AMOURGIS & ASSOCIATES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Bankruptcy Staff ( 216 ) 307 - 2238
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Resident of Columbus
Brooke E. Elliott is a resident of Columbus and earned a Bachelor's Degree from The Ohio State University. She then attended Capital University Law School where she earned her Juris Doctorate Degree. She was awarded the Roberta Mitchell Award in acknowledgment of her passion and service given to indigent clients in the Capital University Law School Clinic.
Brooke has been practicing law since 2015 and joined Amourgis & Associates in 2016. While at Amourgis & Associates, she has prided herself on helping each and every client by providing professional, caring, and knowledgeable service. Brooke recently returned to Amourgis & Associates in 2021, after being away for 2 years, she is so happy to be back with the Amourgis family. She is very passionate about her practice and dedicated to helping clients with Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy cases. Brooke currently practices in the Southern District of Ohio, focusing on Columbus and Cincinnati.
Outside of the office, Brooke enjoys spending time with her family. Family and Friends are a very important piece of life's enjoyment. Brooke's children mean everything to her and she dedicates as much time and love to them as possible.
Bryan C. Barch joined the firm in 2019. He handles bankruptcy cases throughout Ohio and is licensed in the Southern and Northern Districts. He has over 17 years of experience practicing in many different areas including bankruptcy where he has assisted clients in hundreds of bankruptcy cases. Mr. Barch graduated from the Ohio State University as an undergraduate and Capital University law school.
Bryan is a lifelong resident of Columbus where he spends his free time in activities such as running, working out, volleyball, skiing, hiking and spending time with friends and family.
As a bankruptcy attorney I have worked with thousands of clients in the areas of foreclosure prevention, mortgage lien avoidance, judgement lien avoidance, auto loan deficiencies, rental lease deficiencies, renegotiation of loan terms, utility disconnections, and medical bill elimination.
Each case and each client is special to me. There are times when I am the last line of defense when a client finds themselves to be in dire straits. I understand that responsibility and strive to put my best effort forward to protect them and advance their goals.
An experienced and skilled attorney, Gary brings more than 40 years of personal injury litigation experience to Amourgis & Associates. Gary has extensive experience handling a wide range of personal injury matters, including Motor Vehicle Accidents, Product Liability Claims, Brain Injuries, Medical Malpractice, Slip-and-Fall cases, Animal bites and Wrongful Death Claims.
Gary received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Psychology from Kent State University and obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Akron School of Law.
Education
University of Akron School of Law, J.D.
Kent State University, B.A., Political Science and Psychology
Practice Areas
Motor Vehicle Accidents
James M. Doran holds the title of Head of the Northern District of Ohio, Bankruptcy Division. Jim's responsibilities include the management and training of all attorneys and paralegals throughout the Northern District of Ohio. Jim meets with clients regularly and is very passionate about protecting his clients from their creditors.
Jim really enjoys giving his clients the fresh start that they both need and deserve. Jim zealously represents his clients to assist them with negotiating with their creditors, settling their debts and providing them with bankruptcy protection and relief when needed. Jim protects his clients from lawsuits, garnishments, repossessions, foreclosures and frozen bank accounts on a daily basis.
Prior to joining Amourgis in 2016, Jim spent many years working for the dark side (the creditors) as a collections attorney with Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A., one of the largest creditor's rights law firms in the country. Jim learned every collection tool available to creditors - essentially the entire creditor's playbook - for over sixteen years. During his years with WWR, Jim litigated cases throughout Ohio for his bank and other creditor clients. Jim was a Senior Attorney in the firm's Legal Department where he managed and litigated claims and defended his clients against counterclaims throughout the State of Ohio. Jim acted as in-house counsel for many bank clients and private business clients, providing sound legal advice on a variety of matters; notable clients included FirstMerit Bank and The Huntington National Bank. Jim served as lead counsel for hundreds of cases with a remarkable success rate and exceptional client satisfaction levels. Jim successfully managed a heavy case load of 200 to 600 active cases on a monthly basis. Jim also represented several residential and commercial landlord clients throughout the Cleveland area including individuals and large commercial landlords; notable clients included Forest City - a company with approximately $10 billion in assets including retail centers, office buildings and apartment communities throughout the country. Jim was a frequent lecturer throughout Northeast Ohio in the areas of Landlord-Tenant law and Collection law.
Prior to his time at Weltman, Jim practiced bankruptcy law with Rauser & Associates in 1999 where he represented the good guys (the consumers).
Jim graduated from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1998 with a Juris Doctorate degree. During law school, Jim clerked at Friedman, Domiano & Smith, a well-known personal injury firm located in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jim received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1995 from Miami University with a double major in Accounting and Finance. Jim originally went to law school to become a tax attorney but is thankful that his career path has afforded him the opportunity to do the rewarding consumer work that he does today where he once again represents the good guys (the consumers).
Jim lives in Avon with his wife and three children. Jim enjoys spending time with his family. He also enjoys marathon running and watching football (every single game there is according to his wife - every single Minnesota Vikings game would be a more accurate statement). Jim is an avid runner. Jim has completed ten full marathons and numerous half marathons. Jim's future goals include qualifying for the Boston Marathon and qualifying for the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. Jim also enjoys playing fantasy football and has won his fantasy football league on several occasions including this year.
An experienced and skilled attorney, Jay brings more than 25 years of litigation experience to Amourgis & Associates. Jay has extensive experience handling a wide array of employment and commercial disputes, including restrictive covenants, non-solicitation/non-disclosure agreements, corporate raiding, unfair competition, non-competition agreements, misappropriation of trade secret claims and tortious conduct in commercial settings. Jay brings extensive first-chair trial experience in numerous federal and state courts, in addition to many mediation and arbitration proceedings through the American Arbitration Association and other alternative dispute panels and tribunals.
Jay received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from The University of Akron and obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Akron School of Law. In addition to his legal practice, Jay takes pleasure in mentoring and guiding future attorneys as both an Adjunct Professor of Legal Analysis, Research, Writing and a mentor with the University of Akron School of Law mentor program. Additionally, Jay volunteers his time with The Battered Women's Shelter of Summit and Medina Counties and The Rape Crisis Center of Summit and Medina Counties, having served as the Past-President for both organizations.
Ms. Goldberger received her undergraduate degree from Ohio State, and her JD from Case Western Reserve University. She has practiced in private practice for nearly 10 years, eventually spending the vast majority of her time with Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy is in the Cincinnati and Dayton Bankruptcy Courts.
She is generally affable, but tends to respond to creditor malfeasance with the ferocity of a mother bear.
Ms. Goldberger spends what little free time she has with her two young kids, who do not believe that people actually pay their mommy to tell them what to do.
Jonathan D. Engelke joined the Amourgis team in order to help hardworking people get a fresh start when they need it the most. He cares deeply about the well-being of the people in his community who are too often taken advantage of by predatory banks and debt collectors.
Jonathan has a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida, and he moved to Ohio to study law at Case Western Reserve University, where he received his Juris Doctor. He has made his home in Lakewood, and he has family in the Columbus area.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Member of the Ohio State Bar Association
After many years of working in the corporate world, Joe made a significant switch. He joined the Amourgis team in order to serve the needs of individuals with the goal of improving their lives and that of their families.
Prior to joining Amourgis in 2021, Joe spent over twenty years in the trust and asset management businesses at National City Corporation and PNC. During his tenure he developed a family of proprietary mutual funds. He was also responsible for legal, compliance and corporate governance functions and managed several mutual fund and registered investment adviser consolidations.
He received his Bachelor of Science in Education degree from The Ohio State University, a MBA from the University of Akron and his Juris doctor from Cleveland Marshall College of Law.
Joe is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and the Akron Bar Association.
He has two children and lives in Copley with his wife, his son and their golden doodle, Duke. Joe enjoys spending time with his family, traveling with them and helping his son with landscaping activities. He also enjoys tending to his vegetable, flower and herb gardens.
He also enjoys volunteering in the community and participating in fitness activities. He has completed a half marathon in the Akron Marathon Relay and numerous 5 & 10 K's.
Julius Amourgis has worked in many industries-from construction, to aluminum, to building a frozen food manufacturing company, to working on the line in a manufacturing plant, to commercial real estate, in the family business which owned 36 restaurants, and a host of small commercial real estate properties.
After deciding to pursue a career in the legal profession, he graduated from the University of Akron School of Law. Julius opened his own law firm; and after practicing in several areas, he found that working in bankruptcy and personal injury to be the most rewarding. His passion comes by working directly with his clients and their families, so they can start a new chapter in their lives.
Julius and his associates work to reorganize or get rid of debts and can help save their clients homes from foreclosure. They also work on educating clients so that they can make better financial decisions for their families. He and his team also help accident victims get compensated by insurance companies.
Julius lives in Akron with his wife and two daughters. His focus is on serving Ohio families and continues to help improve the lives of his clients and community through his legal services.
Job Titles:
- Head Paralegal - Personal Injury Department
Rick is an Ohio native and licensed attorney who is passionate about serving the communities where he was born and raised. He earned his JD from the University of Akron School of Law in 2024, where he also received certifications in Business Law and Intellectual Property Law. He loves working with others to tackle complex situations and problem-solving solutions to help individuals and families move forward with what matters most in their lives.
Outside the office, Rick enjoys spending his free time with his wife and young daughter. Together, they love playing at the playground, going on walks through the park, and lots of fun group activities at their parish.
Job Titles:
- Personal Injury Paralegal Assistant
Job Titles:
- Bankruptcy Staff Supervisor
Will passed the bar in 2001 and is licensed to practice in the Northern District of Ohio. In his lengthy legal career, he has represented clients in many areas of the law including Civil, Criminal litigation and Domestic and Probate. Currently Will leads the Civil Litigation Division at Amourgis & Associates.
Will grew up in West Akron and graduated from The University of Akron School of Law in 2001, the same year he passed the Ohio bar. He met his wife Kelly in law school and they have four amazing children. They live in Bath and attend St. Hilary parish.