Collection

During the course of his career Attorney Aaron Rihn has helped his clients recover in excess of $40 million dollars in verdicts and settlements. He has tried cases to verdict in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and argued before a number of the highest appellate courts including both the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Rihn leads the firm in complex litigation matters, including class actions, wage and hour collection actions, pharmaceutical cases, civil rights cases, and other product liability cases, as well as appellate matters. Mr. Rihn was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Federal Prempro MDL. He has been selected as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Association, and is a former Pennsylvania Super Lawyer Rising Star. Aaron is also a member of both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multimillion Dollar Advocates Forum. Aaron wanted to be an attorney ever since he saw Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus Finch has likely been an inspiration to generations of lawyers who are the conscious of the nation, and, along with the press, the best and last defense against tyranny. Aaron approaches his practice by getting to know his clients and understanding their motivations and expectations. He is dedicated to treating each and every one of his clients with respect, regardless of their background or education, and is very passionate about the law, and about his clients. Attorney Rihn tries to infuse that passion into everything he does - to resonate with a jury. Aaron grew up in Tarentum, Pennsylvania, a mill town just north of Pittsburgh. Like many other working parents, his free time is spent hopping from extracurricular activity to extracurricular activity with his three children, and he loves every second of it.

I have proudly focused my law practice on helping consumers who are harassed or sued by abusive debt collectors.

Originally from Del Rio, Texas, Jesus is fluent in both Spanish and English. With an undergraduate degree in Economics and International Business from Baylor University and a JD from Baylor Law School, Jesus has combined the practice of law with his education in business strategy and negotiation. Jesus was admitted to the Texas State Bar in 2003. Jesus is the owner of the firm and his life outside work extends to family, golf, skiing and a strong interest in wine and travel. “I strive to educate my clients on how the law affects their particular case. As such, you will be in a position to make an informed decision on the best way to proceed with your case. The goal of my representation is to resolve your case in the most efficient and affordable manner possible. My legal experience includes hands on work in business law matters, contracts, debt collection, evictions, criminal and juvenile law, personal injury claims, family law, real estate transactions, and mediations.” – Jesus Lopez

Craig has been a protecting consumers’ rights nationwide for more than 15 years, focusing his practice on lawsuits brought under consumer-protection statutes like the Fair Credit Reporting Act. He helps consumers enforce their rights regarding not only the inaccuracies that pervade credit and background-check reports, but also as to reporting companies’ and employers’ failures to abide by the law in selling and using those reports. He also has represented clients with problems relating to identity theft, mortgages, and disputes with auto sellers and finance companies. Litigating mainly class-action cases, Craig has represented thousands of consumers in successfully obtaining millions in benefits for class members and has been appointed class counsel by numerous courts across the country. He is licensed to practice law in four states, and maintains a national practice. As a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, Craig assists in educating other lawyers on all aspects of consumer litigation, from discovery, to raising and briefing key issues, and through settlement value and case resolution. He also serves as NACA’s Chair for Virginia, a position he has held since 2018. Before joining Consumer Litigation Associates, Craig practiced complex and class-action litigation for ten years at one of the country’s most-successful boutique firms. There, he developed extensive knowledge of the FCRA as well as class-action procedure, having handled nearly every aspect of consumer class actions from intake, to drafting complaints and discovery, successfully defeating dispositive motions, obtaining class certification, valuing cases, and negotiating settlements.

Kevin Fitzgerald was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and is proud of his Midwestern roots and work ethic. Although neither of his parents are attorneys, Kevin jokes that he was “raised” by plaintiffs’ lawyers. He first began working at a plaintiff’s injury law firm when he was fifteen years old and a sophomore in high school. For the ten years prior to attending law school, Kevin served as a litigation assistant at a national law practice where he worked closely with the firm’s trial team representing clients injured by asbestos-containing products. Kevin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Minors in Geology and Geography from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Kevin attended the University of Maine School of Law where he graduated with honors. During law school, he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Ocean & Coastal Law Journal. Kevin was the recipient of the American Bar Association’s Award for Excellence in Land Use and Local Government Law, an outstanding scholastic achievement award in Environmental Law, and the Horace S. Libby Memorial Scholarship. In 2015, Kevin founded the Fitzgerald Law Group, LLC where he continues to concentrate his practice in representing men, women and children injured by medical devices, prescription drugs, over-the-counter products, asbestos, and in wrongful death and serious personal injury cases. Prior to founding the Fitzgerald Law Group, LLC, Kevin worked for another national mass tort law firm for fourteen years, serving as its managing attorney from 2008 to 2015. During his career, Kevin has played an integral role in developing, commencing and litigating significant injury cases from the initial case investigation stage through trial. He has taken or defended hundreds of depositions of plaintiffs, corporate employees, liability and causation experts, sales representatives and other key witnesses. He has helped identify experts in numerous disciplines and assisted in preparing their testimony for deposition and trial. He has also served as a member of the plaintiffs’ trial team in four national pharmaceutical drug cases, including Schedin v. Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals, Inc., et al. in which the jury returned a $1.6 million verdict in favor of the plaintiff. Over the last fifteen years, Kevin has represented thousands of clients in a wide array of medical device and prescription drug cases as well as other consumer protection matters including Actos, Arava, Avelox, Baycol, Bextra, Biomet Hip Implants, Byetta, Celebrex, Depuy ASR & Pinnacle Hip Implants, Effexor, Ephedra, Fen Phen, Fleet Phospho-Soda, Fosamax, Gadolinium, Levaquin, Lipitor, Mesothelioma, Mirena IUD, Nuvaring, Ortho Evra, Phenylpropanolamine (PPA), Pradaxa, Pravachol, Rezulin, Risperdal, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), Stadol, Stryker Rejuvenate & ABGII Hip Implants, Talcum Powder, Testosterone Replacement Therapy (“Low-T”), Transvaginal Mesh, Trovan, Viagra, Vioxx, Xarelto, Yaz, Zicam, Zimmer Hip Implants, Zithromax, Zofran, Zoloft, Zometa and Zyprexa. In addition to pharmaceutical and medical device cases, Kevin has experience handling wrongful death, personal injury, data breach, Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA), and consumer protection cases. Kevin lives in Portland, Maine with his wife, who is also a lawyer, and their three children. The family are members of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Portland. When he is not working late, he enjoys cooking, hiking and fishing throughout the State of Maine, coaching youth athletics, and cheering on his favorite Cleveland sports’ teams.

I have practiced law since December 1995, in most areas of civil litigation. I am a proud graduate of Towson University and University of Baltimore School of Law. I live in Howard County and my office is in Baltimore County, but I represent clients in every jurisdiction in Maryland. I received an award for providing 20 years of pro bono services to indigent clients. I have clients I have known for almost 20 years, who still come back to me and refer their friends and family to me. Contact me if you have a legal issue. There is no fee for the initial consultation.

Pontius Tax Law, PLLC strives to resolve sensitive tax problems through trust, dedication, and value. The law firm was founded by John Pontius. Mr. Pontius regularly represents individual and business clients with sensitive and serious tax matters before the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities. His client base is local, national and international. Over the course of his career, Mr. Pontius has represented businesses and individuals with complex tax issues in the following areas: FBAR examinations, offshore disclosures, FATCA, tax planning, unfiled tax returns, release of tax liens and levies, trust fund recovery penalty, IRS and state audit examinations as well as Appeals, penalty abatement, US Tax Court litigation along with defense of tax fraud and evasion. Mr. Pontius has extensive examination experience with federal and state audits, protests of proposed adjustments and audit reconsideration. He represents clients on tax liens and levies, collection due process hearings, offers in compromises and requests for penalty abatement. He has experience with employment tax issues such as worker classification and the trust fund recovery penalty. Prior to founding Pontius Tax Law, PLLC, Mr. Pontius practiced for five years at Maryland tax controversy law firms in Rockville, Annapolis, and Bethesda. Mr. Pontius has two years’ experience in the international corporate tax group at KPMG in Tysons Corner, Virginia where he researched and analyzed a wide range of complex tax matters in the areas of compliance, provision, planning, and restructuring. At the accounting firm, Mr. Pontius worked with a broad range of U.S. multi-national and foreign-owned clients doing business as corporations and partnerships in the communications, financial services, and defense contractor industries.

Ron knew from an early age that he wanted to pursue a profession centered around helping others. Of course, there are many ways to be of service. Yet Ron chose to apply for law school so he'd have the power to challenge the status quo and improve society as a whole.

Gene M. Connell, Jr. has been a member of the law firm since 1983. With his vast experience in many legal areas, he has received an “AV” rating with Martindale Hubbell, the most prestigious lawyer rating service in the country. He has been involved in some of the largest class-action suits ever brought in South Carolina, one of which (Bass v. State of South Carolina) went all the way to the United States Supreme Court before it was successfully settled. He has also argued numerous appeals before the South Carolina Supreme Court, the South Carolina Court of Appeals, the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission Appellate Division, the United States District Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Additionally, he has served as an expert witness in class actions on the issue of attorneys’ fees in both state and federal courts. Mr. Connell’s trial practice has included being a Mediator for other lawyers and being appointed by the Circuit Court as a Special Referee (Special Judge) to hear cases. He was also selected as the “National Trial Lawyers Top 100” in 2014 and chosen ” Best of The Beach” Lawyer.

Robert is a lifetime Lake County resident, born in Libertyville, Illinois, and raised in the neighboring Village of Gurnee. Robert attended Warren Township High School from 2001-05, where he distinguished himself in academics and athletics graduating among the highest in his class and receiving All-Conference football honors. He conducted his undergraduate studies at Illinois State University as a “University Scholarship” recipient, where, in 2009, he graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Studies. Robert was admitted to practice law in the State of Illinois on November 1, 2012. He attended law school at the Northern Illinois University College of Law from 2009-12, graduating Cum Laude in May of 2012. In November of 2012, after a brief bought working for major corporations, Robert opened Tomei Law to assist those in financial distress–specifically, representing consumer rights through foreclosure defense, bankruptcy, auto fraud, and debt collection harassment. In the fall of 2018, Robert, along with three other fine attorneys, Timothy Johnston, Alan Lenczycki, and Michael Goldberg, founded the law firm Johnston Tomei Lenczycki & Goldberg, LLC (JTLG, LLC). JTLG is a full-service law firm and in addition to an office in Gurnee shared with Tomei Law, P.C., JTLG has an office conveniently located in the heart of downtown Libertyville. Having hailed from a family with Lake County roots, it has always been an aspiration of Robert’s to practice law in the community of his upbringing. The inner drive to further that end, coupled with the desire to assist those in distress, led him to pursue a legal career in the Consumer Rights arena where he has successfully taken on consumer foes that include some of the largest banks, debt collectors, and automobile dealerships in the land and as the owner of Tomei Law, P.C. and partner of JTLG, he plans to continue that fight for justice in Consumer Rights well into the future.