Dean S. Sommer

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...

Vincent E. Polsinelli is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Labor and Employment. Vincent E., who practices law in Albany, New York, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Vincent E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

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...

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 ...

Doreen U. Saia has a wide-ranging energy law practice focused on the representation of national and international corporations that own and operate electric generating facilities and engage in financial transactions trading electricity products. She has been actively involved in state and federal regulatory proceedings concerning the deregulation of the electricity market, the siting of new generating facilities and cost-of-service ratemaking. Doreen was instrumental in developing the structu...

James S. Walsh is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Administrative / Regulatory Law, Government Contracts and Government Relations Practice. James S., 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 James S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Harold N. Iselin is Managing Shareholder of the firm's Albany office. He focuses his practice on governmental affairs and health care matters, representing diverse clients before the executive branch and state legislature. Additionally, he handles complex civil litigation matters, litigating a broad range of civil cases. Prior to joining the firm, Harold was a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice from 1984 to 1986, following which he became Assistant Counsel to the Governor of New...

Mr. Bottar brings more than 20 years of experience to the pursuit of medical malpractice, wrongful death, and complex personal injury actions throughout New York and the northeastern United States, with a focus on claims for birth injuries, neonatal/pediatric negligence, heart attack, stroke, brain damage, nerve injuries, cancer misdiagnosis, and liability under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Mr. Bottar is a graduate of Colgate University and is a summa cum laude (top 2%) graduate of Syracuse U...

Victor Mazzotti, a founding partner of Martin, Harding and Mazzotti LLP, is in charge of the firm’s Litigation Department. He received his Bachelor of Science in Economics from Siena College in 1979, and Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law in 1982. Victor is on the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York. In addition, he is also a member of the board of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York Justice for All campaign. He also serves as a B...

Eric A. Tepper is a partner in Gordon, Tepper & DeCoursey, LLP, and was born in Schenectady, New York. Mr. Tepper graduated from Hamilton College with a B.A. degree, magna cum laude, and from George Washington University Law School with a Juris Doctor degree, with honors. He has been selected for inclusion in "The Best Lawyers in America" for the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 editions. Best Lawyers has s...