Katie E. Epperson

Katie Epperson 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.

Ms. Epperson assisted with Cleveland-Marshall School of Law’s “Day of Giving” by fundraising for scholarships for deserving law students and was part of an award-winning moot court team during law school. Additionally, she externed for the United States Attorney’s office.

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.

Diane Calta is a member of the firm’s litigation and real estate practice groups. She possesses over 20 years of legal experience in a variety of disciplines including municipal law, litigation, real estate, and probate and estate planning.

Ms. Calta currently serves as the Director of Law for Mayfield Village and was recently appointed as special legal counsel for the City of Independence. She is the former Director of Law for the City of Beachwood where she led the law department in advising the City on how to navigate the legal challenges presented by the pandemic. Diane’s previous experience in the public sector includes serving as the Director of Law for the City of Green and as Assistant Director of Law for several other Northeast Ohio communities, including Mayfield Village, Pepper Pike, Chagrin Falls, and Bentleyville. She also worked as an assistant prosecutor for the Village of Bratenahl and provided legal counsel for economic development for Mayfield Village.

In addition to serving on the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Diane participates in the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s “Racial Equity and the Law” via a group titled Interrupting the Legal Profession’s Systemic Inequities.

Ms. Calta is licensed to practice in the State of Ohio and has been admitted to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Diane resides in Cleveland Heights with her family and enjoys gardening and cycling in her free time.

Mr. Khawam focuses his practice in the areas of real estate and land use, corporate and business law, and civil litigation. Prior to joining Mansour Gavin as an Associate, Malek was as a law clerk with the firm as well as a legal extern at the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio.

While earning his law degree, Malek was an active participant in Moot Court as well as President of the Student Government Association while earning a Master of Public Administration at Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College.

Mr. Khawam previously worked as a law clerk at a civil rights law firm assisting plaintiffs in discrimination, racial and sexual harassment, employment retaliation, First Amendment retaliation, and wrongful termination cases as well as for the United States Attorney’s office in the Civil Division where he assisted in the affirmative civil enforcement of civil rights cases, health care fraud, collection in financial litigation cases, and defense of employment discrimination claims.

Malek has extensive family in Cleveland and is committed to cultivating engagement and ensuring Arab American representation in Northeast Ohio’s civic and cultural institutions.

He is a self-proclaimed chicken-wing connoisseur and spends his free time with family, trying new restaurants throughout Cleveland, and has recently taken up golfing.

Tatyana is a member of the firm’s business and corporate services group where she focuses her practice in the areas of Mergers and Acquisitions, Franchising, Commercial Contracting, Healthcare, and Finance and Banking. She has extensive experience in purchases and sales of professional practices as well as consulting doctors and other professionals on various employment law issues.

Tatyana advises clients on general corporate matters, such as corporate entity selection and formation and also provides advice to global corporations on commercial agreements and day-to-day corporate governance.

Prior to joining Mansour Gavin, Tatyana was a transactional attorney leading sales and purchases of professional practices.

She is a graduate of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Mr. McGuire is an experienced trusts and estates attorney, helping clients obtain solutions based on their unique situations, concerns and goals. Dan has represented clients in the entire wealth spectrum, and is adept at advising clients to address changing circumstances that require planning for the future.

Dan is licensed in the states of Ohio and Florida. Before joining Mansour Gavin, he was involved on the administrative side of trusts, ensuring the stated goals and intentions of trust grantors were correctly interpreted and executed.  Dan also served as a mentor to newer trust officers, teaching the practicalities of trust administration, and providing them an accelerated education in the field.

Dan enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons and extended family and friends. In his leisure time, he enjoys reading, and has an unrequited love for golf.

Kathryn Weber focuses her practice on real estate and land use issues. She handles both real estate transactions and real estate litigation. She has experience representing clients in commercial and residential leasing, acquisitions and sales, landlord-tenant disputes, and development projects.

She enjoys representing clients both inside and outside of the courtroom. Kathryn completed law school with a concentration in business and transactional law and was also a member of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Mock Trial Team.

Kathryn resides in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland. She enjoys checking out local bars and restaurants in Cleveland and spending time with her friends and family.

Kenneth Smith is an attorney practicing in civil litigation who represents companies and employers in all aspects of their business needs. He focuses his practice on Labor and Employment, Intellectual Property and Business and General Civil Litigation, and Insurance Defense.

Licensed in Ohio and in all federal courts in the state, Mr. Smith has successfully represented clients at trial, arbitration, in front of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in unemployment hearings, and at other federal and state administrative proceedings. Outside of the courtroom, he assists companies with obtaining various commercial licenses, registers and protects their trademarks and other intellectual property, and helps draft and implement internal policies and procedures.

Ken and his family reside in Hudson. An active tennis player, Ken also enjoys hiking and endeavors to one day visit every national park in the country.

Mr. Boyko is an experienced attorney who practices in the areas of probate and estate planning, including wills, trusts and powers of attorney, elder law, real estate and business law. He previously served as managing partner of the law firm of Boyko, Dobeck & Weaver before joining Mansour Gavin in late 2016. He is currently admitted to practice law in both the State of Ohio and the State of Florida, as well as the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio.

Tim represents individuals, companies and non-profit organizations in his practice. He has extensive experience in estate planning, probate and elder law matters, as well as in representing clients with business and real estate matters. In addition, Tim counsels clients with issues involving Florida probate, estate planning and real estate.

Tim is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, Florida Bar Association, Parma Bar Association, and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Mr Boyko involves himself with various community organizations, including serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors of UH Parma Medical Center.

Tim has three children, and in his spare time enjoys traveling. He is greatly involved in fundraising for The Patty Boyko Foundation in memory of his late wife; the Foundation provides comfort services to cancer patients.

Charles Brown is an accomplished estate planning and probate attorney with more than 26 years of experience in probate litigation. He has previously served as Magistrate since 1988, and Chief Magistrate and Probate Court Mediator since 2009 for Cuyahoga County, the largest and most prominent probate court in the state of Ohio.

Mr. Brown has handled thousands of cases involving all aspects of probate litigation, including wealth management and estate planning.

He is a lecturer and continuing legal education (CLE) teacher on a variety of topics involving probate issues and procedures.

In his free time, he enjoys traveling with his wife, Barb, and three children, cooking and a number of outdoor activities, including golf, hiking, fishing, and his dog Riley.

Notable Cases:

Schwartz v. Tedrick, 2016-Ohio-1218

Wendy Jacobson, et al. v. Dolores H. Gross, et al., Court of Appeals of Ohio – 8^th Appellate District – Case No. CA-21-110987

 

James A. Budzik’s practice is concentrated in public and private sector labor and employment law representing management and employers. He specializes in collective bargaining negotiations, mediations, fact-finding, conciliations, unfair labor practice proceedings, civil service disciplinary proceedings and grievance arbitrations on behalf of numerous public sector entities. He advises city and village representatives on municipal law issues.  In addition, Jim counsels employers in wage and hour laws, civil rights, discrimination laws, unemployment laws and workers’ compensation.

Jim regularly appears in court and before administrative agencies, including the Industrial Commission of Ohio, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Ohio Civil Rights Commission, the National Labor Relations Board and SERB. He is licensed in the State of Ohio and admitted to the Northern District of Ohio, Southern District of Ohio, U.S. Sixth Circuit, and U.S. Supreme Courts. His notable cases include:

• Harrison v. Judge, 63 Ohio St. 3d 766
• Goble v. Brunswick, 142 Ohio Misc. 137 (2007-Ohio-4125)
• State, ex rel. Coyne v. Brook Park, 2003-Ohio-5383
• Mitchell v. Bainbridge Twp., 2004-Ohio-3687
• Amser Corp. v. Village of Brooklyn Heights, 1993 Ohio App.  LEXIS 2384

Jim and his family live in North Royalton. A diehard Cleveland sports fan, he optimistically awaits the next professional sports championship. Jim also takes an active interest in politics.