KNOX MCLAUGHLIN GORNALL & SENNETT, P.C. - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Shareholder
- Named Shareholder of Knox Law
Alex focuses his practice on litigating complex and commercial disputes in state and federal courts throughout the country. He has significant experience in a wide variety of subject matters, including contract, business, and intellectual property disputes, along with labor and employment litigation, administrative and regulatory matters, trusts and estate disputes, and appellate and constitutional law practice. A significant portion of his practice is devoted to protecting clients' intellectual property rights, including trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, and thus he has significant experience before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
After law school, Alex clerked for the Honorable Steven M. Colloton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Prior to joining Knox Law, he practiced in the Washington, D.C. office of a large international law firm. In 2012, Alex was named to Forbes magazine's nationwide "30 Under 30" list for law and policy.
Practice Areas
Intellectual Property & Technology
Aurora focuses her practice on complex civil litigation. She litigates these matters in both state and federal courts. She has experience in a wide variety of subject matter, including contract, business, and trust and estate disputes, along with labor and employment litigation, constitutional law practice, personal injury matters, and landlord-tenant law. She also advises school districts on special education and Title IX matters. She uses all of this experience to serve clients in litigation-related matters.
Aurora graduated from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law and the Pennsylvania State University. While in law school, she developed a variety of legal experience, including a Judicial Externship with the Honorable Judge Brian Edwards of the Jefferson County Circuit Court in Louisville, Kentucky. She interned at two large corporations, served as a student attorney at a law clinic, and clerked at both a small law firm and the Bullitt County Commonwealth Attorney's Office. She was also a Graduate Fellow at the Legislative Research Commission in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Practice Areas
Governmental Practice
Boutros concentrates his practice on estate planning, trust planning, estate administration, and business & tax matters. He helps clients with a variety of asset protection needs, including simple estate plans, multi-generational trusts, complex estate plans, business succession, and more. He has previous legal experience as a judicial intern at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and also as a legal intern for the Lebanese Parliament in Beirut, Lebanon.
Originally from Lebanon, he graduated with honors from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik with an LL.B. degree. He became interested in the U.S. legal system and moved to Pittsburgh to enroll in the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where he earned his LL.M. in 2020 (cum laude) and his J.D. in 2022 (cum laude). He is fluent in both Arabic and French.
Practice Areas
Business & Tax
Bryan is a full-time litigator and is AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated (Martindale-Hubbell). Before joining Knox Law, he practiced in Chicago, where he focused on complex civil litigation. He has extensive experience representing clients in commercial and construction disputes, injunction proceedings, personal injury matters, and trust & estate disputes. He has argued before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and represented clients in federal and state courts in various jurisdictions. Bryan is licensed to practice in Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania and serves on Knox Law's Board of Directors as Secretary.
Practice Areas
Bankruptcy & Creditors' Rights
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Public Finance & Bonds
- Receives Chancellor of the Bar Award
Christine has over 40 years of experience, having practiced previously in the Erie firm of McClure & Miller, LLP. She serves in numerous leadership capacities of the Erie County Bar Foundation, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Foundation and the Pennsylvania Bar Trust & Insurance Fund. Her practice includes estate planning, representation of borrowers or lenders in business transactions, general business counsel, municipal and school district law.
Practice Areas
Business & Tax
Having joined Knox Law in 1981, Dave's practice includes business and tax transactions with significant experience in insurance agency and broker purchases and sales. His work with agency owners has enabled him to understand the nuances of insurance agency transactions and his practical, reasoned approach has effectively guided clients as the market has evolved from local and regional activity to private equity funded acquirers with a national focus.
Dave also has significant experience in life and death planning for retirement benefits, distributions and beneficiary designations. He designs and drafts employee pension and welfare benefit plans and represents plan sponsors, trustees and administrators.
He is the firm's liaison to Lawyers Associated Worldwide (LAW), a global association of 100 independent law firms representing a global resource of more than 4,000 lawyers in more than 50 countries around the world.
Frances focuses her practice in the areas of business & tax law, estate planning & administration, business succession planning, and real estate. She received her Juris Doctor and Masters in Business Administration degrees from Seton Hall University subsequent to earning a Bachelor of Science in Accounting degree from Villanova University. Prior to joining Knox Law, Frances worked at Deloitte & Touche LLP in Parsippany, New Jersey, preparing tax returns and planning strategies for corporations, partnerships, and individuals. She then joined an international real estate firm in Annapolis, Maryland. After 3 years in that office, she became managing director for the Middle East operation in Doha, Qatar. She currently serves on Knox Law's Board of Directors as Treasurer.
Practice Areas
Business & Tax
Frances A. McCormick is Knox Law's Newest Shareholder
Jeff's practice involves complex estate planning and administration, business planning, succession planning, tax planning, elder care planning, and real estate. He is a licensed title insurance agent in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia and previously worked in the Tax Department of the Washington, D.C. office of Deloitte & Touche. He also served as a Judicial Clerk to the late Arnold Raum of the United States Tax Court.
Jerry's practice focuses on asset protection and business succession planning. He helps people protect their assets from taxes, creditors, future ex-spouses and ex-in-laws, and nursing homes, so they may choose who benefits from their assets (themselves, their children, charities, etc.). His previous experience as a CPA helps him advise business owners wishing to keep their business operating after their exit; whether it be by their child or other family member, their employees or another party that will carry on their legacy. He is available to speak on business and tax topics, sophisticated estate planning strategies, asset protection, wealth preservation, long-term care planning, business succession and special needs planning. He also serves as Vice President on Knox Law's Board of Directors.
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- Estate Planning & Administration
- Speaks about Payroll Tax Approaches to Remote Work
Nadia concentrates her practice in all areas of qualified and nonqualified retirement plans and employee benefits; transfer taxes; fiduciary income tax and trust administration; business; as well as estate planning and administration. She assists clients with retirement plans regarding drafting and compliance issues. She regularly employs efficient wealth transfer planning techniques and assists clients with estate, business succession, and tax planning. She also helps nonprofit organizations to obtain and maintain their tax-exempt status. Nadia speaks English and Russian.
Practice Areas
Business & Tax
Neal focuses his practice on litigating complex disputes. He has litigated such disputes in state and federal courts throughout the country. He is also experienced in addressing all manner of disputes in arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Neal's practice includes litigating contract, business and intellectual property disputes, as well as white collar crime matters. After law school and working for Knox Law for one year, he clerked for the Honorable Richard L. Nygaard on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He serves as General Counsel for Knox Law.
Practice Areas
ADR Services
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- As Chief Executive Officer
As Chief Executive Officer, Tara is responsible for leading and managing the firm toward the achievement of sustainable profitability and growth. She also supervises all administrative and professional support operations including finance, human resources, organizational development, business development, information systems, risk management, and the firm's physical facilities in support of our professional practice. She has extensive experience in financial, human resources, and operations management in banking, manufacturing, and public accounting firms. Originally from Northern California, she holds an MBA and a bachelor's degree in Business Management.
Tom Tupitza discusses Knox Law's offices, geographical reach and affiliation with LAW
Job Titles:
- Shareholder
- Business Owner Checkup Events
Tom has represented thousands of businesses and high net worth individuals during his career as a lawyer and CPA. He has helped plan hundreds of business successions for a diverse group of clients, including entrepreneurs engaged in manufacturing, oil & gas, timber, publishing and other industries in more than 15 states. He began his career as a CPA with Ernst & Young in Pittsburgh from 1990 to 1993.
Tom often uses atypical approaches seeking the best possible solution for clients' complex ambitions and circumstances. He works closely as a team with clients' accountants, bankers, insurance agents and wealth management advisors, aspiring to provide high quality, seamless client care. He also taps into his own working group of key strategic legal and tax advisors, including former IRS agents who bring an even broader base of knowledge and experience to bear on clients' more unusual matters.
Tom concentrates his practice on closely held business planning, business succession planning, implementation of sophisticated estate and trust planning, administration of complex estates and trusts, and the tax consequences of these matters.
In business successions, Tom knows how to ask tough, devil's advocate questions on whether a successor to the business will have the right skills to replace the seller's abilities and maintain a profitable business. He also knows how to communicate difficult or thorny issues in clear, plain English. When needed, he has represented clients before the IRS in federal income, estate and gift tax cases.
He is a major contributor to our Knox Law Institute® for topics including business succession planning, estate planning, tax law, asset protection, shale energy planning, trusts, charitable giving and more.
Practice Areas
Business & Tax
Job Titles:
- Honored With Penn State Alumni Fellow Award
- Reviews the Basics of Estate & Trust Planning
Job Titles:
- Honored With Penn State Alumni Fellow Award
Job Titles:
- Member of the Education Committee