by John Ned Lipsitz
Michael A. Ponterio and I are proud to announce that John P. Comerford, a graduate of Cornell University and the Buffalo Law School; Nan L. Haynes, a graduate of Empire State College and the Buffalo Law School; and Neil J. McKinnon, a graduate of the University of Buffalo and The University of Dayton School of Law have been named partners in the law firm of Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC.
When Michael and I started the law firm of Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford in October of 1995, John Comerford was a recent law graduate working for us as a law clerk. John quickly became a valuable member of our team, a tireless investigator, and a scholar of the law. He passed his bar exam and was admitted to practice in New York, as well as in Massachusetts, in early 1996.
Shortly after John Comerford became a practicing lawyer and an associate attorney in our firm, we hired two experienced attorneys with proven abilities and a variety of legal skills. In law school, Nan Lipsitz Haynes was recognized for her superior research and writing skills and became an assistant to one of the distinguished faculty members of the Buffalo Law School. After she graduated with high honors in 1992, Nan engaged in the general practice of law for four years before joining Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford as an associate attorney.
Neil J. McKinnon practiced law for several years in a large Buffalo law firm where he concentrated his work in the area of industrial disease, including asbestos disease litigation and repetitive stress syndrome. Neil’s reputation for dedication to his clients and his marvelous ability to get along with a wide variety of people, including judges and other lawyers, experts and court personnel, as well as his reputation for integrity in the community at large led us to hire Neil shortly after Nan became an associate attorney with the firm.
As we approach the sixth anniversary of the founding of our firm, we are mindful of the importance of recognizing hard work and maturity of judgment. It is with this in mind that Michael and I are proud to announce our new partners. John Comerford involves himself heavily in trial preparation and trial work in asbestos personal injury cases, childhood lead disease cases, and medical malpractice cases. Neil McKinnon has for the past several years represented the clients of Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford in asbestos disease litigation in Rochester and Syracuse and represents plaintiffs in a variety of negligence cases. Nan L. Haynes spends the majority of her time in legal research, the drafting of legal memoranda and appellate briefs, and in preparing cases involving childhood lead disease and general negligence for trial. All three of our new partners have developed a detailed knowledge of workers’ compensation law as it relates to industrial disease.