Dennis A. First

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 ...

Based in Albany, New York, Justin is part of the Harris Beach Murtha team, focusing on municipal law, state and local finance law, economic development law, industrial development, tax incentive programs, commercial real estate, and corporate compliance. He provides legal guidance to public benefit corporations, local development corporations, and municipalities on large-scale commercial development and infrastructure projects. His practice includes counseling on public, industrial, and comme...

Timothy S. Brennan is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. Timothy S., who practices law in Albany, New York, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Timothy S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Mark R. Ustin is a regulatory attorney and lobbyist. Mark has extensive experience assisting health and human services providers and related entities navigate the complicated statutory, regulatory, and policy landscape surrounding service delivery and payment. He assists clients with promoting and responding to legislation, regulation, and other government actions impacting their interests. He also steers clients through state processes to secure millions of dollars in government grants and o...

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...

Michael J. Grygiel focuses his practice on national media law, with an emphasis on defending news and entertainment organizations from news-gathering and publication-related claims, including defamation, copyright infringement and invasion of privacy matters. He also represents media companies and other clients in complex Lanham Act, trade secret and Internet-related litigation and counseling. Michael has served as lead trial counsel to media and other clients in bet-the-company litigation, i...

Leonard J. D’Arrigo ("L. J.") is a Partner and Leader of the Immigration Practice at Harris Beach Murtha in Albany, New York. He focuses on corporate and professional immigration, navigating a comprehensive range of employment-based immigrant and non-immigrant petitions. This includes NIW, Outstanding Researcher, Extraordinary Ability, and Multi-National Manager categories, among others, as well as all family-based immigration processes. L.J. is a dedicated member of the American Immigr...

Joshua L. Oppenheimer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Gaming Law. Joshua L., 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 Joshua L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Whitney Phelps represents healthcare clients in corporate, transactional, and regulatory matters. She has extensive experience in health care benefits, managed care and value-based contracting. Prior to joining Nixon Peabody, Whitney also served as Director of Managed Care and Associate Counsel at the Healthcare Association of New York State. My focus I am a healthcare strategist. I provide practical and solution-oriented options for healthcare stakeholders of all kinds on a broad range of co...

James T. Towne, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Construction and Litigation - Labor and Employment. James T., who practices law in Albany, New York, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which James T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.