News

Brendon P. Friesen, Mansour Gavin Shareholder, Executive Committee Member, and Chair of the Corporate and Business Services Group, has been elected U.S. President of Legal Netlink Alliance (LNA) effective January 1, 2024.  Brendon has served as LNA’s Vice-President since 2022 and as a Director since 2015.

Mansour Gavin President Tony Coyne stated “Brendon’s commitment to LNA’s leadership team is commendable and his efforts have been recognized, leading him to the position of President. We are incredibly proud of Brendon’s achievements and look forward to seeing what he will accomplish in this role.”

Through LNA, our offerings as a full-service law firm allow us to extend our reach worldwide and provide additional resources to our clients.

About LNA

Legal Netlink Alliance (LNA) is a global association of small and medium-sized, independent law firms that offers members and their clients access to top-notch legal representation around the world. The network’s membership consists of over 1500 lawyers throughout 35 countries.

Mansour Gavin LPA is an established law firm founded in 1954 with offices in Cleveland and Independence, Ohio. The firm provides a wide range of legal services to individuals and many successful privately held and publicly traded corporations.

Cleveland, OH – Mansour Gavin LPA and Climaco, Wilcox, Peca & Garofoli Co., LPA are proud to announce that Climaco Wilcox attorneys Dennis R. Wilcox, Patricia M. Ritzert, and Scott D. Simpkins are joining Mansour Gavin effective as of December 29, 2023. The Climaco Wilcox firm was founded in Cleveland, OH in 1967.

With the Climaco Wilcox attorneys joining Mansour Gavin, the firm is expanding its range of client service offerings including enhanced public sector and public finance, real estate, tax planning and commercial litigation. “The combination of the two firms seemed a natural fit based on the complementary practice areas and the relationship and culture of the firms and attorneys involved,” said Mansour Gavin’s President Anthony Coyne.

Mansour Gavin is a full-service business law firm, calling Northeast Ohio its home for over sixty years. For more information on the firm and its attorneys, please visit mansourgavin.com.

We are pleased to welcome Kimberly Szabo as the firm’s Office Manager. Reporting directly to the Executive Committee, Kimberly will manage the day-to-day operations of the firm, overseeing all areas of administration, including human resources, accounting and finance, facilities management, and information systems.

With over 15 years of administration experience, Kimberly has previously worked at law firms in Washington, D.C. and Medina, OH, where she oversaw hiring initiatives, onboarding, vendor management, facilities, marketing efforts, and event planning.

Kimberly earned her B.A. from The University of Dayton, Master of Labor Relations and Human Resources (MLRHR) degree from Cleveland State University, and a PHR (Professional in Human Resources) certification from HRCI (HR Certification Institute).

Mansour Gavin LPA is an established law firm founded in 1954 with offices in Cleveland and Independence, Ohio. The firm provides a wide range of legal services to individuals and many successful privately held and publicly traded corporations.

Mansour Gavin is pleased to welcome Natalie Browning to the firm’s Estate Planning and Probate and Real Estate practice groups. Prior to joining the firm as an associate, Natalie spent over a year working as a law clerk at Mansour Gavin where she impressed everyone with her intellect and work ethic.

Natalie earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Akron and a J.D. from the University of Akron School of Law, where she graduated magna cum laude, was the recipient of the Board of Trustees Scholarship, an Honors Scholar, and earned the CALI Excellence for the Future Award in UCC Sales. During law school, she served as the Executive Editor of Production for the Akron Law Review and worked as a summer associate for the Community Legal Aid Services in Akron. Before attending law, she interned for the Ohio Judicial Conference.

Mansour Gavin LPA is an established law firm founded in 1954 with offices in Cleveland and Independence, Ohio. The firm provides a wide range of legal services to individuals and many successful privately held and publicly traded corporations.

Mansour Gavin LPA has been recognized in the 2024 edition of Best Law Firms^®, ranked by Best Lawyers^®, regionally in five practice areas. Firms included in the 2024 Best Law Firms® list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers.

To be considered for this achievement, at least one lawyer in the firm must be recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. In August, we announced that 13 Mansour Gavin lawyers were recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and 2 were included in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.

“Inclusion in Best Law Firms® is a great honor achieved through commitment, dedication to our clients, and gaining the respect of our fellow law firms” said Tony Coyne, Mansour Gavin’s President and Managing Partner.

Mansour Gavin LPA received the following rankings in the 2024 Best Law Firms®:

• Regional Tier 1
  • Cleveland
    • Corporate Law
    • Real Estate Law
• Regional Tier 2
  • Cleveland
    • Commercial Litigation
• Regional Tier 3
  • Cleveland
    • Insurance Law
    • Trusts & Estates Law

About Best Law Firms®
Best Law Firms® is the most credible rankings of exceptional law firms, rooted in a rigorous, peer-to-peer, industry-driven evaluation. Achieving a tiered ranking in Best Law Firms signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. Ranked firms, presented in three tiers, are recognized on a national and metro-based scale. The research methodology includes the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field, and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.

Mansour Gavin LPA is an established law firm founded in 1954 with offices in Cleveland and Independence, Ohio. The firm provides a wide range of legal services to individuals and many successful privately held and publicly traded corporations.

Mansour Gavin LPA has been awarded a Northeast Ohio Top Workplace honor by cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner Energage LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization, including alignment, execution, and connection, just to name a few.

Mansour Gavin president, Tony Coyne, stated “We are thrilled to receive this recognition again! We are a close-knit group that works collaboratively and we value each and every person at the firm. Investing in them and their overall satisfaction is critical for employee retention and achieving long-term success.”

“Earning a Top Workplaces award is a badge of honor for companies, especially because it comes authentically from their employees,” said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “That’s something to be proud of. In today’s market, leaders must ensure they’re allowing employees to have a voice and be heard. That’s paramount. Top Workplaces do this, and it pays dividends.”

Mansour Gavin LPA is an established law firm founded in 1954 with offices in Cleveland and Independence, Ohio. The firm provides a wide range of legal services to individuals and many successful privately held and publicly traded corporations.

Mansour Gavin proudly welcomes our 2023 summer law clerks Melanie Murray, Grace Warren, and Brian Cook. Mansour Gavin invites talented second-year law students to participate in a summer legal program. Candidates are selected based on their outstanding academic performance and character, proven leadership and interpersonal skills, dedicated development of advocacy and legal skills, and passionate commitment to the legal profession and community.

Law Clerks become part of the team at Mansour Gavin. A designated mentor attorney provides personal guidance for each of them while they work on a variety of projects with attorneys across multiple practice areas. Law clerks receive daily opportunities to acquire hands-on litigation and transactional skills that may include conducting legal research, drafting motions, memoranda of law, legal opinions, correspondence, motions, jury instructions, reports, case evaluations and articles, attending state and federal court proceedings, assisting with and attending depositions, and preparing for, participating in, and observing trials.

The program is designed to introduce law students to the challenges of working in a law firm and to identify the skills new lawyers need to launch a successful legal career.

Mansour Gavin LPA is an established law firm founded in 1954 with offices in Cleveland and Independence, Ohio, the firm provides a wide range of legal services to individuals and many successful privately held and publicly traded corporations.

Tony Coyne ’78 was this recipient of this year’s Honorable Leo M. Spellacy ’52 Bellarmine Award which recognizes an alumnus for excellence in the legal field, promotion of fair and ethical principles in law, and exemplary service to Saint Ignatius High School.

Growing up the son of a Cleveland policeman, Tony knows the importance of being a lawyer and is passionate about representing the rights of everyday citizens. He describes the opportunities St. Ignatius provided him in life, as touching. He’s grateful for his success in the civil practice that has allowed him to make significant contributions to the community and transform downtown Cleveland’s public spaces.

To say that Tony is active in the community would be a gross understatement. Tony retired from his role as chairman from the Group Plan Commission in 2022 where he served as chairman for 16 years and remains on the Board of Directors, of which he has served for 25 years. He was instrumental in the revitalization of Public Square, the Convention Center and Medical Mart, the Flats East Bank, the Euclid Corridor, and University Circle’s Uptown.

Tony now serves as chair of the St. Vincent Charity Medical Center Board of Directors, joining during one of the hospital’s most challenging times. He is a board member of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy which seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land and is a former board member of the Ohio Canal Corridor which is the advocacy organization to complete the 100-mile Towpath Trail in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

In 2022, Tony was inducted into the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Hall of Fame which honors the outstanding contributions to the success and prestige of the law school by distinguished alumni, faculty, staff, friends and community leaders. He is the recipient of John Carroll University’s President’s Council Award, Cleveland State University’s Distinguished Alumni Award and Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs Dean’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Having grown up in the Collinwood neighborhood, Tony saw the decline of the city firsthand. It was during his internship at the Center for Neighborhood Development, while attending John Carroll, that sparked his interest in urban development and he was determined to bring the city back to a destination that people wanted to live, work, and visit.

Tony’s passion for education, helping others, and improving the community is evident. This video is a tribute to Tony’s dedication to his family, career, and a city he was always destined to call home.

Mansour Gavin is pleased to welcome Katie Epperson to the firm! Katie is an associate focusing her practice on civil litigation, insurance defense, and labor and employment law. Prior to joining Mansour Gavin, Katie worked for an employment law firm where in addition to investigating employment discrimination allegations, she coached managers, senior executives and clients on best management practices to optimize defense strategies and promote compliance within the workplace.

Katie earned her J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and is admitted to the Ohio State Bar and the United States District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio.

Mansour Gavin LPA is an established law firm founded in 1954 with offices in Cleveland and Independence, Ohio. The firm provides a wide range of legal services to individuals and many successful privately held and publicly traded corporations.

Jeff Embleton, Bruce Rinker, and Chuck Brown are leading Mansour Gavin’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practice group which offers mediation, arbitration, and neutral evaluation services to lawyers, litigants, courts, and companies seeking to help parties resolve simple or complex disputes.

It is recognized that ADR, particularly at an early enough stage of the dispute, can save parties significant expense and bring certainty to an otherwise risky process. The lawyers in our ADR group represent over a century of collective litigation experience in all matters of pre and post-litigation civil disputes including business breakups and buy-sell claims, employment and discrimination issues, personal injury and product liability claims, real estate and zoning disputes, fiduciary, probate and trust claims, and a wide variety of other civil disputes.

Our ADR group is dedicated to effectively guiding clients through a range of ADR processes, including but not limited to arbitration, case management, internal investigations, mediation, and negotiation.

Mansour Gavin LPA is an established law firm founded in 1954 with offices in Cleveland and Independence, Ohio. Comprised of 19 lawyers, the firm provides a wide range of legal services to individuals and many successful privately held and publicly traded corporations.