GETMAN - Key Persons


Christopher J. Poulin - Shareholder

Job Titles:
  • Shareholder
Christopher's professional experience includes: Corporate Claims Counsel for Peerless Insurance Company and Officer at Devine, Millimet & Branch, PA, Manchester, NH. Chris was admitted to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bar in 1996 and the New Hampshire Bar in 1997. Chris is the past President of the Tri State Defense Lawyers Association (TDLA) and current New Hampshire State Representative for the Defense Research Institute (DRI).

Clara E. Lyons - Shareholder

Job Titles:
  • Shareholder
Clara Lyons is a shareholder of Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin, P.A. in Manchester, NH. Attorney Lyons is a litigator with experience in a wide variety of insurance defense matters, including property disputes, personal injury, construction defects, and products liability. Attorney Lyons has been selected as a top-rated civil litigation defense attorney in Manchester, NH by Super Lawyers with a Rising Stars designation for 2018, 2019, and 2020. She is a member of the Webster-Batchelder American Inn of Court, and past chair of the New Hampshire Bar Association's New Lawyer's Committee. Attorney Lyons graduated cum laude American University, Washington College of Law in 2010, and earned her bachelor's degree from Emerson College in 2002. While in law school, Attorney Lyons interned for the Honorable Deborah K. Chasanow of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and was the content editor for the Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law. Attorney Lyons is currently licensed in the state and federal courts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the state courts of Maine

Debbie Lorusso Makris - Shareholder

Job Titles:
  • Shareholder
Debbie Lorusso Makris is a shareholder of Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin, P.A. in Manchester, NH, where she is a litigator who handles a wide variety of insurance defense, breach of contract, condominium law, insurance coverage and personal injury cases. Attorney Makris has previously lectured on a broad range of topics within her areas of practice, including defense of brain injury claims and uninsured motorist coverage. Attorney Makris received her Bachelor's of Science degree in Accounting from Boston College and earned her law degree from Suffolk University School of Law in 1991. She is currently licensed in the state and federal courts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, as well as the state court in Vermont. Attorney Makris is a member the NH Bar Association and the Vermont Bar Association as well as the Tri-State Defense Lawyers Association. Attorney Makris is also a member of the Daniel Webster Batchelder American Inns of Court. A New Hampshire native, Attorney Makris began her practice working for a small plaintiff firm in Boston, Massachusetts. During her time at her prior practice, she handled product defect, personal injury, and workers' compensation cases. Attorney Makris returned to live in New Hampshire with her husband to raise their three children. Attorney Makris recently successfully argued a case before the New Hampshire Supreme Court related to the application of the Sutton Doctrine in a college setting which received national media attention.

Elizabeth L. Hurley - Shareholder

Job Titles:
  • Shareholder
Elizabeth Hurley is a shareholder of Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin, P.A. in Manchester, NH, where she is a litigator with a concentration in construction defect and injury cases and the defense of government entities. She also handles a wide variety of insurance defense, insurance coverage and personal injury matters. Attorney Hurley has previously lectured on a broad range of topics within her areas of practice, including the Medicare Secondary Payer Act; insurance and indemnification; medical records and discovery. Attorney Hurley received her undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1992 and her law degree from the University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law in 1995. She is currently licensed in the state and federal courts of New Hampshire and Maine, as well as the First Circuit Court of Appeals, where she successfully argued the principal case regarding Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the "Offer of Judgment" rule. Attorney Hurley is a member and former President of the Tri-State Defense Lawyers Association. She also serves on the New Hampshire Bar Association's Committee on Cooperation with the Courts and is a member of the Daniel Webster Batchelder American Inn of Court. A New Hampshire native, Attorney Hurley returned to New Hampshire in 2004 following her time as a prosecutor with the Pima County Attorney's Office in Tucson, Arizona. While there, Attorney Hurley was a supervisor and handled a variety of high priority cases, including homicides and sex offenses, and practiced regularly in front of the Arizona Court of Appeals and Arizona Supreme Court, resulting in a number of published opinions. Practice Areas Civil Rights Defense,Insurance Defense

Geoffrey M. Gallagher

Geoffrey Gallagher graduated with honors from the University of New Hampshire School of Law in 2013, earning both his JD and LL.M while completing the prestigious Daniel Webster Honors Scholar program. Since then, he has dedicated his career to litigation, representing both municipal and private clients in state and federal court. With over fifty trials to his name, Geoff is known for his passionate courtroom advocacy and commitment to achieving the best outcomes for his clients. In addition to his more general litigation practice, Geoff specializes in professional liability, with a focus on legal ethics and malpractice. A member of the New Hampshire Bar Ethics Committee since 2013, he currently serves as its Vice-Chair. He provides legal advice and opinions regarding compliance with lawyer's ethical obligations and risk management. He also represents lawyers called as witnesses or otherwise find themselves involved in litigation. He advocates for a proactive approach that emphasizes preventing liability issues before they arise. Before pursuing law, Geoff earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston College in 2003, followed by a master's in social psychology/affective neuroscience in 2006. During graduate school, he managed a bowling alley in Davis Square, where learned to play pool, poker, and how to hand-score candlepin bowling. Today, Geoff serves as the treasurer of both the New Hampshire Bar Association and the Daniel Webster-Batchelder Inns of Court, an organization that brings together judges, experienced lawyers, new lawyers, and law students in a social atmosphere to foster professional congeniality inside and outside of the courtroom. He is also a bar examiner for the New Hampshire Board of Bar Examiners.

Jill A. Demello

Jill's professional experience includes practicing as an Attorney: Independent Consultant - Motion & Appellate Practice; Trial Attorney, Abramson, Reis & Brown, P.A.; and Trial Attorney at Brown & Nixon, P.A. Practice Areas Personal Injury, Insurance Defense, State and Federal Appeals.

Madeleine (Maddie) Ables

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Madeleine (Maddie) Ables is an associate attorney at Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin, P.A., where she concentrates her practice in litigation matters, including insurance defense, breach of contract, employment law, insurance coverage and personal injury cases.

Michaela C. Kelty

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Attorney
Michaela Kelty is an associate attorney at Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin, P.A. in Manchester, NH, specializing in litigation across various legal areas. Attorney Kelty holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a concentration in Biomedical Sciences from the University of New Hampshire, and a Juris Doctorate from New England Law | Boston. She is a former member of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a current member of the American Inn of Court.

Stephen D. Coppolo

Stephen worked as a litigation associate for nine years in Boston, Massachusetts after beginning his career as an associate with a Manchester, NH law firm. He is admitted to practice in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, the U.S. District Courts for New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.