been a speaker for Lorman Education Services on issues such as cross-examination and trial technique.. While receiving his juris doctor from the State University of New at Buffalo Law School he served as director of the Buffalo Legislation Project, where he directed 80 law students in their legislative research efforts on local, state, and national levels. Ken graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame and was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a national organization of honor students in undergraduate business schools whose grades are in the top 10 percent of all undergraduate business students.

Daniel Hunter focuses his practice on general liability matters and commercial litigation. His experience includes cases involving personal injury, property damage, commercial business disputes, insurance coverage, and labor law and employment issues. His background also includes Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration work.. Daniel has handled all phases of litigation, including trials, mediations, and arbitrations. His background includes cases in all five boroughs of New York, in New York State Supreme Court, and in state appellate courts.. Daniel received his juris doctor from Duquesne University School of Law, where he was involved with the Innocence Project Post-Conviction DNA Clinic. As part of the school’s Ireland Study Abroad Program, he conducted international arbitration studies at Queen's University in Belfast and attended seminars in European Union law and jurisprudence at Trinity College in Dublin.. As a law clerk to the Hon. Bernard L. McHinley, Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, Daniel reviewed, analyzed, and outlined briefs submitted to the court; researched relevant statutory and case law; and drafted appellate opinions and bench memoranda to be circulated to all appellate judges on panel. He authored the published opinion Bartholetti v. W.C.A.B. (School Dist. of Philadelphia), 927 A.2d 743 (PaCmwlth., 2007).

Dan Cavarello is a Partner with Sugarman Law Firm, specializing in the defense of claims against municipalities, school and fire districts and related entities, as well as those involving private companies. These include negligent supervision, civil rights, premises defects, product liability and property damage claims. He has represented clients in administrative proceedings before the Department of Labor and other agencies as well. Mr. Cavarello's experience also includes municipal zoning and planning issues.. Mr. Cavarello, who currently serves as Tonawanda Town Justice, has significant alternative dispute resolution experience and is available to serve as a mediator.  Mr. Cavarello was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1996 and has practiced before all New York State and Federal District Courts. He is a member of the Erie County and New York State Bar Associations, including the Municipal Law Section, and the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. His other professional memberships include the New York State Magistrates, Erie County Magistrates, Western New York Trial Lawyers and Buffalo Claims Associations. Mr. Cavarello is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Boston College where he received both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees, with honors, in1992 and 1995, respectively. Mr. Cavarello is an active member of the Tonawanda, New York community where he served as Town Attorney from January, 2006 until August 2010, when he was appointed Town Justice. He was subsequently elected to a four year term and continues to hold that office. He is also past President and Trustee of the Kenmore Tonawanda School Board.. He also volunteers as an instructor at St. John the Baptist Church in Tonawanda and is a member of its Holy Name Society.

Christopher Belter, a senior trial partner at Goldberg Segalla, dedicates his practice to resolving complex commercial, construction, and intellectual property disputes. He has represented clients in courts and arbitration forums in more than a dozen states over the course of his two-decade career, during which he has taken more than 100 trials and arbitrations to verdict or award. He is the chair of Goldberg Segalla’s Corporate Services and Commercial Litigation Practice Group, a team of 50-plus lawyers practicing across the firm's entire footprint, and chair of its 40-member Construction Practice Group.. In the commercial litigation arena, for which he and his team are recognized in the Chambers USA Upstate New York directory, Chris has achieved successful outcomes for a broad range of companies in complex disputes involving contractual relationships, misappropriation and fraudulent conveyance, commercial leases, licensing, claims of tortious interference, and other issues. He also defends directors and officers in matters involving allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and bad faith, as well as claims brought by the FDIC and the SEC.. With experience handling dozens of cases involving claims of trademark and copyright infringement, he is particularly adept at helping companies enforce their intellectual property rights and protect their invaluable brands.. In construction litigation, an area for which he is listed in the Best Lawyers in America, Chris handles breach of contract, delay and acceleration, design and construction defect, performance and payment bond, and other high-value claims for contractors, construction managers, and others in connection with large-scale private and public construction projects. He has extensive experience with complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution involving major solar, wind, and other renewable energy projects.. He is a longstanding member of the Commercial Litigation Steering Committee at the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the largest organization of defense attorneys in the country, and a past national chair of its Construction Committee. He co-authored the New York chapter in DRI’s Construction Litigation Desk Reference: A State-by-State Compendium, and he is a frequent speaker to national audiences on minimizing damages in contract disputes, litigation strategies in lawsuits combining business tort and intellectual property claims, and other topics in his areas of concentration.. Experience HighlightsCommercial LitigationDefending at trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery a corporation’s directors and officers against breach of fiduciary duty and more than 10 other claims brought by certain shareholders over a disputed business mergerObtaining for an owner of music royalties a rare multimillion-dollar recovery in a complex misappropriation and fraudulent conveyance action that reached across both domestic and foreign jurisdictionsDefending a $13 million commercial claim against a top soft drink manufacturer over the termination of a New York City distribution routeDefending a multimillion-dollar breach of contract and improper termination claim brought by a studio owner against the producer of a major-network television showDefending the manufacturer of one of the world’s most popular sport drinks against a competitor’s $15 million tortious interference claimDefeating through motion practice an injunction that sought to shut down six major metropolitan locations of a national pizza chainObtaining summary judgment for a construction supply manufacturer on complex warranty claims for roofing materialsSuccessfully guiding a value-added reseller of a major software suite through investigations conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Defense, and other entities following the acquisition of the software developer by a computer industry giantDefeating through motion practice a prospective class action alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Construction LitigationSecuring a $70 million arbitration award for a national renewable energy contractor in a complex construction development dispute that involved issues of public bond and federal grant financing, construction delays and design deficiencies, claims of liquidated and consequential damages, and construction trust fund misappropriation; the award was rendered after extensive litigation and two months of arbitration hearingsRecovering through arbitration more than $4 million for a wind energy transmission contractor in a case involving major change order and delay and acceleration claims related to a stormRepresenting a pipeline installation contractor in disputes totaling over $100 million involving natural gas pipelines serving the hydrofracking industry; the case involves major delay claims, back-charge claims related to earth-slips, and complex and novel issues regarding the scope of the lien lawRepresenting a construction manager in an arbitration arising out of claims asserted by a private university for construction defects involving masonry, roof, and building envelope issuesObtaining summary judgment in favor of a commercial financer of hotels and resorts in a multimillion-dollar dispute over the financing arrangement for the construction of a timeshare property. Intellectual Property LitigationDefending a modeling agency in a jury trial in the Southern District of New York against copyright infringement and tortious interference claims brought by a photographer seeking over $10 million in damagesDefending a regional craft brewery against claims of trademark infringement from a nationally distributing breweryRepresenting a major tobacco company in a trademark infringement case against sellers of counterfeit cigarettes, resulting in the successful seizure of all counterfeit product, recovery of several hundred thousand dollars in statutory damages, and a permanent injunction

Brett Miller focuses his practice on workers’ compensation matters. A proven litigator with experience handling high-volume caseloads, Brett has handled all aspects of workers’ compensation matters, including controverted cases, drafting memoranda of law, writing appeals and rebuttals, litigating permanency, and negotiation and settlement where appropriate.. Brett graduated cum laude from the University at Buffalo Law School where he clerked for Buffalo Human Rights Law Review. Brett also held clerkships with Hon. Jeremiah J. McCarthy in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, in the Office of Assistant Chief Counsel in U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and in private practice.

Bradley Stevens defends insured businesses, municipalities, and individuals in a variety of complex liability matters in state and federal trials and appeals throughout New York, and also represents clients before the New York State Division of Human Rights, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and Small Claims Court.. Brad’s experience includes counseling and defending numerous municipalities and public entities in matters ranging from inmate confinement conditions to employment discrimination claims. He has successfully drafted and submitted motions for summary judgment resulting in dismissals in both state and federal court, assisted with and second-chaired trials in complex employment practices liability (EPL) matters, and drafted and argued winning appeals before the Third and Fourth Departments of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division. He has also handled toxic tort matters related to lead paint claims.. After graduating with a bachelor’s in Business Administration from Elmira College, Brad earned an M.B.A. at St. Bonaventure University. He earned his J.D. at Albany Law School, where he served as Note and Comment editor for the Journal of Science and Technology. He graduated cum laude, and was also the Karen C. McGovern Senior Prize Trial Competition Champion. Before entering private practice, Brad gained experience in several legal internships, including with the New York State Attorney General’s Office Litigation Bureau.

As a member of the firm’s Business and Commercial Practice Group, James Macri focuses his practice on helping a range of commercial clients find innovative, cost-effective ways to resolve their legal disputes through strategies that include litigation, arbitration, or mediation.. James handles a wide variety of matters for commercial developers and other clients in the construction industry, including complex construction defect claims and contract disputes, among others. He also resolves difficult landlord/tenant disputes and handles franchising and licensing issues for clients in the sports and entertainment and hospitality industries. He is a regular contributor to the firm’s Sports and Entertainment Law Insider blog, and frequently writes on matters pertaining to his legal practice.. While earning his J.D. at the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, James was a judicial intern for the Niagara County Court, where he wrote opinions for criminal and civil appeals and participated in court proceedings and conferences. James finished in the top 10 percent of his class and served as executive business editor for the Intellectual Property Law Journal.. He also received a Master of Business Administration degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo, finishing in the top 10 percent of his class.

Albert D’Aquino is one of Goldberg Segalla’s founding partners and Co-Chair of its General Liability Practice Group,  one of the firm’s largest practice groups. A seasoned trial lawyer who has served clients throughout New York for more than 30 years, Al tries — and wins — cases against the most experienced and respected plaintiffs’ attorneys in the state. He brings a goal-oriented approach to pre-trial and trial proceedings, which stands as a hallmark of his proactive, cost-effective litigation style. Within the firm, Al uses the keen insight he has gained through his decades of experience in the state and federal courtrooms of New York to teach trial technique to associates across the firm’s footprint.. In his multi-faceted law practice, Al successfully defends clients in complex product liability and premises and construction site personal injury litigation (involving New York State Labor Law). He has also represented hundreds of attorneys and physicians, as well as major pharmacy chain and other health care clients, in high-stakes malpractice litigation, and he represents insured and self-insured trucking common carriers and private fleets. Al also defends clients embroiled in catastrophic injury litigation, such as multiple-fatality auto and serious industrial accidents, and is regularly called upon to parachute into existing cases specifically for trial.

Experienced Development attorney serving clients in Buffalo and surrounding areas.

Experienced Development attorney serving clients in Buffalo and surrounding areas.

Experienced Development attorney serving clients in Buffalo and surrounding areas.

Experienced Development attorney serving clients in Buffalo and surrounding areas.

Experienced Development attorney serving clients in Buffalo and surrounding areas.

Experienced Development attorney serving clients in Buffalo and surrounding areas.