Erie Lawyers

Roger H. Taft is a trial lawyer at MacDonald Illig whose primary areas of practice are employment litigation, including employment discrimination and wrongful discharge cases, and complex commercial litigation.

In his litigation practice, Mr. Taft represents clients in federal and state courts throughout Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio, as well as in federal courts throughout the United States.

Mr. Taft enjoys travel, golf, and Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

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...

Mr. Pagliari's practice is concentrated in the areas of corporate restructuring and bankruptcy, bankruptcy related litigation and collection matters. He primarily represents corporate debtors, secured creditors, chapter 7 and chapter 11 trustees, and other entities involved in bankruptcy proceedings. Attorney Pagliari is also an approved mediator in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Pagliari graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with his Bachelor of Arts Degree in History in 1998. In 2001, he graduated from The University of Dayton School of Law,...

Patrick Delaney is a Senior Partner at MacDonald Illig. He concentrates his practice in the area of Commercial Litigation. During the course of his career, Mr. Delaney has litigated disputes in the federal and state courts throughout Pennsylvania and in various other jurisdictions. He has also handled numerous complex commercial disputes before arbitration tribunals, including panels convened through the American Arbitration Association and the International Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Delaney has years of experience handling contract disputes, including those involving professional services, the sale of goods, real estate sales, stock purchase agreements, commercial and industrial construction, and executive employment. He...

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...

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 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.

Attorney Kroto's law practice is concentrated in litigation, with emphasis in the areas of civil, construction, insurance and domestic litigation. His practice involves litigation in all courts under the purview of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, as well as the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Mr. Kroto is AV Preeminent peer-review rated through Martindale-Hubbell.

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

Jim Toohey is a partner at MacDonald Illig, where he represents and advises individuals, businesses and lenders in a wide variety of real estate and corporate matters, including residential, industrial, commercial and multi-unit transactions; commercial leasing; and commercial and residential lending. In addition to his representation of individual buyers and sellers of residential real estate, Jim has extensive experience in representing developers of real estate who acquire, finance, develop and operate industrial, office and retail projects. Jim also represents business owners in a variety of matters, commercial and real estate mortgage lenders in financing business and real estate loans, and...

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...

Douglas G. McCormick is a partner at McCormick & Vilushis, LLC.  He focuses his practice on personal injury, workers’ compensation, Social Security, and criminal defense.  Doug is a 2000 graduate of Bucknell University, where he graduated cum laude, and a 2004 graduate of the Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.

He has been admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since 2004, where he began as an assistant district attorney at the Erie County District Attorney’s Office under Bradley H. Foulk.  While there, he was fortunate to argue several cases before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court involving constitutional issues.

Since 2008, he has helped injured...

After practicing law for 26 years, Pennsylvania uncontested divorce attorney James Cairns has proven his worth as an able and knowledgeable legal professional. Having earned his Juris Doctorate from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University, Attorney Cairns has been helping individuals find peace about divorce and family law for many years. Attorney Cairns' credentials stem beyond the legal field. He currently serves as a professor of estate planning at Pennsylvania State University. He is also Registered Investment Advisor, acting as Director of Retirement Services at a local financial firm. Having a background in financial planning, divorce as...

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.

Representing individuals throughout Western Pennsylvania in claims for Social Security disability benefits or Veteran's compensation in the following counties: Allgeheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Venango, Warren, Washington, and Westmoreland County

Whether you’ve been charged with a DUI/DWI, are facing other criminal charges, dealing with a family law matter, or handling the estate of a loved one, you need a lawyer you can count on and trust. You need Attorney Damon C. Hopkins. Since 1995, Attorney Hopkins has assisted thousands of clients throughout the Erie, Pennsylvania area in resolving their legal issues. Having worked as a criminal prosecutor for eight years, he has the knowledge and litigation experience to provide spectacular representation to clients in need of legal assistance in criminal defense, DUI/DWI, juvenile delinquency, and traffic violations.

If you and your...

Erie lawyer representing victims of Medical Malpractice, Personal Injury and other acts of negligence for over thirty-two years in the Erie, PA area.

If you have been in a car accident, the victim of medical malpractice or another form of negligence, you may feel no one is on your side. Hospitals, doctors, medical providers and insurance companies all have lawyers representing their interests.

What about you? Who is on your side? Who is looking out for your best interests to make sure your case gets the attention and the compensation it deserves?

Speak to Attorney Hunter Today for a Free Legal...

For nearly 30 years, Attorney John B. Carlson has been providing exceptional, successful legal representation to clients throughout Erie, central and western PA counties. In addition to criminal defense, Mr. Carlson also provides unmatched representation to those who have suffered an injury or lost a loved one as the result of an auto accident, medical malpractice, or workplace accident. A top-rated trial attorney, Mr. Carlson has achieved a long record of obtaining favorable outcomes for individuals charged with a crime as well as helping personal injury victims receive the maximum compensation for the damages they have suffered due to someone else's...

Zanita Zacks-Gabriel has lived in Harbor Creek, Pennsylvania her entire life and has practiced law in Erie for over 40 years. She graduated from Harbor Creek High School in 1968 as Valedictorian. Thereafter, she attended Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Political Science. Thereafter, she attended Temple University School of Law. She has been admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania since 1974 and looks forward to providing highest-quality legal services to you and your family.