Olcott Lawyers

Jeffrey Tyrpak, an Amherst native, attended Fordham University and obtained his BA in International Political Economy in 2010. In 2013, he earned his JD at UB Law School with a concentration in Finance Transactions.

He started practicing law at a small firm in New York City before returning home and joining our team in December of 2016. While working in New York City, Mr. Tyrpak handled litigation in federal court regarding collective bargaining agreements and ERISA for employee benefit funds. He also worked on government compliance matters under the Affordable Care Act and ERISA.

Currently, Mr. Tyrpak resides in HoganWillig's Real Estate...

Rebecca Kujawa concentrates her practice in Litigation and Appellate Practice. Rebecca has experience in various types of civil litigation in state court as well as with administrative agencies. Rebecca assists in many aspects of the litigation process, including pleadings, discovery and motion practice. Rebecca received her JD from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, where she served as a Publications Editor for the Buffalo Law Review and was awarded the Order of the Coif (highest academic achievement). As a law student, Rebecca also gained extensive insight into civil litigation as a student law clerk to...

Diane Tiveron is a Partner and the Chairperson of the Corporate & Business Law Department at Tiveron Law PLLC. With over 29 years of legal experience and a educational background in economics and business administration, Ms. Tiveron assists clients with business formations (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporations, and limited liability companies), acquisitions, sales or dissolutions, as well as the preparation of any commercial document/contract, ranging from an employment agreement to a lease. She counsels non-for-profit organizations on nonprofit law and governance, obtaining and maintaining tax-exempt status and 501(c) classifications. Ms. Tiveron also advises individuals and businesses with bankruptcy issues (Chapter...

Michael T. Benz is an associate attorney in the firm’s litigation department; handling personal injury, medical malpractice, and criminal defense cases. His motto and practice is to prepare every case as though it will be a jury trial; and he is confident that his trial preparation is the key to getting the best result for his clients.

Mr. Benz brings vast trial experience with him to HoganWillig, having tried hundreds of cases as an Assistant Defender at the nationally recognized Defender Association of Philadelphia, before starting his own private criminal defense practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a native “Buffalonian” he...

A valuable DWI and criminal defense attorney with Trbovich Law Firm. Michael has a reputation for being a dedicated and passionate trial attorney. He now dedicates his considerable talents and legal experience to defending against drunk driving charges, and his work has been recognized on local Channel 4 News, wivb.com, NBC News, CBS, NBC, ABC, Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, and CNN.

Mr. Seibert is a member of the National College for DUI Defense. He has worked as a Law Clerk for Law Office of Frank L Bybel, Private Practice in Family and Criminal Law, and...

My name is Mike Ranzenhofer. I assist residents of the Buffalo and WNY area with their legal needs in three specific practice areas, injury law, divorce and family law and DWI and other crimes. I am one of the managing partners of Friedman & Ranzenhofer. Our firm has been helping Buffalo and WNY area folks since the late 1950's so it's likely we've helped a family member or friend in the past. In fact, we're told numerous times weekly just that. Area residents come to us for help for three reasons. 1. We provide exceptional...

Kevin Mahoney received his B.A., Ed.M and J.D. all from the State University of New York at Buffalo. As a member of Tiveron Law's Family and Criminal Law Departments, Mr. Mahoney regularly assists individuals who are in a very difficult time of their lives. He believes it is his task to calmly offer skilled advice and perspective during what is often a difficult or emotionally charged situation. In the area of family law, Mr. Mahoney and his colleagues assist individuals with family court proceedings which most commonly involve custody/visitation and/or paternity and support proceedings. They also assist individuals in all aspects...

Ms. Cronauer is an attorney working with the firm’s Litigation department. She has experience in the full range of client representation including Supreme Court and Appellate oral arguments, complex motion and appellate brief production and representation of clients in mediations, arbitrations and trials.

Ms. Cronauer attended Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania where she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science in political science and a minor in economics. At Saint Vincent College, she played varsity tennis and was a George Washington Fellow. Following her undergraduate education, she attended Ohio Northern University College of Law from which she graduated...

The attorneys at Rosenblum Law have more than 50 years of combined experience handling personal injury cases in both NJ & NY and have office locations in both states.

Experienced and skilled personal injury attorneys, the Firm has a reputation for aggressive representation for victims of personal injury including those injured in car accidents, medical malpractice, construction accidents, and those injured by faulty products and medicines.

Regardless of how simple or complicated the case, the Firm has helped thousands of clients get excellent results. The attorneys at the Firm pride themselves on giving an honest evaluation of the case,...

My practice pattern at the Cimasi Law Office is focused on DWI, criminal defense, and traffic matters (e.g. speeding, mechanical violations, unlicensed operation, etc.) in courts across Western New York. I also represent clients on parole violations and landlord-tenant matters. I am a highly meticulous and diligent practitioner who seeks to provide dedicated service to each client, regardless how big or small the matter. I am always available by phone, and there is no fee for initial consultations.

I also teach courses in sociology and legal studies to undergraduates at the University at Buffalo ("UB") and Buffalo State College....

With nearly three decades of experience practicing Bankruptcy law and Social Security law in Buffalo, Paul Pochepan is able to help consumers facing financial hardships and disabled individuals and their dependents. He has helped many Western New York consumers navigate the bankruptcy system under chapter 7 or chapter 13. He also helps Buffalo-area residents apply for Social Security Disability (SSD) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or appeal Social Security Administration decisions denying, reducing or revoking benefits. He has accumulated a wealth of knowledge regarding the multiple medical impairments afflicting disability claimants and dealing with the medical profession to secure the...

Jeffrey B. Novak is an attorney practicing in Tiveron Law’s Litigation Department with a focus on Business & Corporate Law. Mr. Novak graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Buffalo with a major in Political Science and History. He received his legal education from the George Washington University Law School while interning for the Army Environmental Law Division. Mr. Novak also served as a summer Law Clerk for the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York and as a Judicial Intern for the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. Mr. Novak has...

Jessica Peraza is Counsel working with the firm’s Trusts & Estates Department. She focuses her practice on Estate Planning and Administration, Medicaid and Long-term Care Planning, and Wealth Management. As a law student, she interned for the Hon. Barbara Howe in Erie County Surrogate’s Court and worked in the Public Benefits Unit of Neighborhood Legal Services. Her previous experience includes residential foreclosures, public and private sector labor law, contract negotiations, probate matters, third party credit collections, and representation of clients in administrative hearings and arbitrations. Ms. Peraza attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York where she graduated with a...

Dzifa Gan is an Associate Attorney in the firm’s Real Estate Law Department; handling all aspects of residential and commercial real estate. Ms. Gan has varied legal experience having previously worked as a family and matrimonial attorney in London. Her priority across practice areas has always been her clients and ensuring that their needs are met.

Ms. Gan obtained her B.A. in Psychology and concurrently her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Western Australia in 2008. Ms. Gan is admitted to practice law in New South Wales, Australia; England & Wales, UK and New York State, USA.

Before joining HoganWillig,...

The first-generation son of immigrants, Matthew Borowski is a knowledgeable and compassionate lawyer. He has been featured on news media outlets including CNN, NBC, ABC, and The Buffalo News for his asylum and refugee work. Matthew is licensed in both the U.S. (New York) and Canada (Ontario). Borowski Witmer Immigration Lawyers has locations in Buffalo, NY and in Springfield, VA. He is well-versed in immigration matters including deportation defense, family and business immigration including NAFTA/TN visas and rehabilitation/waivers, federal criminal defense, and post-conviction relief. He appears before Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, USCIS, New York state courts and...

Michael A. Ponterio is a founding partner of Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC. Since 1985, Mr. Ponterio has represented families who have suffered injuries as a result of exposure to asbestos. He also practices in the areas of catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, defective products and motor vehicle accidents. Mr. Ponterio has dedicated his practice to securing justice for clients who have suffered catastrophic and life-changing injuries. Since 1985, Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford has obtained over one billion in settlements or verdicts on behalf of the firm’s clients. Mr. Ponterio has been representing people suffering from mesothelioma caused by asbestos for...

I was born and raised on the east side of Buffalo, NY. After graduating high school, I served in the United States Marine Corps, and then became a City of Buffalo Police Officer. I completed my B.S. and J.D. while working full-time as a police officer. I left the department in 2005 to start practicing law. After a long stent with a local law firm, I partnered up with another attorney from the same firm to form Richmond Vona, LLC. Our firm extensive experience handling asbestos cases (Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer), as well as other...

Chair of the largest residential real estate department in Western New York. Extensive third party relocation, REO, commercial and residential lending representation. Recently closed a $3 Million dollar refinance, and a $965,000 commercial purchase secured by properties in Western New York and Florida. Experienced in time share, zoning, land use, condominiums and cooperatives, real estate negotiations and litigation. Voted for inclusion in "Best Lawyers in America" for the past four years.

Scott Michael Duquin focuses his practice on Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Civil Litigation. Prior to joining us, Scott spent the first 11 years of his career doing insurance defense. He holds an AVVO Super rating, Martindale Distinguished, and has been named a Super Lawyer in Personal Injury every year since 2013.

Scott has extensive trial and appellate experience representing individuals to multi-national corporations in automobile liability, medical malpractice, products liability, toxic tort and catastrophic personal injury matters. Scott has successfully represented several small business owners in various litigated commercial matters.

In 2016, in a highly publicized case Scott was able to...

JEREMY RICHARDS is a licensed lawyer in the United States, and a Foreign Legal Consultant with the Law Society of Ontario, who devotes his legal practice to US Immigration Law and related matters. He has successfully handled immigration matters for businesses of all sizes and citizens from countries all over the world. He has a broad understanding of US immigration and nationality laws, and can assist with most US immigration law matters, having successfully handled immigration matters for medical professionals, students, professors, individuals, families, employees, small to large businesses, international corporations, colleges and universities, and others. Prior to attending law school...

Kenneth Olena has worked for the last 35 years as a family law practitioner. He specializes in divorce proceedings, ranging from small to multi-million dollar settlements. Since 1981, Kenneth has practiced across upstate New York and predominantly in the Western New York region, helping clients with over a thousand divorce cases; prior to his work at Tiveron Law, Mr. Olena also provided excellent support to clients with Siegel, Kelleher & Kahn for more than 21 years. With expertise, he has handled actions of varying financial complexity involving difficult custodial battles, hardships regarding property ownership, and management of clients' personal businesses...

Chris O'Brien is one of WNY's most experienced and successful trial lawyers. He has built a reputation over thirty years of being client-focused. Having taught both locally, nationally and internationally, Chris brings the latest and most effective trial tactics to every case, resulting in more than 98% of his cases settling before trial. He never charges for an initial appointment and takes the time to explain the law to all of his clients.

As Managing Partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC, Anthony relies heavily on his vast leadership experience in overseeing the daily operations of the Buffalo office and its staff. As a military leader, having served over 22 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, Anthony brings decades of leadership training and experience to the Buffalo office. Anthony has previously served as a senior drill sergeant, a combat intelligence advisor to the New Iraqi Amy, and a first sergeant and acting commander to a combat engineer drill sergeant company. Anthony is currently serving in a brigade-level staff sergeant major position. Anthony has...

Gregory Salmon is an attorney in Tiveron Law’s Real Estate Law and Business Law Departments. Mr. Salmon handles a wide range of Residential and Commercial real estate transactions, assisting purchasers with the acquisition of property, due diligence, deal structuring, and negotiations. Mr. Salmon received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and his undergraduate degree in Business Management and Corporate Finance from Saint John Fisher University. Gregory also holds numerous professional certifications, namely as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, a Certified Investment Analyst, a Certified Financial Analyst, a Certified Business Tax Advisor, a Certified...

Described by his clients as an attorney of the “highest quality”, Jeff DeFrancisco, Esq. has made a career achieving top results in his field of medical malpractice and personal injury. A few examples of his many great achievements include: PARALYSIS: $10,000,000 jury verdict following a 3-week trial against 3 defense lawyers for a case where an individual became paralyzed due to medical malpractice. BRAIN INJURY: $17,500,000 in payments: $3,000,000 cash; $12,000,000 expected payout between a lump sum payment and lifetime monthly payments to an individual who sustained a brain injury; and $2,500,000 in guaranteed lifetime payments to the child of the...

Mr. Johnsen is an attorney at Tiveron Law primarily focusing in the firm’s Litigation Department. While attending SUNY Buffalo Law School, Mr. Johnsen was part of the University’s Consumer Financial Advocacy Clinic and was the recipient of the CALI Excellence for the Future Awards for his work with the program. While in law school, he was a clerk at New Era Cap Co., Inc. Following law school, Mr. Johnsen has gained exposure to several areas of his litigation practice, including special education claims against school districts, employment discrimination claims, general business disputes and work in Erie County Surrogate's Court on...

Mr. Saraceno has offices in Buffalo, NY as well as Nashville, TN. He has handled many of the most high profile cases in Western New York over the last two decades, winning homicide trials, rape trials, kidnapping trials, assault trials, larceny trials and DWI/DUI trials. Mr. Saraceno has often appeared on national news networks like CNN, Fox News and the NBC Nightly News. Additionally, Mr. Saraceno has been featured on local television networks, the Buffalo News, and the Niagara Gazette defending his clients in high profile criminal defense cases.

Whether you are charged with a DWI/DUI or a...

Our founding member and principal, Russel Morgan has concentrated in commercial and contract litigation, trust and estate planning, business and personal asset protection, wealth preservation and dynasty succession planning. Russel has also assisted clients with all forms of commercial and personal transnational work, including the preparation, re-structuring and litigation of various types of contracts. Our estate law office also includes; Eldercare planning, nyc healthcare proxy, beneficiary in a Will, Medicaid planning trusts, mltc plan, Medicaid planning strategies, help with drafting wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts. Russel Morgan was raised in Brooklyn, New York and has remained loyal to his origins...

Nina Juncewicz, Esq. has 25 years experience in representing those internationally seeking to obtain physical access to the United States market for commercial work and/or family reunification. Her experience was developed early as an outstanding scholar for the agency formerly known as INS at the U.S/Canadian border, and later in its Buffalo District Office’s litigation Department. This experience brought her first-hand knowledge of the technical nuances of complex U.S. immigration law and the government adjudication process which experience she uses for her client’s benefit. She later practiced business and family Immigration in a statewide corporate law firm before opening her...

40 years experience, the last 25 of which have been devoted exclusively to matrimonial and family law, including appeals, division of retirement plans, and high net worth matrimonial matters. I have been a frequent speaker at continuing legal education programs for local and NYS Bar Association programs as well as for judges.

Stephen R. Silverstein concentrates his practice in the areas of estate and disability planning, estate administration, guardianships and elder law.

He is a graduate of the University of Rochester and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law. He is a former bank trust officer, where he worked on administration of estates, trusts and employee benefit plans.

Mr. Silverstein is a member of the Bar Association of Erie County Surrogate’s Court Committee and serves as the Committee’s Recording Secretary. He is also a member of the Bar Association of Erie County Elder Law Committee and...

Amanda Weber is an attorney practicing in Tiveron Law’s Corporate & Business Law, as well as Estate Planning & Elder Law Departments, with an emphasis on business formation, contracts, long-term care planning, and trusts. Ms. Weber obtained her Juris Doctorate from Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island, and her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Niagara University. Amanda has been admitted to practice law in New York, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia. Before joining Tiveron Law, Ms. Weber worked for a local WNY firm focusing on Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and Veteran Disability Appeals. Amanda is...

Brooke Barron is an Associate Attorney in the firm’s Matrimonial & Family Law and Estate Planning & Administration Practice Groups.

Ms. Barron obtained her B.S. in Business Administration from SUNY Geneseo, and received her Juris Doctor in 2018 from American University- Washington College of Law.

While in law school, Ms. Barron was an Alternative Dispute Resolution Competition winner. Additionally, Ms. Barron was a law clerk for Commissioner Feldblum at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in Washington, D.C. and a student attorney for American University- Washington College of Law’s Civil Advocacy Clinic. Ms. Barron had also previously been employed at HoganWillig as...

Alexandria Awad is a litigation attorney in Tiveron Law’s Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice departments. Ms. Awad has dedicated her legal career to representing clients and their families in personal injury matters, including motor vehicle crashes, premises liability, construction site and workplace injury, mesothelioma, and medical malpractice actions. Alexandria earned her Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. During law school, she served as a law clerk with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Coast Guard, and to the Honorable Paula Feroleto, Administrative Judge of the Eighth District of New York. Ms....