Jules L. Smith

Francis (Chris) Affronti is a divorce, family law lawyer and appellate advocate. He handles cases where the marital estate might involve two blue collar employees who own a house and have some retirement accounts. At the same time, he handles high conflict custody cases and divorces with complex financial issues and extensive marital estates. He is a meticulous and strategic thinker. He handles child support, maintenance, and family offense cases in Supreme and Family Court. He prepares QDROs...

Robert L. Brenna, Jr. is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice, Elder Law, Insurance Law and Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Robert L., who practices law in Rochester, New York, has been recognized since 2010. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Robert L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

John counsels businesses at all phases of their growth and development. John assists businesses on organizational matters, general commercial contracts, governmental compliance, financial transactions and mergers and acquisitions.

Steven Nonkes is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Intellectual Property. Steven, who practices law in Pittsford, New York, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Steven is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jacqueline M. Thomas is a Partner with Lacy Katzen LLP in Rochester, New York, and serves as Chair of the firm’s Personal Injury Litigation Department. With more than 25 years of experience as a trial attorney, her practice is focused on personal injury litigation on behalf of plaintiffs. Her work includes Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs and Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs, representing individuals and families harmed by negligence. Jacqueline handles a wide ran...

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...

Josh Steele serves as a representative for both private and public sector employers in Pittsford, New York, covering diverse employment law matters. His experience spans from tackling wage and hour class action lawsuits to managing litigation and administrative proceedings under pivotal regulations such as Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the New York Labor and Human Rights Law. Alongside his work i...

Brian Kopp heads up Nixon Peabody’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice. He advises employers on the variety of legal issues that impact employee benefit plans and executive compensation programs. What do you focus on? My practice focuses on providing sophisticated, practical advice on issues affecting my clients’ retirement and welfare benefit plans and executive compensation programs. I have over 20 years of experience in helping publicly traded and privately h...

Anita Pelletier is Counsel in Nixon Peabody's nonprofit practice group. She advises nonprofit organizations in matters relating to legal requirements and best practices in connection with governance and operational matters. I focus my practice on three main areas, building on over 10 years of experience assisting nonprofit clients to operate as effectively and efficiently as possible. Nonprofit Corporate Governance and Board Disputes I’ve represented organizations ranging from the very ...

Shawn Griffin, based in Pittsford, New York, is an attorney at Harris Beach Murtha, focusing on municipal, commercial, and corporate law. He assists clients in both private and public financing transactions. His work emphasizes various commercial and real estate transactions, involving industrial development agencies, urban renewal organizations, local development corporations, land use, zoning, and federal, state, and local incentives. His experience encompasses structured financing, includi...