Tanya M. Kesner

Rita Massie Biser is an experienced trial attorney and litigator. A Managing Member of the firm, she primarily practices in the areas of medical professional liability and personal injury defense. Ms. Biser has substantial experience defending hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers in actions brought under West Virginia's Medical Professional Liability Act (MPLA). Her litigation and trial experience also includes personal injury defense, nursing home litiation, premises liab...

Lesley Russo is Of Counsel in the Charleston office of Bowles Rice and the leader of the Employee Benefits Group. She is a member of the firm’s Retirement Plan Investment Committee and also administers the firm’s retirement plans, overseeing all aspects of the firm’s qualified retirement plans. Ms. Russo has extensive experience in the qualified retirement and employee benefits area, representing numerous clients in all aspects of qualified and non-qualified retirement plan ...

J. Mark Adkins is a partner in the Charleston office of Bowles Rice and a member of the Business Litigation Practice Group. His primary areas of practice include business litigation, commercial and contract disputes, financial services/banking litigation, energy litigation, construction litigation, election law and products liability litigation. A native of Salt Rock, West Virginia, Mr. Adkins received his J.D. in 1997 from the West Virginia University College of Law, where he was a member of...

Mark Simonton is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Medical Malpractice Law - Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Mark, who practices law in Huntington, West Virginia, has been recognized since 2027. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Mark is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Ellen L. Maxwell-Hoffman is a partner in the Charleston office of Bowles Rice. She concentrates her practice in the areas of general corporate and commercial law, including acquisitions and finance, corporate governance, compliance programs and training, business ethics and economic development. She frequently provides legal counsel regarding the West Virginia Governmental Ethics Act, federal and state election law, in particular as to the administration and operation of political action comm...

Steven R. Hardman is a partner in the Parkersburg office and a member of the Real Estate Group. He concentrates his practice on commercial, corporate, real estate, and oil and gas law and also has significant experience in civil litigation, particularly product liability and the defense of mass litigation. Mr. Hardman has served as counsel to numerous banks and businesses, and has been involved in significant commercial transactions and commercial litigation. For more than 10 years, he has re...

Benjamin Thomas focuses his practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and commercial and financial services. He is experienced in advising businesses on various structural matters related to acquisitions and entity formation and general corporate governance matters. Ben's merger and acquisition practice involves structuring, documenting, and managing mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, and other corporate transactions. He also provides general corporate services to all sizes of bu...

Melissa Foster Bird is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Railroad Law. Melissa Foster, who practices law in Huntington, West Virginia, has been recognized since 2012. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Melissa Foster is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Charles B. Dollison is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Energy Law, Mining Law and Oil and Gas Law. Charles B., who practices law in Charleston, West Virginia, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Charles B. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Roger G. Hanshaw concentrates his legal practice on the environmental and technical issues that arise in business transactions, as well as regulatory compliance matters and litigation for a diverse client base. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame. This advanced science degree is critical in representing clients in the science driven field of environmental law. Roger is a certified professional parliamentarian and regularly counsels government bodies and nonprofit o...