West Sand Lake Lawyers

After graduating from the Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, I clerked for two years for the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Third Judicial Department, concluding with several months working in the chambers of the Hon. Edward O. Spain.

Since then I have worked as a trial lawyer at the E. Stewart Jones Hacker Murphy law firm.

100% of my practice is devoted to litigation, focusing on providing aggressive criminal defense. I am willing, able and have experience fighting on behalf of my clients before a wide array of courts and tribunals, at the...

Michael is a highly accomplished trial attorney based in Upstate New York. A student leader at Harvard who distinguished himself through Army R.O.T.C., he served on active duty in the U.S. Army JAG Corps after earning his juris doctor degree from Syracuse University College of Law. Devoting his practice to representing injured individuals and families in catastrophic personal injury cases, Mike has secured multiple million-dollar verdicts across consecutive trials, demonstrating his exceptional skills and dedication. An active lecturer and member of various bar associations, Mike currently resides in Fayetteville with his wife and children.

Mrs. Gules-Guctas's primary practice area is immigration law involving employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions, labor certification, waivers, family-based immigration and asylum. Prior to starting her own practice she was employed as an Associate for the New York City firm of Akin & Smith, LLC and, before that as an Associate Attorney for the Sanli Karabiyik Law Offices. She has received her L.L.B from Istanbul University School of Law in 1999 and her Masters degree in political science from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in 2005. She received her Master of Laws degree from Benjamin N....

Kevin O’Brien is highly passionate about fighting for the underdog in criminal defense law. He strongly believes that criminal defense attorneys have to be more skilled and better than the prosecutors. He understands that when his clients are charged with a crime, they are not just facing the assistant district attorney who is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government, but also all the resources of the U.S. government, including crime labs, investigators, police, and other governmental agencies. While nobody is able to match the endless resources that the government has to prosecute the case, he believes that his...

Dan is an accomplished trial lawyer with over a decade of experience devoted exclusively to litigating medical malpractice actions. He received his J.D. Magna Cum Laude from Syracuse University College of Law in 2010, where he was an Editor of the Law Review, and his B.A Summa Cum Laude in Philosophy from Syracuse University at Utica College in 2006. Dan served in the U.S. Marine Corps, achieving the rank of Sergeant and being decorated for achievement in 55 combat operations during deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been admitted to practice law in New York State and the Northern...

Allen Lim, Esq. is an attorney in the Litigation and Personal Injury Departments of Horn Wright, LLP. Allen grew up and attended school in Orange County, California. He attained a B.A. in Criminal Justice from California State University, Fullerton, and his J.D. at Western State College of Law. An internship with the Orange County Public Defender started his desire to help those in need, and he carries that same drive to this day. Additionally, he utilizes his prior experience in customer service to ensure that each client is heard and that all of their questions are addressed. Allen is bilingual...

Seasoned intellectual property attorney with 17 years of litigation experience, including 12 years exclusively to intellectual property enforcement and litigation in state and federal courts, including patent, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and trade secret misappropriation matters.

Max Smelyansky, who grew up in Bethlehem, graduated from Manhattan College earning a Bachelor of Science with a major in economics. He then graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law, in Maryland. After graduating from law school, Max Smelyansky developed his law practice in Albany, specializing in Traffic Defense Law, Personal Injury Law, Landlord / Tenant Law, Family Law and Estate Planning Law.

Michael is a board certified commercial and consumer bankruptcy specialist (American Bankruptcy Board of Certification). He is admitted to the New York State Bar, as well as the United States District Court for the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of New York, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. His concentration of practice is in the representation of debtors and trustees in bankruptcy liquidations and reorganizations. Michael is the recipient of the President's Award for Pro Bono services, New York State Bar Association (1989, 1993 and 2007), and the Distinguished Service Award from the Legal Aid...

Ryan Forbes is a litigation attorney with a practice focusing on criminal defense, governmental investigations, and civil rights claims. During his career, Ryan has investigated and defended felony matters, represented clients in several trials to verdict, drafted and researched related motions and appeals. Ryan has represented clients under Government investigations by agencies such as the United States Attorney’s Office, State Attorney General’s office, and Homeland Security. He also commits significant time to pro bono matters, including representing non-profit organizations in civil litigation and representing plaintiffs in § 1983 civil rights cases. While in law school, Ryan served as a judicial intern for...

A member of the Commercial Litigation Department, Peter's practice concentrates on bankruptcy and banking and includes the areas of commercial litigation, creditors' rights, and banking law. He represents secured lenders in Chapter 11 bankruptcies, as well as commercial landlords, financing companies, and unsecured creditors' committees. Peter's court admissions include the United States District Courts: Eastern District of New York, 1999; Southern District of New York, 1999; Western District of New York, 1993; Northern District of New York, 1981; United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals, 1986; State of New York, 1981; State of Florida, 1981.

Steve Coffey is the founding partner and chair of the Personal Injury and Criminal Defense practices at O'Connell and Aronowitz. With over thirty-five years of experience at the state and federal levels, he has established himself as one of upstate New York's most successful trial attorneys in both personal injury and criminal defense. As a former Assistant District Attorney for Albany County and Chief Felony Prosecutor, Steve was the youngest Felony Bureau Chief to serve in Albany County. He also served as Special Prosecutor in Fulton and Albany Counties. This prosecutorial experience provides him unique insight when defending clients in criminal...

I am an Associate at O'Connell and Aronowitz, focusing on health-related business transactions. I joined the firm in May 2022 as a law clerk, where I sharpened my abilities through legal research, motion drafting, conducting client interviews, and preparing for court proceedings. I am a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Albany County Bar Association. I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a concentration in American Studies, from the University of Arizona. During my summer breaks, I gained invaluable experience as an intern at the Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office. I received my J.D....

Said (Sa-eed) Ibrahim is a fierce advocate for his clients, and practices exclusively in the field of matrimonial and family law, concentrating on divorce negotiation and litigation, custody, child support, and adoption issues. Mr. Ibrahim has extensive experience in representing clients in both Supreme and Family Court, as well as negotiations of resolutions of these matters. Mr. Ibrahim is committed to identifying the unique factors that apply to each individual case, and coming up with a legal plan which best serves each client. Whether this means aggressive compromise and settlement pursuit, or creative discovery and trial tactics, clients will always...

Terry O’Connor is a 1980 graduate of St. Lawrence University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa. In pursuing his B.S. degree, he also attended the University of Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark. Terry received his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1983. Terry is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and was recently recognized by the Best Lawyers in America consumer guide. He has also been recognized as one of the top 50 upstate New York lawyers by Super Lawyers consumer guide. Terry is a trial lawyer who defends physicians, manufacturers and...

Practice is concentrated in commercial litigation

Attorney James Linnan has taken more than 200 jury verdicts and was awarded the prestigious "Lawyer of the Year for Medical Malpractice in Albany" by Best Lawyers. We have represented thousands of injured people and have been involved in numerous high-profile state and federal trials. We have taken many of these cases to a verdict and have obtained verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million in Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Construction Site Accidents and Motor Vehicle Accidents.

Jenna is an Associate working in the Litigation Department of O'Connell & Aronowitz, P.C. During her law school career, Jenna was a Legal Intern with the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York, as well as a Certified Legal Intern for the Albany County District Attorney's Office where she wrote appeals under supervision on behalf of the People to the Appellate Division, Third Department. Jenna earned her J.D. from Albany Law School with a Certificate in Civil Litigation with Honors. While at Albany Law School, Jenna was the recipient of the President's Scholarship and the...

Originally from Mechanicville, New York, and now living in Albany, Nicholas is an Associate working in our Business Law and Transactions and Health Law departments. Joining O&A in August of 2021, Nicholas focuses largely on business law topics and cannabis. Cannabis law is Nicholas’ passion, and he strives to provide guidance to applicants and licensees (including Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensaries (“CAURD”) and Adult-Use (“AU”)) who are uncertain and overwhelmed by the onerous requirements imposed by New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (“MRTA”) and the regulations implemented by New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (“OCM”). Additionally, Nicholas advises clients...

David L. Ganje is a commercial law and commercial litigation attorney and also maintains a natural resources practice. He has grounded his legal experience as a practicing attorney, a former commodity arbitrator, a member of the board of directors of an S&L and an adjunct professor to hone his skills in these areas of practice. Born and raised in Aberdeen, South Dakota, David handles matters related to mineral law, oil and gas law, energy law and water law in his natural resources practice. The practice includes representation before local and federal regulatory bodies. In his commercial law and commercial litigation practice, David...