State and Local

Mark Mario Esposito, Esq., J.D., T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond, VA (1984); B.S., James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va. (1980 Summa Cum Laude; Outstanding Student in Public Administration); "av" rated in Martindale-Hubbell; American Bar Association; Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Virginia Trial Lawyers Association (Elected Board of Governors (1998)); Henrico Bar Association; Richmond Bar Association (Judiciary Committee (2002-05)); United's Who's Who in American Law; member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum (2002 to present); admitted to practice in all courts in Virginia; United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia; Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals; Untied States Supreme Court. Mr. Esposito has consistently and aggressively defended the civil rights of individuals, unions, and small businesses against the negligent or intentional wrongdoing of corporations, governments, and other powerful interests. He has been recognized as a powerful and effective advocate and trial lawyer for his clients. He has successfully handled personal injury cases in states from California to Virginia and won significant awards and settlements. His successful defense of a small businessperson against an unconstitutional local taxing scheme was deemed one of the most significant appellate decisions in the state of Pennsylvania in 1997. Mr. Esposito's client was nominated for the Liberty Bell Award, which goes to the most significant case promoting civil liberties, in the state of Pennsylvania. Another successful case that same year in the Virginia Supreme Court, Walter Atkinson, Admin. v. Scheer, MD, et al, was deemed one of the most important medical negligence decisions for the plaintiff's bar in Virginia. Currently, Mr. Esposito handles significant motor vehicle/tractor-trailer accidents, professional negligence cases, traumatic brain injury cases, defective product and defective pharmaceutical cases, as well as other catastrophic loss cases. Mr. Esposito is married to the former Suzanne Daley. They have two sons, ages 20 and 24. They reside in Henrico County, Virginia, where he is actively involved in youth recreational sports and civic associations and boards. He is a frequent speaker at local area schools advocating greater exposure of the law and courts to young people.

Frances-Marie Prizzia dedicates her law practice to upholding the constitutional rights of her clients and zealously defending them. Her passion has always been in criminal defense and public service, as evidenced by her prior work and volunteer history. For the past 15 years, Frances has dedicated herself to the practice of law. Years before opening this firm, Frances worked as an Orange County Public Defender as well as in the Los Angeles County Alternate Defender's Office. While working for Orange County as a trial attorney, she obtained many dismissals, in addition to taking more cases to jury trial and winning more than any other attorney within her unit during that time. Frances is also fluent in speaking Tagalog. Prior to becoming an attorney and while in law school, Frances worked at the Public Defender's office in Santa Cruz. As a law student, she successfully argued and won a motion to suppress evidence due to the unlawful violations of the Fourth Amendment by the investigating police officers. She also researched and wrote motions asking the court to order the disclosure of information regarding confidential informants and confidential police personnel files ("Pitchess motions.") Her compassion and commitment to making a difference and defending those who needed help is what convinced her to apply for law school. She was accepted into, and chose to enroll in, Santa Clara University School of Law, where she had also received her undergraduate degree several years earlier. But some of the reasons Frances chose to return to Santa Clara University was because of its emphasis on criminal defense and public service. In addition to extensive trial advocacy training, the school is also home to the Death Penalty College, Northern California Innocence Project, and Center for Social Justice and Public Service. While in law school, she worked at the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center, where she wrote two successful political asylum briefs and won a U-visa (victim of violence) application for her client, which allowed the client to obtain her permanent residency ("green card") and a work permit in the United States. Lawyer.com Member Questionnaire Please describe a case(s) in the last year or two where you made a big difference. I had a case where Filipino nurses were charged by the Attorney General’s office for criminally negligent death of a patient in a nursing home. These poor nurses did nothing but their best to take care of the patient. The doctors ruled the patient’s death as an accident and inevitable due to a heart attack since the patient was in very poor health, had recently endured surgery that he was not fully cleared for but needed to do to save his life, had a prior heart condition, and expired naturally. The AG simply was on a witch hunt because the patient’s family had a civil case and a lot of pull in this matter. The court, during the preliminary hearing, agreed with me, and refused to have these nurses held to answer. The nurses were discharged, and the court also granted a factual innocence motion I brought up in court. How did you build a successful practice? I built this practice on hard work, dedication, compassion towards my client and a lot of hustle. What should clients look for in a lawyer? Passion and heart as well as competency. Client’s should decide on a lawyer based on who they feel most comfortable with and at sync with. They should choose who they feel actually cares and will fight for their case as well as the attorney’s credentials. How important is local knowledge to the success of your cases? It is very important because different counties have different ways of running their cases and different policies that could mean a dismissal for your client or a guilty plea. What information can you provide in a free phone consultation? I provide as much information as the client would like. I do not try to make guesses. I attempt to gather as much information as I can from the client, then look the cases up in the system and attempt to give the best options I can provided with the information I have been given. What information do you need in a free phone consultation? I would need the charges that the clients are looking at, past record history, the facts of the case, what county or court the case is currently in as well as the status of the case. I also ask for what the client wants as the outcome. What differentiates you from other lawyers in your community? I have a lot of heart and compassion. I truly put myself in my client’s shoes to understand their fears and concerns so that I can obtain the best results for them. What are your other interests in addition to law? I like going to musical theatre, dancing, singing, hiking, and yoga. Are you involved in your community? Yes very much so. I am involved in my church as a Catechist for Sts. Simon and Jude Catholic Church. I am part of FLOC which is Filipino Lawyers of Orange County. And I have been a room mom for my children’s school for years.

Gregory J. Tarone, Esq., has been active in the New York Bar since 1979, practicing in the fields of contracts, estates and trusts, wills, real estate, business, international transactions, and sports at all levels, with extensive experience representing both individuals and businesses as well as managing sim;e to complex cases across state boundaries and national boundaries.

Rex Manaster is a practicing lawyer in the state of Texas handling personal injury matters.

Mr. Dubow has been practicing law since 1981. He is admitted to practice law in the State of New York, as well as the Southern and Eastern District Courts of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Over the last thirty years, Alan has focused his practice as a litigator in the practice areas of Matrimonial Law, Domestic Relations, Family Court, Complex Commercial and Real Estate matters as well as transactional Business Law. He has appeared extensively and conducted trials in the Supreme Courts in Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange and Rockland Counties as well as the Supreme Courts in New York City as well as the Federal District Courts. In addition to his litigation trial practice at the Supreme Court level, Alan has practiced extensively in the Appellate Courts of the State of New York. Mr. Dubow is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Westchester County Bar Association.

Rob Kornfeld has been practicing personal injury law for more than 38 years and he is licensed to practice law in Washington, New York, and Arizona. He graduated from the University of Vermont (UVM) in 1976 with college honors in the area of European Studies. Because he’d been raised in a medical family, Rob started out in pre-med at UVM, and despite a strong interest in medicine, the study of law turned out to be his true calling. Rob’s medical interest ultimately led him to focus his practice on helping the injured and those who have been victims of tortious conduct by others. He attended law school at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA and graduated in 1979.

I am a Board Certified lawyer. I have been practicing law since 1989. I have tried cases in 26 different counties. I personally work on the cases. I have seven great legal assistants and one lawyer, J.J. Bragg, who works with me. I grew up an Army Brat. My father was a Chaplain in the U.S. Army for 30 years. My mother was a school teacher. I lived in many places growing up, including New York City, Bamberg, Germany, Colorado Springs, North Carolina, Stone Mountain, Georgia, Pasadena, California. My mother, Gerry Juhan, was from Beaumont, Texas. My grandfather worked at Mobil for more than 30 years. We moved back to Texas during my sophomore year of high school. I graduated from South Park High School in 1982. I went straight to Lamar University. I graduated from Lamar in 1986. I went straight to South Texas College of Law, located in downtown Houston. My daughter Jessica was born during law school I graduated from law school in 1989. I have been in private practice since 1989. I started my own law firm in 2003. My daughter Jessica is married and she has three wonderful daughters, Madeline, Mackenzie, and Mallorie. I am married to Angelica Juhan. She works at the Federal Bureau of Prisons. She has three children, Christopher, Desi, and Ale'. Christopher is on his own and Desi and Ale live with us and attend Kelly High School. I love practicing law here in my hometown of Beaumont. I am truly blessed in every aspect of my life.

David F. Stern, Esquire is the President and Partner at the Law Firm, Stern & Cohen, PC. Dave was born and raised in Northern Virginia just off the Beltway outside Washington D.C. Dave’s father was a Federal Judge. His understanding of how to be an advocate began at an early age as he had the opportunity to travel with his father on occasions and observe Federal trials. Many disputes were resolved at the kitchen table with a good, courtroom-like debate. Dave excelled early on in academics and also on the baseball field. Dave played in the athletic conference with the largest high schools in the state of Virginia. This area is a hotbed for baseball talent. His senior season, Dave’s high school team lost in the state championship, but local papers wrote articles about how this would likely be the best team in program history. Dave then took his academic and athletic prowess to the University of Delaware. Dave earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, a concentration that he knew would serve him well in business after he went to Law School. He was also a four-year letterman for the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens Division One baseball program. College baseball is not heralded like football and basketball, so it was a well-kept secret that Delaware’s baseball program was one of the best in the country. From 1994-1997, Delaware won over 40 games every season while Dave was there. He ended his career with double-digit wins, including a sparkling senior season when he went 8-3 on the mound. The team was nationally-ranked many weeks in the Top 25. Perhaps Dave’s finest achievements during these seasons was his consistent placement on the Academic Dean’s List. Dave was able to maintain exemplary grades while playing a vigorous schedule with 6-7 games per week. While his classmates had plenty of time to study, play video games, and socialize, Dave went from classroom to weight room to practice to library with no time to ever spare. It was these experiences that Dave credits as the foundation for the lawyer and business-owner that he has become today. Intangibles of hard work, dedication, time management, being a team player, and managing pressure scenarios were developed through these valuable life experiences. Following college, Dave reluctantly hung up his spikes and attended the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. While in law school, Dave took a course in Workers’ Compensation Law and earned an “A” in the class. This was his first exposure to this line of law and it instantly intrigued him. Dave graduated from Pitt in 2000 and immediately passed the Pennsylvania Bar Examination. Following his success of the Pennsylvania Bar Examination, he was hired that fall by a large, reputable insurance defense firm and was conveniently placed in their workers’ compensation defense department. He defended workers’ compensation cases on behalf of local employers and insurance carriers. Dave cut his teeth in this area of law and began to learn the nuances of the laws. Dave still credits this four-year experience at a defense firm as giving him the unique ability to “understand how the other side thinks.” Dave’s talents were recognized quickly and law firms that represented injured workers began to approach him about changing sides. In 2004, Dave joined a large firm that represented injured workers. Dave had already developed the perfect skill set to represent injured Pennsylvanians. He had a meteoric rise at this Firm and became one of the youngest (if not the youngest) partners in the Firm’s history. However, he ultimately decided the best path forward would be to start his own Firm, where his visions and strategies for representing injured workers could be best put on display. The Firm, Stern & Cohen, got its start in late December 2019 with an official launch date of January 1, 2020. Under Dave’s management, Stern & Cohen has grown at a rapid rate. The Firm moved into new office space in the summer of 2023. Dave has personally hired every lawyer and staff member and is exceptionally proud of the Team that has been built. Dave has mentored dozens of workers’ compensation lawyers over the years. Without hesitation, however, he has the utmost confidence that the Stern & Cohen legal team is the best he has ever built and mentored. Dave’s excellence in the legal industry has been recognized time and time again. Dave frequently gets calls from clients directed to him by defense attorneys, claims representatives and former judges. The fact that these individuals want their family member or friend to be represented by Dave speaks to his reputation in the field. All the various publications have showered Dave with awards over the years. Dave has been selected a Super Lawyer® nearly every year for two decades, including most recently in 2024. On multiple occasions, based on the results of voting of his peers, that publication listed him amongst the Top 100 Lawyers in both Pennsylvania and Philadelphia – a rare recognition for a claimants’ workers’ compensation lawyer. Dave has been chosen to the Best Lawyers® list every year for almost a decade. In 2019, he was awarded The Philadelphia Business Journal ‘Best of the Bar’® distinction – the only workers’ compensation attorney rewarded this prestigious recognition. He was also identified as one of the Top 100 Civil Plaintiff Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania by The National Trial Lawyers Top 100®. Dave has authored numerous published articles in the area of workers’ compensation law and has been a frequent lecturer in the field. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Dave is on the Board of Governers for the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers’ Association and has previously served leadership roles for the Pennsylvania Association For Justice. Dave is also part of the Workers Injury Law Advocacy Group (WILG). For years, Dave has taken on pro bono cases for the Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (Philly VIP) and was enrolled numerous years in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Pro Bono Roll of Honor and was previously recognized as Philly VIP’s Volunteer of the Month.

Shane M. Boasberg was born and raised in New Orleans, LA and moved to the Lone Star State to attend The University of Texas in Austin, TX. After receiving undergraduate degrees in Government and Business from the University of Texas in Austin, TX; Mr. Boasberg attended South Texas College of Law in Houston, TX. While attending law school, Shane worked as a law clerk for the prestigious law firm of Gallagher, Lewis, Downey, and Kim. During this time, he gained experience in legal and appellate research and writing and trial preparation working on the largest commercial litigation civil settlements recorded in United States jurisprudence history. Shane graduated from South Texas College of Law in 2002 and immediately made an impact in the legal field. He began his career at Heard, Robins, Cloud, Lubel, and Greenwood LLP in Houston, and in 2003, he returned to Austin, TX, to serve as General Counsel to the Honorable Senator Mario Gallegos at the Texas Senate. In this role, Shane’s legal acumen and drafting skills were put to the test as he provided legal advice, prepared opinions, bill analyses, briefs, and drafted bills and amendments for legislative consideration, serving the citizens of Texas with distinction. Following his tenure with Senator Gallegos, Shane worked for the Texas Office of the Attorney General-Greg Abbott where he worked on a variety of legal and political issues. Shane represented TxDOT in litigating and resolving contractual, construction, licensing, and engineering disputes in the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH). Shane gained valuable experience at the TX-OAG where he was able to learn and work on various legal and political issues, including but not limited to, transportation law, employment law, environmental law, and eminent domain law. While working for the Texas Attorney General, Shane also served as the Legislative Liaison between the Texas Attorney General – Transportation Division and the Texas Legislature. After working with the Texas Legislature and for the OAG-Texas, Shane re-entered private practice in 2010 and opened his law firm in Austin, TX with a satellite office in Georgetown, TX. He has handled almost every type of civil case at some point during his career but primarily focuses his practice on civil litigation, whether it be business and commercial law, real estate and eminent domain law, family law, or injury law. Shane actively engages with the community and is a member of the Texas State Bar, the Austin Bar Association, and the Capitol Area Trial Lawyers Association. He was also selected to Texas Monthly’s “Rising Stars” list for 2012, 2014 – 2016. Only 2.5% of eligible Texas attorneys are chosen by Super Lawyer based on nominations from their peers. His dedication to advocating for his clients and his consistent ability to deliver desired results have earned Shane the reputation of being a trustworthy legal advocate who will provide high-quality legal services. Shane also actively participates in the ATX DAO, a city DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) based in Austin, TX. The goal of the ATX DAO is to unite Austin’s crypto communities, enable artists and local businesses to participate in the crypto ecosystem, and educate local and state government officials about the benefits of Web3.

Maikel N. Eskander is the principal and owner of Capital Partners Law, a full-service business and real estate firm with offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Boca Raton. The firm handles a wide variety of commercial, real estate, and business litigation matters, including representation of small and mid-sized businesses, investors, developers, and owners. As the firm’s founding member, Mr. Eskander was recently recognized as an AV Preeminent Rated business attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, as well as receiving the Elite Lawyer Award for Business Law, and being recognized by Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch for Commercial Litigation in 2021. He brings a wealth of knowledge & experience to the firm, including representation of numerous Fortune 500 companies and a track record of having never lost an appeal. Prior to opening Capital Law Partners, Mr. Eskander was a founding partner at Eskander Loshak LLP.