Houtzdale Lawyers

Kristin's passion for helping people overcome difficult times drives her, whether in the legal arena or in her community. Kristin earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh and then went on to earn her Juris Doctorate from the Pennsylvania State Dickinson School of Law. After receiving her Juris Doctorate and passing the Pennsylvania Bar, Kristin practiced bankruptcy law before joining The McShane firm as a Criminal Defense Litigation Associate.

Since 1976, Melvin L. Vatz has been faithfully providing legal counsel and guidance to clients. As a Pittsburgh lawyer, he handles a comprehensive range of cases. Whether you have been injured on the job, hurt in an accident, charged with a crime, or caught up in an employment law issue, Attorney Mel is there for you. He has tried cases in both federal and state courts and has taken on major appeals. With nearly 40 years of legal experience, Mel is the advocate you want in your corner. As a former Assistant District Attorney in Allegheny County, he brings a...

Mr. Ernsberger was a founding partner of the law firm of Behrend and Ernsberger, and is now a shareholder in its successor, Behrend and Ernsberger, P.C. with offices in the City of Pittsburgh. Mr. Ernsberger has been engaged primarily in trial practice for twenty years, having in that time tried approximately 50 civil jury trials of various types and degrees of complexity and settled many others. The claims litigated include medical malpractice, RICO, ERISA, Fair Labor Standards Act, consumer protection, trademark infringement, patent infringement, patent mismarking, Federal False Claims, products liability, multi-unit construction contracts, employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, insurance fraud,...

PATRICK M. LIVINGSTON is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States District for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He is a past chair of the of the Allegheny County Bar Association's Judiciary Committee, and is currently the CJA Panel Representative for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Erie County Bar Association's Roberts Scholarship Committee. He has been a sole...

Matt is a graduate, magna cum laude, of Duquesne University School of Law and The Pennsylvania State University. Matt was admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Western District of Pennsylvania in 2011. Matt’s practice focuses primarily in the areas of personal injury and general litigation, including, civil, employment, criminal, family, business, estate, and real estate matters. Matt also heads our bankruptcy department and represents consumers in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings throughout Pennsylvania.

During Law school, Matt was a writer and senior staff member for the Duquesne Law Review and an...

Mark E. Milsop is a dedicated trial attorney with over 30 years of experience fighting for injured accident victims. A 1989 graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a degree in economics and a minor in speech communication, he went on to earn his Juris Doctor from Duquesne University School of Law in 1992, graduating with honors. During law school, he was a member of the Law Review and Appellate Moot Court Society and interned with the Honorable Ralph J. Cappy of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Attorney Milsop knew early on that he wanted to be a courtroom attorney—someone who stands up...