Litigation

Karl joined the Firm in 2004. He has published articles and has given numerous ICLE lectures in his short tenure. His areas of expertise include Creditor/Debtor's Rights, Bankruptcy, Guardianships, Foreclosure Law, Civil Litigation, Real Estate/Real Property and out of court workouts. He has extensive experience handling all aspects of debtor/creditor's rights, both in the New Jersey State and Federal Courts. In addition to prosecuting foreclosure cases for both private as well institutional lenders, he has also handled many contested foreclosures for Debtors, which often results in loan modifications and/or forbearance agreements and Deeds in Lieu of foreclosure. Mr. Norgaard effectively and efficiently resolves disputes between the parties with a common sense approach of analyzing the client's legal exposure and rights while always seeking to find an amicable resolution as soon as possible in an effort to curtail needless litigation.

Mr. Bottar is one of upstate New York's most experienced and accomplished trial lawyers, with a track record of extraordinary recoveries for his clients. As the founder and managing member of Bottar Law, PLLC, he brings nearly 45 years of experience to the pursuit of cases involving birth injuries, brain and nerve injuries, amputation, paralysis, and wrongful death due to medical negligence, complex accidents, workplace injuries and defective products. Mr. Bottar has been continuously listed in The Best Lawyers In America® since 2003, and received its 2020 Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year award for Syracuse. Previously, he was recognized three times by Best Lawyers® as Syracuse's Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year (2018, 2014-15, 2009). Mr. Bottar has attained an AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating available for legal ability and professional ethics, is a fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America - Trial Lawyer Honorary Society™, and is a charter member and past-president of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers (2010-2011). In 2001, Mr. Bottar was appointed by the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department to serve as a member of the Character and Fitness Committee for the Fifth Judicial District. The Character and Fitness Committee is responsible for screening and interviewing all Central New York applicants who are seeking admission to the Bar. In 2018, Mr. Bottar was appointed by the Presiding Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department to serve as a member of the Grievance Committee of the Fifth Judicial District. In 2021, Mr. Bottar was appointed Chair of the Grievance Committee. The Grievance Committee is responsible for the investigation, review and prosecution of complaints of attorney misconduct in Onondaga, Oneida, Oswego, Herkimer, Jefferson and Lewis Counties. Mr. Bottar has been listed in Upstate New York Super Lawyers® for plaintiff's medical malpractice and personal injury since the inaugural edition in 2007, and was named to its "Top 50" list for 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Since 2011, he has been recognized annually by The National Trial Lawyers as one of the "Top 100" trial lawyers in New York State. He has also been honored by Lawdragon as one of the top 3,000 attorneys in the United States, and has earned life memberships in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum® and the Multi Million Dollar Advocates Forum®. Mr. Bottar regularly speaks or guest lectures at legal and non-legal functions, including ethics, tort and practice management classes at Syracuse University College of Law, and at annual updates on behalf of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is a past member of the Dean's Advisory Council at the University at Buffalo School of Law, a has been elected a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation. Mr. Bottar has a long record of public service and is deeply invested in New York State's education system. He served as a Trustee of the North Syracuse Central School District Board of Education from 1988 through 1989, and as the President of the Board from 1989 through 1996. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Onondaga Madison School Boards Association from 1994 through 1996. In 1996, 2001, 2006 and again in 2011, the New York State Legislature elected Mr. Bottar to serve as a Regent of the University of the State of New York, the most comprehensive and unified education system in the nation. Over his tenure as a Regent, Mr. Bottar was Chair of the College and Career Preparation Work Group, Chair of the P-12 Education Committee, and was a member of the Higher Education and Professional Practice Committees. He was also Vice Chancellor of the Board from 2012-2016. In 2016, after 20 years and more than 10,000 hours of pro bono service to the State of New York, Mr. Bottar retired from the Board. Mr. Bottar resides in Manlius, New York, with his wife, Nancy, a registered nurse.

Mr. Bruce’s legal career has focused on criminal litigation. For 37 years, Mr. Bruce worked as Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York. During this time, he was Chief of the Organized Crime and the National Security Divisions of the office and served as Senior Litigation Counsel before retiring in 2016. He has extensive experience in investigations, trials of complex criminal cases, including RICO, tax, mail and wire fraud, false statements, perjury, and narcotics cases in United States District Court, and in appeals to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Over the last 20 years of Mr. Bruce’s career in the United States Attorney’s Office, he served as an Office Evaluator for the Executive Office for the United States Attorney’s Office, participating, as a member of a teams of seasoned Assistant United States Attorneys, in peer evaluations of United States Attorneys’ Offices throughout the United States. In 1998, Mr. Bruce took a temporary assignment as the Resident Legal Advisor in the United States Embassy in Moscow, where he was the liaison between Department of Justice Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training and the Russian Procurator’s Office to set up and run training by U.S. prosecutors and law enforcement agents for their Russian counterparts. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Bruce also handled a complex ethics and misconduct investigation which involved an exhaustive review of two large scale narcotics prosecutions from another U.S. Attorney’s Office to determine if the lead Assistant United States Attorney in those cases had committed any violations of the law, acts of prosecutorial misconduct or ethical violations and prepared a report that was submitted to the Office of Professional Responsibility within the Executive Office for United States Attorneys. For four years prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Bruce worked with the Internal Revenue Service Office of District Counsel. During this time, he acted as in-house counsel to the Buffalo Internal Revenue District on tax examinations, collection matters and in ongoing criminal investigations. He reviewed results of criminal tax investigations to determine if they were factually and legally sufficient to be referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution. He also tried and briefed cases in the United States Tax Court. Since 1996, Mr. Bruce has also been an Adjunct Professor at the SUNY Buffalo School of Law. Since leaving government service, Mr. Bruce has become a member of the Erie County Bar Association Grievance Committee where he has been called on to review allegations of ethical violations by criminal defense attorneys. He has also been an on-air commentator for WGRZ, Channel 2, and WBEN Radio., providing commentary and insight on high-profile federal prosecutions.

Mr. O'Brien received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Walsh University and a Juris Doctor Degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Mr. O' Brien joined Ibold & O'Brien (formerly Petersen & Ibold) upon his admission to the practice of law in 2000. Mr. O'Brien is a member of the Geauga County, Ashtabula County and Ohio State Bar Associations. Mr. O'Brien practices in the areas of general litigation, criminal law, personal injury, real estate, business law, estate planning, probate and collections among others.

Marv Robon graduated in less than four years from Bowling Green State University with a business degree and went right into law school with a partial scholarship. His class at the University of Toledo Law School had four members, including himself, in the top twelve of the Ohio State Bar Exam. During his earlier years, Mr. Robon did a substantial amount of litigation and tried a number of jury cases to conclusion. He then became more interested in real estate law and business matters and did everything from limited partnership syndications to industrial development revenue bonds. However, the challenge of trial work was missing; so by the mid-1980's, he decided to do both litigation and business matters. He has handled a number of high-profile cases, including the sale of the Commodore Island Condominiums where Owens-Corning’s World Headquarters is located today; a substantial wrongful death electrocution case that was successfully concluded during the jury trial; a very successful result in a medical helicopter crash that severely injured the nurse and went all the way to the U.S. Court of Appeals, an insurance embezzlement case where more than $2,300,000.00 was collected. He negotiated for the sale of a business to the City of Toledo who wanted to eminent domain the property for the new Jeep plant location in Toledo involving several million dollars. He also obtained an award for a bank of almost $3,000,000.00 by the U.S. Court of Appeals against the United States Government. In the past several years he’s tried twenty one jury trials with a 18-3 record. One of the jury cases set a record for a verdict of over $2,500,000.00 in the small town of Wauseon, Ohio. He now is a member of the Multi-million Dollar Club of plaintiff attorneys. Recently, he was named an Ohio Super Lawyer by the Cincinnati Magazine. The Toledo City Paper named him the Best Attorney in Toledo for 2011 & 2012. Martindale-Hubbell named him a preeminent attorney for 2016. He just was named in the Top 10% of attorneys in the United States. This past year he handled a case for a rancher in Cheyenne, Wyoming, against the US Government for causing a forest fire. The result was one of a very few times the government LOST because they have immunity. The result was in 7 figures! He also had a $1,000,000.00 jury verdict in Wood County against Toledo Edison. In 2007 the Ohio Legislature modified the eminent domain law to provide that if the jury verdict is more than 1.5 times the state’s offer, attorney fees can be awarded. Marvin received an award of attorney fees in excess of $250,000.00 recently as a result of that statute and it is believed that that is the first award in Ohio under that new statute. Since then he has collected more than $400,000.00 in legal fees from government or quick-government entities. In addition to his business practice, he currently is working on matters involving financial problems for commercial real estate owners, eminent domain matters against the Ohio Department of Transportation as well as other governmental entities and pipeline companies, and several shareholder and construction disputes, bad faith insurance claims along with some substantial injury and wrongful death cases. In 2014, he successfully argued before the Ohio Supreme Court on an issue of a constitutional taking of property by a governmental entity. He is currently handling injunctions, appeals, partnership disputes, eminent domain pipeline cases and shareholder disputes. Mr. Robon is a member of the Ohio State, American, and Toledo Bar Associations, as well as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He attended the 1990 Moscow Conference on Trade and Economic Law in the Soviet Union which involved teaching Russian attorneys about America’s property system, the 1988 Trade and Economic Law Conference in Japan, and the China Conference in 1987. Marv’s motto is “If it can’t be done, give us a try.” He works out regularly, jogs, takes pilates, is an avid golfer and enjoys both tennis and gardening. Marv and his wife Nancy have three grown children, all with advanced degrees.

Leslie focuses her advocacy on student disciplinary processes, specifically at the college administrative level. This includes advisement in university conduct proceedings from investigations through appeals; academic misconduct accusations; Title IX cases; student organization defense; and specific hazing education and risk management advice for Greek organizations, sports teams, and clubs. Prior to starting Albeit Masters, LLC, Leslie co-founded and grew an education specific law firm for almost a decade, practiced as defense counsel to a prominent Columbus insurance litigation firm, and served as a defense attorney on criminal and traffic matters, gaining valuable litigation and courtroom experience.

Formerly a partner at a prestigious civil litigation firm, Dean has been practicing and trying cases in the areas of complex trucking, medical malpractice, product liability, and general civil litigation for the past 18 years. Dean has successfully represented clients as lead counsel in complex multimillion-dollar jury trials to verdict in Missouri and Illinois. Dean uses his extensive experience in the courtroom to develop an aggressive approach to resolve cases in favor of his clients. Dean received his J.D. from the University of Missouri – Columbia School of Law in 1999. Prior to law school, Dean completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Missouri – St. Louis with a B.A. in Communications, graduating cum laude in 1996. Dean participated in a Missouri Trial Academy in 2005 and a National Trial Academy at Stanford in 2007. Dean has an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating an attorney can obtain from that organization. Dean has also been selected to America's Top 100 Personal Injury Attorneys for 2020. Selection to America's Top 100 Personal Injury Attorneys® is by invitation only and is reserved to identify the nation's most exceptional litigators for high-value personal injury, catastrophic injury, wrongful death, product liability, and medical malpractice matters. Only the top 100 qualifying attorneys in each state will receive this honor and be selected for membership. With these extremely high standards for selection, less than one-half percent (0.5%) of active attorneys in the United States will receive this honor.

Since 1988 Edward honed his litigation expertise serving as a defense attorney in Criminal Cases, DUI/DWI and traffic matters. His distinguished courtroom seasoning will benefit his clients as Edward focuses on criminal defense litigation. He has handled thousands of cases and is well versed in motion practice with years of trial experience. His philosophy of being well prepared has served him well over the years and is a testament to his work ethic and diligence.

Scott R. Reidenbach is the founding principal of Reidenbach & Associates, LLC. Mr. Reidenbach is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and concentrates his practice in the areas of Condominium and Community Association Law, Construction Litigation, Real Estate and related areas of real estate including transactions, litigation, landlord and tenant, and leasing. He has represented regional and national builders, developers and declarants as well as several hundred residential planned communities (condominium and homeowner associations) throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Greater Philadelphia Region.

As founder of the firm, Michael effortlessly combines accessibility, experience, negotiation, collaboration, and compassion to achieve results. And he has named partners to the firm who value and demonstrate these tenets as well. He is the rare attorney who excels in both civil litigation and criminal defense. Known for his unwavering commitment to serving as the voice of the victim and advocate for the accused, he has established his reputation by winning multimillion-dollar jury verdicts in State and Federal Courts, as well as winning major criminal trials. His record of success in both civil and criminal courts includes acquittals in high-profile criminal cases and numerous seven-figure and eight-figure awards for victims. He has saved many corporations from unfair and oppressive government regulation and has won out-right victories for small companies and owners embroiled in complex corporate litigation.