Willoughby Lawyers

With licenses to practice law in Kentucky, Ohio, and various Federal Courts, Steve Crandall has been a top trial lawyer for nearly 30 years. Steve’s goals are to first investigate your case to get you answers and then focus on holding those responsible for the mistakes that changed your life. Steve’s clients can attest to the fact that Steve is responsive, keeps them constantly updated and aggressively pursues their case. Steve also remains their lawyer for life. Steve Crandall is a force to be reckoned with in the legal world. His experience, trial skills and connections in the legal industry allow...

At the law practice of Rhys Brendan Cartwright-Jones, Attorney & Counselor at Law, Rhys is the founder and principal attorney. As a former prosecutor for Mahoning County, he is intimately familiar with all aspects of criminal law. He knows how prosecutors think and how they will approach cases. He is also highly effective in immigration law as well as civil and criminal appeals. Rhys has a long track record of success for his clients and is committed to getting the best possible outcome in any situation. As a persuasive negotiator and aggressive litigator, he knows how to effectively approach each...

Attorney David P. Meyer is the principal founder of Meyer Wilson. He has gained national recognition as an investment fraud lawyer, representing more than 800 investors in investment misconduct claims. He has won verdicts, settlements and judgments of hundreds of millions of dollars on their behalf. Because he is recognized as an authority in this field, he is often asked to speak for bar associations and at educational seminars. He is an active member of the Public Investors’ Arbitration Bar Association and various other legal professional associations. In 2013, Attorney David Meyer was included in the list of Best...

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...

Jo A.Tatarko focuses on Commercial Litigation, representing clients in the areas of breach of contract, lease disputes, construction disputes, business disputes, and all other aspects of business litigation. Jo devotes 90% of her practice to litigation. In 2007 when Jo first joined Dworken & Bernstein, she was as a member of our Workers’ Compensation practice group. She represented individuals who were injured at work, both at administrative hearings before the Industrial Commission of Ohio and in Common Pleas courts in Ohio.

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...

As a family law practitioner, Anna Parise helps clients through divorce, child support, spousal support, and custody. Highly rated in peer reviews throughout her career, she is active in bringing family law legal services to those who cannot afford it. Anna’s legal practice includes domestic relations, divorce, family law, child support, spousal support, and custody. Anna is also frequently appointed by trial courts in Cuyahoga, Geauga, and Lake Counties as guardian ad litem to protect the interests of children. Formerly with a small boutique firm specializing in labor law, Anna joined Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A. in 2005 becoming partner...

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...

David was selected as an Ohio Super Lawyer for the years 2012, 2013 & 2014. David E. Nager is the managing partner of Nager, Romaine & Schneiberg Co., L.P.A. He has been in private practice since 1990. His primary areas of practice include workers' compensation, personal injury and medical malpractice. He has successfully argued thousands of cases before every level of the Industrial Commission of Ohio. He has handled hundreds of cases before various courts throughout Ohio. He has successfully argued cases on the State Appellate level, as well. He has obtained compensation for thousands of injury victims totaling tens...

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...

Jerry is a partner with Nager, Romaine & Schneiberg Co., L.P.A. and focuses his practice on the administration and litigation of workers’ compensation matters. Jerry has represented injured workers on thousands of matters before the Industrial Commission of Ohio. He also regularly is involved in the litigation and trial of workers’ compensation cases in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas as well as surrounding counties. In his fifteen years of practice, Jerry has successfully represented clients before the Tenth District and Eighth District Courts of Appeals. Jerry and his wife Kim have four children between the ages of thirteen...

A U.S. Navy veteran, Jonathan Stender represents individuals and management in a wide spectrum of labor, employment and workers’ compensation matters. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star. Jonathan is strong proponent of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). In 2014, he was selected to join the Mediation and Arbitration Panel of NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation), one of the country’s most highly regarded providers of ADR services.

Jonathan graduated cum laude with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Russian Language and Literature and Political Science/International Relations from the University of Washington in 1994. He received a Juris Doctor degree from...

Attorney Svetlana Kats is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association with more then 12 years of progressive experience in Immigration Law practices.
We Provide Every Immigration Legal Service Including: Fiance Visas, Green Cards Based on Marriage, Employment-Based Green Cards, Work Visas, Investor’s Visas, Citizenship, Family-Based Immigration, Deportation Defense.

Joseph Hada is a defense attorney representing clients across northeast Ohio. Mr. Hada dedicates his practice to the defense of charges relating to OVI/DUI, Criminal and Traffic offenses. He is deeply rooted in Northeast Ohio and built a reputation as a strong advocate for his clients.

Mr. Hada graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Heidelberg University and went on to receive his J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He began his career as a public defender in Lake County, Ohio, representing juveniles and adult defendants accused of all type of criminal offenses,...

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...

Stacy Stefanik’s main focus is workers’ compensation, both administratively and in litigation. She also has extensive experience handling Social Security disability claims and unemployment matters. She has represented clients at the administrative level, in court and on appeal and has tried cases in Common Pleas court, argued before the Court of Appeals, and briefed cases in the Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court.

Stacy graduated from Calvin College in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in Japanese. She received her Juris Doctorate from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and was admitted to practice law...

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...

Egan is a licensed personal injury lawyer and principle personal injury attorney at Elk & Elk in Washington. He also actively practices in Ohio. Egan focuses his practice on pursuing personal injury claims caused by medical negligence, nursing home neglect and motor vehicle accidents.

Joshua J. Strickland’s practices primarily in real estate and business transactions. He represents small and medium size businesses, real estate developers, landlords and non-profits in all of their business needs. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star. Josh focuses his practice in the areas of general business including formation, mergers and acquisitions, financing, employee relations, commercial transactions, intellectual property, construction development, and sales. His residential and commercial real estate practice includes sales, leasing, zoning, land use, oil and gas, environmental law and real estate, eminent domain and taxation.

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.

Since 1991, Ken Cahill has been practicing family law, working toward outcomes that are in the best interest of families and children. Ken is a noted speaker on issues of family law and serves as chair of the Family Law Committee. Protecting dependent, neglected and abused children was the role of Family Law attorney Kenneth J. Cahill at the Lake County Prosecutor’s Juvenile Division representing the Lake County Department of Jobs & Family Services. Practicing Family Law since 1991, Ken started first as an Assistant Lake County Prosecutor enforcing and modifying child support orders before joining the Lake County...

Mr. Kraus graduated from Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia) in 1981 with a B.A. in Political Science. He received his law degree in 1984 from Case Western Reserve University School of Law (Cleveland, Ohio). He practiced law in a small family firm, Kraus & Kraus, from 1984 until 2000. In 2000, Mr. Kraus joined Dworken & Bernstein as an associate attorney and in July 2003, was made a partner in the firm. He has been a member of the Lake County Bar Association, the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, and the Florida Bar. Mr. Kraus has also served as a mediator with...

Melvyn E. Resnick earned his undergraduate degree in Business and Accounting with honors from Ohio University. He was awarded his law degree from Case Western Reserve School of Law and admitted to the Bar in 1966. Mr. Resnick is a member of the Lake County Bar Association. He is a past president of Tau Epsilon Rho Law Fraternity. He is licensed to practice in all Ohio courts as well as U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, since 1968 and the U.S. Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit. Mr. Resnick's practice emphasizes real estate, commercial litigation, general business, corporate banking, estate...

Shelley Fleming is currently focused on Consumer Class Actions, as well as claims pertaining to wage and hour laws, employment discrimination, and domestic relations issues. She conducts in-depth research on consumer protection claims and laws nationwide, and also drafts motions and appellate briefs. Prior to joining the firm, Shelley served as a Staff Attorney at the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. In that position, she had the opportunity to conduct case management conferences, pre-trials, and settlement conferences. She attended civil and criminal trials and motion hearings. She drafted orders and opinions on discovery disputes, motions to dismiss and summary...

Richard Selby heads our Commercial Litigation Department. He has extensive trial experience with Dworken & Bernstein in both state and federal court. In addition to his litigation experience, Ric regularly consults with clients on employment related issues and is called in to assist at trial with the Class Action department when those matters go to trial. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star and was selected to be included in the 2019 edition of Best Lawyers in America. In addition, he is a Contributing Editor to Attorney At Law Magazine featuring articles on Employment Law.

Ric joined Dworken...

Jamie Schneier is a small business attorney practicing primarily in the areas of Business Startups, Corporate, Transactional Business and Business Sales and Acquisitions. Jamie works with numerous small to medium size closely held businesses in the Cleveland and Akron areas. Clients are generally start-up businesses, serial entrepreneurs, small closely held businesses, family owned businesses and mid-sized companies.

Erik L. Walter is a bold advocate for business clients in the areas of environmental law, oil and gas, commercial transactions, zoning and litigation for both individuals and corporations. He sits on numerous nonprofit boards in the community. Prior to joining Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A., Erik was a shareholder with the law firm of Knaggs, Harter, Brake & Schneider, P.C. located in Lansing, Michigan. Prior to joining Knaggs, Harter, Brake & Schneider, P.C. in 1999, Erik served for nearly three years as the law clerk for the Honorable William E. Collette in the Ingham County Circuit Court located...

Irving Rosner is the head of Dworken & Bernstein’s Workers’ Compensation Department which helps the Firm’s clients who are injured at work. Prior to joining Dworken & Bernstein in 1986, Mr. Rosner was a trial attorney and prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice, Antitrust Division, in Washington, D.C. and in Cleveland, Ohio. In Mr. Rosner’s seven year stint (1979-1986) at the Justice Department, he tried complex cases against some of the nation’s finest litigators. Meticulous planning, preparation, and strong advocacy were essential traits that Mr. Rosner brought with him to Dworken & Bernstein when he...

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...

Dan Williams represents clients in criminal matters, including juvenile, adult misdemeanor and felony, DUI/OVI defense, and expungements. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 2012. He represents clients throughout NE Ohio including Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties. After working tirelessly for the past three years advocating for the rights of indigent criminal defendants throughout Lake County, Dan joined Dworken & Bernstein. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Miami University, Dan moved to Chicago where he worked as an Account Executive for a nationwide mortgage lending company. But his pride in his hometown never wavered, and he returned to Cleveland...

Kim Alabasi has practiced in the area of Immigration since 2004. Notably, Ms. Alabasi speaks Spanish fluently. She earned her undergraduate degree in Spanish/Sociology from Marquette University and later went on to work in Mexico, first as a teacher in Puebla, Mexico for two years, followed by a job with the non-profit group IMIFAP in Mexico City, Mexico. Ms. Alabasi worked for 7 years as bilingual clinical social worker with the Hispanic Unit of the Center for Families & Children in Cleveland prior to obtaining her law degree in 2003 and starting Alabasi & Associates in 2006. Ms. Alabasi...

As a family law practitioner, Lydia Gross helps clients through divorce, dissolution, child support, spousal support, and any other family law and probate matters. Lydia is admitted to practice law in Ohio and the United States District Court Northern District of Ohio. Lydia was formerly with a small firm in Cuyahoga County, where she also gained experience in general civil litigation.

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...

Grant Keating is a partner practicing in the firm’s Business and Commercial Litigation department. He employs a pragmatic approach to litigation and has successfully represented a wide variety of businesses and individuals at trial, appeal and in ADR. Grant has extensive experience in the following areas of law: banking and loan restructuring, breach of contract, Clean Water Act, commercial lease disputes, construction disputes, creditor’s rights, defamation, director and officer liability, e-commerce, employment disputes, environmental litigation, foreclosures, international discovery assistance pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1782, mechanic’s liens, minority shareholder rights, Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act R.C. 1345.01 et. seq., professional negligence,...

Russian Speaking Attorney. I am dedicated to serving clients with integrity and professionalism in the legal field areas that include Personal Injury, Juvenile Law, Criminal Law, and Family Law. My Law Firm provides individualized legal services, and I interact directly with the clients from the commencement of the legal matter and until it is resolved. I personally answer the phone, give clients advice and represent their best interests through the entire duration of the cases. I ensure that our clients are always well informed and updated on the status of their legal matter.Our Law Firm dedicated to providing quality legal...

Amy is an associate at Elk & Elk in Ohio and concentrates her practice on estate planning, guardianships and estate administration. Amy has been recognized as an "Ohio Rising Star" by Super Lawyer's magazine from 2010-2013. In addition, she also earned a spot on the Top 50 Women Ohio Super Lawyers and the Top 25 Women Cleveland Super Lawyers lists.

I believe an important part of creating sustainable, just, inclusive communities in Ohio is to empower forward-thinking entrepreneurs and community leaders. As the principal at Positive Law LLC, my goal is to provide Ohioans with affordable legal and business services, education, and connections to community resources to help ensure successful mission-driven, sustainable enterprises that are good for their workers, their communities, and the planet. I especially enjoy helping women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs start and grow successful, sustainable enterprises including worker-owned co-ops and other cooperative enterprises. Connecting and creating is what I love to do. Having worked with families,...

Mandy’s experience ranges from being the Assistant Prosecutor and Assistant Law Director for the City of Lakewood, to working as a Public Defender in Lake County for over ten years. While Assistant Law Director, Mandy worked with the Lakewood Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals. She was also involved with enforcing the City’s nuisance law which allowed her to work with landlords and tenants to resolve nuisance issues in the community. With this exposure, Mandy not only practices in the area of criminal law, DUI and traffic citations; she has expanded to include landlord/tenant law and estate planning....