Elizabeth D. McPhail

When clients select The Barnes Firm to represent them in their personal injury cases, they have the right to expect an attorney who has extensive trial experience, as well as experience in dealing with insurance company representatives. As a senior trial attorney for a Fortune 500 property and casualty insurance company, I learned the inner workings of the insurance business, and how that industry accesses and resolves liability claims. This experience is particularly crucial in the evaluatio...

Richard P. Weisbeck, Jr. is a senior partner of the firm. For over 25 years, he has focused his practice in the area of personal injury law, including construction accidents, workplace injuries, automobile accidents, defective products/products liability, slip and fall accidents, and amputations. Numerous local attorneys refer their complex cases to Mr. Weisbeck. His experience in resolving difficult matters as well as his nationally recognized litigation and trial skills are essential for su...

Kevin Burke is a business attorney focused on the litigation of contract disputes, labor and employment issues, intellectual property protection, and trade secret cases. Kevin has represented both individuals and businesses since he moved home from Washington, D.C. in 1999, where he graduated with honors from Georgetown University and George Washington University Law School. He has tried dozens of major commercial and employment cases to verdict. He regularly handles appeals before the Appell...

Joe is an experienced trial attorney who focuses his practice on all aspects of personal injury, including motor vehicle accidents, wrongful death, nursing home, and group home litigation. He has obtained multiple jury verdicts, including million and multi-million dollar awards, and reached countless settlements on behalf of his clients. Recognized by his peers as a zealous advocate in and out of the courtroom, Joe has obtained some of the highest verdicts and settlements in New York State. U...

Brian Sutter is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Insurance, Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants and Professional Malpractice Law - Defendants. Brian, who practices law in Buffalo, New York, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Brian is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jonathan D. Schechter’s practice and experience includes business counseling and corporate law, commercial real estate and financing, estates, trusts, taxation and cross-border and business tax planning. Using his in-depth knowledge of tax law, he assists owners of both publicly traded and closely held businesses with their legal needs as well as their personal estate planning. Jonathan provides day-to-day counsel and representation to publicly traded companies, small business enterpris...

John P. Comerford is a Senior Partner at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC. He grew up in Lewiston, New York, a small historic town near the Canadian border. As a young child, Mr. Comerford grew up in the shadows of Love Canal and personally observed the consequences of environmental pollution. After graduating from high school, he attended Cornell University and studied Environmental Science. Mr. Comerford devotes the majority of his time to asbestos personal injury matters. He has liti...

William B. Collins is the owner of the firm. He has been practicing law since 1982, representing people for serious personal injuries throughout the United States. He is admitted to the State Bar of four separate states: New York, Florida, Michigan and West Virginia. His successful litigation in venues throughout the country attests to his ability to perform at the highest level anywhere and under any circumstances. He takes special interest in complex industrial and commercial negligence, in...

Richard Furlong has represented labor organizations for over 25 years. His work has covered all aspects of traditional labor law, including: organizing drives arbitration and agency hearings negotiations and all related court proceedings Mr. Furlong’s experience also includes counseling unions on non-traditional activities, including strategic campaigns, creative use of public relations, and other tactics geared toward empowering workers. His knowledge and experience have drawn the atte...

As an attorney in private practice, Ms. Schröder has been providing employment and labor services to private and public sector clients for more than thirty-two years. Ms. Schröder represents, on both a local and national level, some of the nation’s largest publicly and privately owned companies and municipal entities, in traditional labor and/or regular employment law and/or employment discrimination matters. Ms. Schröder has been named one of the top ten attorneys in Ups...