David L. Drechsler

Jeffrey A. Brauer is a trial attorney and partner who focuses his practice on commercial litigation and construction law. For more than 30 years, he has handled his clients’ most complex financial, construction and commercial disputes from development through discovery, mediation, trial, and appeal. He succeeds by diving into the details, embracing the complexity, and engineering outcomes that accomplish his clients’ business and legal objectives. He works across the U.S. on his c...

James (Jim) Budzik’s legal practice focuses on labor and employment law , representing employers across both the public and private sectors. He has extensive experience in collective bargaining negotiations, mediations, fact-finding, conciliations, unfair labor practice proceedings, civil service disciplinary proceedings, and grievance arbitrations. Jim advises city and village officials on matters concerning municipal law and serves as an Assistant Law Director for Mayfield Village. Ad...

Margo Meola joined the firm as a Shareholder in July of 2015. Prior to joining BSPP, she was a partner with Davis & Young. Ms. Meola began her career as an Attorney Clerk for the Honorable Joseph J. Vukovich in the Seventh District Court of Appeals. She has extensive civil trial and appellate experience and has handled complex and mass tort litigation, as well as medical malpractice and insurance coverage matters. Mrs Meloa is licensed to practice in both Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Jennifer is a partner at Schneider Smeltz Spieth Bell LLP. She serves as a high net worth family counselor with knowledge and understanding of sophisticated estate planning techniques and the broader needs of high net worth families. Her strength lies in communicating complex matters in plain terms and working collaboratively as part of an advisor team to provide practical counsel to multigenerational families consistent with their risk tolerance, goals, family dynamics, and desire for comple...

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 ...

John Gerak routinely advises employers on all aspects of the employment relationship. John has developed a reputation as a true business partner, assisting employers to avoid litigation through highly focused custom training, human resource policy and process improvement and legal compliance. In the event litigation cannot be avoided, John has extensive experience litigation sing-plaintiff employment cases as well as class action discrimination and wage and hour cases.

Attorney Ethan A. Welch is committed to helping families with vulnerable loved ones preserve their resources and plan for the years ahead. His primary areas of focus are elder law, Medicaid planning, and special needs planning. He also practices in the associated areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, and probate. Ethan's extensive knowledge of elder law and special needs planning ensures that his clients' rights are protected. His compassion and understanding bring his cl...

Jane F. Warner is a Shareholder who joined the firm on December 31, 2020. Jane is a trial attorney who defends health care providers and health care entities against claims of professional or institutional negligence. Jane, who has thirteen years of experience in critical care nursing, applies her medical knowledge and ability to understand and communicate the provider’s perspective to the cases she handles. This proves to be invaluable as she translates technical data into logical info...

Jim Vail joined the Firm in 1979 and has been a Partner since 1986. He served as the Firm's Managing Partner from 1996 through 2019. Jim primarily counsels businesses, nonprofit and health care organizations in all aspects of their operations, including formations, mergers and organizations, joint ventures, contracting, and succession planning. Jim argued a case before the United States Supreme Court where he obtained a unanimous favorable decision. Spectrum Sports, Inc. v. McQuillan, 506 U.S...

Donald Switzer (Of Counsel) is one of the founders of the firm. He has devoted his practice almost exclusively to the defense of physicians, hospitals and other healthcare professionals for over thirty years. Mr. Switzer’s caseload frequently consists of many high profile and high exposure lawsuits, including wrongful death, quadriplegia and other neurological impairments and cases involving significant economic damages. He has successfully defended physicians and hospitals in many coun...