Brian Geary

Michael J. Hutter is a Professor of Law at Albany Law School of Union University, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1976. He is also Special Counsel to the Albany law firm of Powers & Santola, LLP. Professor Hutter is an honors graduate of Brown University and Boston College Law School. In law school, he was the Editor-In-Chief of Boston College’s law review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. After graduation, Professor Hutter served as law clerk to Judge Matthe...

John D’Amanda focuses his practice on commercial real estate with senior experience advising developers, owners and financial institutions. What do you focus on? Development and leasing I concentrate my practice in complex transactional work for owners and developers of a variety of assets, from office parks and retail establishments, to nursing homes and health care facilities, to HUD-financed developments, affordable housing, senior and assisted living projects, and projects involving...

Carolyn Nussbaum is a partner in the Commercial Litigation group, and a member of the Securities and Governance Litigation team as well as the Class Action team. Carolyn represents companies and their management and leaders who confront business disputes. She is also the Managing Partner for the Rochester office of the firm, where she oversees policies impacting nearly 300 employees. What do you focus on? I concentrate my commercial litigation practice in four main specialized areas, using mo...

Mike focuses on litigation involving high exposure and value civil cases involving toxic exposures, motor vehicle accidents, products liability, commercial disputes, labor law claims and construction accidents, premises liability, medical malpractice, and mass torts and industry-wide litigation. He represents Honeywell International, which named Harris Beach a Go-To Law Firm® for torts litigation in the In-House Law Departments at the Top 500 Companies as published by Corporate Counsel. M...

Chris handles a broad range of administrative proceedings, medical malpractice cases, and commercial disputes on behalf of hospitals and other health care providers. He appears before the NYS Department of Health on behalf of clients, and has extensive trial and appellate experience before both federal and state courts. He also regularly counsels hospitals and other health care clients on risk management and regulatory compliance matters.

Mark H. Stein is an attorney with Lacy Katzen LLP in Rochester, New York, focusing his practice on Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law. He has been included in Best Lawyers for this practice area beginning in 2026, based on peer review within the legal profession. Mark has practiced law for more than 20 years, with substantial experience in collections, evictions, and creditor-related matters. He is a partner in the firm’s Default Services Departmen...

Daniel R. Santola Albany, New York Partner, since 1987 phone (518) 465-5995 (800) 540-8742 fax (518) 426-4012 email Email Me Daniel R. Santola is a senior partner and co-founder of Powers & Santola, LLP. His practice is limited to the representation of catastrophically injured individuals, the field of law in which he has over 25 years experience. After graduating from Albany Law School, he became an assistant professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 1987, he and longtime friend ...

Deborah M. Field practices in the area of personal injury litigation, including motor vehicle negligence, medical malpractice, premises liability, construction-related accidents, and products liability. She is an experienced litigator who moved back to Rochester in 2003 to join her family’s law firm started by her grandfather over 80 years ago. Prior to joining Morris & Morris in 2003, Deborah M. Field practiced for eight years in Washington D.C. where she worked for several years a...

John Weinholtz is a member of the Products: Class Action, Trade & Industry Representation group. He represents companies in federal and state court litigation and counsels companies on regulatory and industry compliance matters. What do you focus on? Today I focus my practice on three main areas, leveraging more than 20 years of experience to help clients manage their most complex litigation and significant regulatory compliance issues. Complex Tort & Commercial Litigation I represent...

Christian Hancey is a partner in the firm’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group. He focuses on designing, reviewing and implementing a wide range of benefit and compensation programs structured to suit businesses and nonprofit organizations. What do you focus on? I counsel employers on all types of traditional benefit plans, including defined benefit pension plans, 401(k) and 403(b) plans, multiemployer plans, medical benefit plans, cafeteria plans, disability plans and o...