Mentor Lawyers

I am dual certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, and as a Specialist in Elder Law by the Ohio State Bar Association. I am one of twenty-three attorneys with this dual certification. I devote my practice to those issues uniquely affecting the elderly, the disabled and their families. Having been raised by a parent with early onset Parkinson's Disease, and having witnessed a grandparent spend over sixteen years in a nursing facility suffering from Alzheimer's, I gravitated early in my career towards the practice of elder and disability law. I established my Law...

Paulette F. Balin has been practicing law since 1978. She was raised in Timberlake, OH and went to Laurel School in Shaker Heights. In 1975 she graduated magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She received her law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1978, and passed the Ohio Bar in 1978 and Florida Bar in 1980. Paulette first opened her practice in Cleveland, Ohio in 1980. She has broad experience and success in handling Social Security Disability, SSI, and Long-Term Disability cases. Her legal experience covers cases addressing a large...

Jon D. Axelrod is the founder of Axelrod Law Offices in Willowick, and he has shaped the firm to reflect his deepest values. Mr. Axelrod believes that attorneys should provide effective legal direction while giving compassionate care to the client. He understands that legal decisions carry a great deal of distress and pressure, whether the client is considering bankruptcy, undergoing a divorce, or is accused of a crime. His primary aim is to provide peace of mind to his clients. Our firm accomplishes this through our personal relationship with each client and our devotion to providing the strongest legal care...

I’m from a family that helps those who need help. I know that I could be the one that needs help, so I treat others as I would want to be treated, the Golden Rule. I believe in helping those that meet me halfway. So, if you do your part, I will do mine. This goes for people who need disability benefits & those in trouble with their taxes. I can help both groups of people, and the team of disability lawyers in our firm will always give you our best! I have been working in disability...

I started practicing disability law because I enjoy fighting for the little guy and I can relate to how a person's health can derail an entire family. I come from a solidly blue-collar background and did not even know what a lawyer was when my uncle was in a terrible accident in 1993 that left him permanently disabled. I remember how confused we all were when the government denied his application for Social Security Disability benefits after many months of waiting. It was pretty clear to our family that a person who could not walk to the bathroom without severe...

Attorney Hector G. Martinez, Jr., is the principal of the law firm, The Martinez Firm. He attended The Ohio State University (B.S. in Business Administration - 1993) and Case Western Reserve University School of Law (J.D. -1997). His practice focuses on criminal defense, with an emphasis on drunk driving defense. Mr. Martinez is N.H.T.S.A. certified, having attended the N.H.T.S.A. Standardized Field Sobriety Testing course in 1999. He is a member of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Lake County Bar Association. He is a frequent lecturer on Ohio Traffic Laws, as well as...

Aggressive pursuit of personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice cases. "AV" rating (highest rating possible) by Martindale Hubbell Legal Directory.

Tim Misny is an experienced Ohio personal injury lawyer. For over 30 years, Mr. Misny has worked to fight for his personal injury and medical malpractice clients to obtain fair compensation.

Experience Magistrate, Lake County Domestic Relations Court March 1992 - December 31, 2002 Magistrate, Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court July 1997 - December 1998 Acting Judge, Painesville Municipal Court March 2008 - continuing Education Bachelor of Business Administration, Kent State University, 1983 Juris Doctor, Cleveland Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University, 1989 Admitted to practice before the Courts of the State of Ohio, the Federal District Court and the United States Supreme Court. Professional Organizations Lake County Bar Association Ohio State Bar Association Ohio Womenâs Bar Association Family Law Committee, Lake County Bar Association Ohio Association of Domestic Relations Judges (former member) Ohio Association...

Life-long Clevelander. Passionate about my family. Have spent my entire career trying to help guide other families through rocky times, whether with divorce/dissolution or child support; or through probate. Also, over a decade of experience drafting carefully executed and individualized Estate Planning documents for individuals and families.

Certified Family Law Specialist, Gary Okin represents clients in matters of divorce, child custody, domestic violence, adoption and any other family law matters. Recognized as a Super Lawyer, Gary has consistently earned the highest ratings in the legal industry. Gary is admitted to practice before the Ohio Supreme Court and the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio. Gary is a contributor to several journals and Continuing Legal Education seminars. He is one of the first attorneys to be designated a Certified Specialist in the area of Domestic Relations Law by the Ohio State Bar Association.

Kristen M. Kraus has extensive experience in handling civil jury trials in both state and federal court. She has litigated cases in nearly every county in Northeast Ohio, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Kristen joined Dworken & Bernstein upon graduation from law school in 2001. Since joining the firm, she has been representing victims of personal injury, as well as those injured in workplace accidents. A significant portion of her current practice is devoted to representing injured workers in workers’ compensation matters both at the Industrial Commission of Ohio and at the...

Amanda Condon brings experience as an acting municipal court judge to her personal injury practice. She has earned a “Superb” AVVO rating and has been recognized as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in the U.S. Prior to joining Dworken & Bernstein in 2014, she worked at a small boutique firm specializing in personal injury. Amanda also previously served as a Magistrate in Lyndhurst Municipal Court, and from 2005 to 2012, was a prosecutor in Ashtabula County Eastern and Western County Courts. Amanda is currently an Acting Judge in Painesville Municipal Court.

This experience gives Amanda a unique perspective to...

Howard Rabb concentrates on estate, general business and bankruptcy matters. He regularly advises clients on business, estate and debt strategies. A lifelong Clevelander, he has a “Superb” AVVO rating.

Estate Planning: Howard’s practice involves an analysis of the goals of the client, an understanding of all relevant family relationships, and a comprehensive list of all of the clients assets. After obtaining this information, he will advise his clients as to whether a living trust or testamentary trust makes sense in order to address probate, distribution, or tax concerns. Typically, the estate planning will include wills, health-care power of attorney, living...

Patrick J. Perotti is recognized for outstanding achievements in consumer class actions and employment discrimination, locally and nationally. He is the architect of the firm’s Ohio Lawyers Give Back initiative to distribute unclaimed class action funds to charities. As an award-winning national leader in the fields of consumer class actions, employment discrimination, and wage and hour litigation; with verdicts and settlements exceeding $1 billion dollars, he is regularly selected to lead class suits in Ohio and around the country. His reputation developed from a demand for outcomes which not only offered compensation to class members but also stopped unlawful government...

Patrick Murphy is a seasoned personal injury litigator with extensive experience in nursing home abuse, medical malpractice, and wrongful death cases. Time and again Patrick has been recognized as one of the top personal injury lawyers in his field.

Mr. Murphy received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Kent State University. He was awarded his law degree from Cleveland Marshall College of Law where he was a vice chairman of the Moot Court Board of Governors.

He has been designated as an Ohio Super Lawyer, and one of the top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers since 2011. In...

Frank Bartela works to hold corporations and governments accountable to consumers and taxpayers in his class action and business litigation practice. He graduated cum laude from Case Western Reserve University Law School in 2011. Frank Bartela is an Associate in the firm’s Class Action practice group. His practice is focused on the litigation of complex civil actions including consumer class actions as well as wage and hour actions. In this capacity, Frank fights to represent the interests and protect the rights of his clients both in Ohio and across the country. Currently, his cases deal with unlawful conduct by government...

Attorney Patrick Brickman focuses his practice on class actions and complex litigation. His cases primarily deal with unlawful conduct by government agencies, manufacturers, retailers, and employers. These actions touch on any number of legal issues across diverse areas of law, including real estate law, insurance law, commercial law, constitutional law, tax law, advertising law, wage & hour law, benefits law, and more.

Patrick attended the University of Dayton for his undergraduate work, and the University of Akron School of Law for law school, where he was an advocate on the Moot Court Team and an Associate Editor for the Akron Law...

Since 2005, Nicole Fiorelli has successfully represented numerous clients in consumer class action and wage and hour litigation. She has taken on the government and large national corporations in cases in Ohio and throughout the United States. She handles a wide range of claims including minimum wage and overtime violations, consumer fraud and statutory violations, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.

A few of Nicole Fiorelli’s career highlights include:

Obtained a six-figure verdict against a national fitness club chain that failed to pay overtime to some of its employees and ultimately negotiated a favorable settlement for the class;
Defeated summary judgment...