Benjamin F. Neidl

Steve is the founding partner and chair of the Personal Injury and Criminal Defense practices at O’Connell and Aronowitz. Under his leadership, our firm has become one of the most active personal injury and criminal defense law firms in upstate New York. Few lawyers in the area have excelled in both the personal injury and criminal defense fields. With over thirty five years of experience at the state and federal levels, Steve is considered one of the most successful trial lawyers in th...

William Reynolds is a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Commercial Litigation practice, based in our Albany office. He is an experienced trial attorney who represents clients from a wide array of industries in complex litigation. Bill has also successfully represented major governmental agencies and authorities in litigation both in New York State and Massachusetts, where he served for four years as an assistant attorney general. What do you focus on? I focus my practice on complex civil litig...

Tom is a partner in our Litigation department and practices almost exclusively in the area of Personal Injury Litigation. He represents clients who have sustained serious injuries as a result of accidents, product liability and professional malpractice in both State and Federal Courts. He has secured several multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements throughout New York and neighboring states. He is involved in the representation of clients at examinations before trial, various court proce...

Myles Fischer, a dedicated member of the Trusts and Estates practice group at Harris Beach Murtha, brings a depth of knowledge in estate planning, administration, and tax matters across New York and Florida. His services include estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax planning, asset protection, vacation home planning, and complex strategies such as grantor-retained interest trusts and split-interest charitable trusts. Myles collaborates with high net-worth families, ensuring effec...

Nicola Coleman is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Government Relations Practice. Nicola, who practices law in Albany, New York, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Nicola is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Javid Afzali, based in Albany, New York at Harris Beach Murtha, provides comprehensive legal guidance in Commercial Litigation to both domestic and international businesses. His practice covers a wide range of business, real estate, land use, and environmental matters. Javid collaborates directly with company leaders and in-house counsel to navigate corporate governance, project development, and dispute resolution related to corporate and commercial matters, as well as business separations. E...

Paul B. Harding is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Paul B., who practices law in Albany, New York, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Paul B. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Karen Martino Valle is Of Counsel to our firm and focuses her practice on the organization and operation of business and not-for-profit corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies, as well as estate planning and administration, contested estate and trust matters and business succession planning. She advises clients on a wide range of business matters, including transactional matters, mergers and acquisitions, tax planning and commercial leasing and financing, with a specific fo...

Mike is the President at O’Connell and Aronowitz. He handles plaintiff’s personal injury cases and criminal defense at our firm. He has handled or supervised over three dozen homicide prosecutions, trying many of those cases to verdict, and he is a court-appointed special prosecutor in homicide cases in Albany and Rensselaer counties. While in law school, Mike was an Associate Editor of the Albany Law Review. Upon graduation, he entered the Albany County District Attorney’s ...

Eileen Hayes is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Insurance Law. Eileen, who practices law in Albany, New York, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Eileen is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.