Mentor Lawyers

Paulette F. Balin has been practicing law since 1978. She was raised in Timberlake, OH and went to Laurel School in Shaker Heights. In 1975 she graduated magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She received her law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1978, and passed the Ohio Bar in 1978 and Florida Bar in 1980. Paulette first opened her practice in Cleveland, Ohio in 1980. She has broad experience and success in handling Social Security Disability, SSI, and Long-Term Disability cases. Her legal experience covers cases addressing a large...

I am dual certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, and as a Specialist in Elder Law by the Ohio State Bar Association. I am one of twenty-three attorneys with this dual certification. I devote my practice to those issues uniquely affecting the elderly, the disabled and their families. Having been raised by a parent with early onset Parkinson's Disease, and having witnessed a grandparent spend over sixteen years in a nursing facility suffering from Alzheimer's, I gravitated early in my career towards the practice of elder and disability law. I established my Law...

Jon D. Axelrod is the founder of Axelrod Law Offices in Willowick, and he has shaped the firm to reflect his deepest values. Mr. Axelrod believes that attorneys should provide effective legal direction while giving compassionate care to the client. He understands that legal decisions carry a great deal of distress and pressure, whether the client is considering bankruptcy, undergoing a divorce, or is accused of a crime. His primary aim is to provide peace of mind to his clients. Our firm accomplishes this through our personal relationship with each client and our devotion to providing the strongest legal care...

I’m from a family that helps those who need help. I know that I could be the one that needs help, so I treat others as I would want to be treated, the Golden Rule. I believe in helping those that meet me halfway. So, if you do your part, I will do mine. This goes for people who need disability benefits & those in trouble with their taxes. I can help both groups of people, and the team of disability lawyers in our firm will always give you our best! I have been working in disability...

Attorney Heather Moseman grew up in the Midwest and applies the values learned there to the practice of law. She aims to make sure that the legal problems that are presented to her are solved in the most cost-effective and straightforward way possible. Heather obtained her undergraduate degree in Psychology with a minor in Philosophy from Southwest State University in Marshall, Minnesota. She applied her degree in the service of the chronically disabled, chronically mentally ill and for senior citizens for seven years in both Chicago, Illinois and the Cleveland area. In 2000, Ms. Moseman determined to help people on a...

I started practicing disability law because I enjoy fighting for the little guy and I can relate to how a person's health can derail an entire family. I come from a solidly blue-collar background and did not even know what a lawyer was when my uncle was in a terrible accident in 1993 that left him permanently disabled. I remember how confused we all were when the government denied his application for Social Security Disability benefits after many months of waiting. It was pretty clear to our family that a person who could not walk to the bathroom without severe...

Attorney Hector G. Martinez, Jr., is the principal of the law firm, The Martinez Firm. He attended The Ohio State University (B.S. in Business Administration - 1993) and Case Western Reserve University School of Law (J.D. -1997). His practice focuses on criminal defense, with an emphasis on drunk driving defense. Mr. Martinez is N.H.T.S.A. certified, having attended the N.H.T.S.A. Standardized Field Sobriety Testing course in 1999. He is a member of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Lake County Bar Association. He is a frequent lecturer on Ohio Traffic Laws, as well as...

Aggressive pursuit of personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice cases. "AV" rating (highest rating possible) by Martindale Hubbell Legal Directory.

Tim Misny is an experienced Ohio personal injury lawyer. For over 30 years, Mr. Misny has worked to fight for his personal injury and medical malpractice clients to obtain fair compensation.

Experience Magistrate, Lake County Domestic Relations Court March 1992 - December 31, 2002 Magistrate, Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court July 1997 - December 1998 Acting Judge, Painesville Municipal Court March 2008 - continuing Education Bachelor of Business Administration, Kent State University, 1983 Juris Doctor, Cleveland Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University, 1989 Admitted to practice before the Courts of the State of Ohio, the Federal District Court and the United States Supreme Court. Professional Organizations Lake County Bar Association Ohio State Bar Association Ohio Womenâs Bar Association Family Law Committee, Lake County Bar Association Ohio Association of Domestic Relations Judges (former member) Ohio Association...

Life-long Clevelander. Passionate about my family. Have spent my entire career trying to help guide other families through rocky times, whether with divorce/dissolution or child support; or through probate. Also, over a decade of experience drafting carefully executed and individualized Estate Planning documents for individuals and families.

David was selected as an Ohio Super Lawyer for the years 2012, 2013 & 2014. David E. Nager is the managing partner of Nager, Romaine & Schneiberg Co., L.P.A. He has been in private practice since 1990. His primary areas of practice include workers' compensation, personal injury and medical malpractice. He has successfully argued thousands of cases before every level of the Industrial Commission of Ohio. He has handled hundreds of cases before various courts throughout Ohio. He has successfully argued cases on the State Appellate level, as well. He has obtained compensation for thousands of injury victims totaling tens...

Certified Family Law Specialist, Gary Okin represents clients in matters of divorce, child custody, domestic violence, adoption and any other family law matters. Recognized as a Super Lawyer, Gary has consistently earned the highest ratings in the legal industry. Gary is admitted to practice before the Ohio Supreme Court and the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio. Gary is a contributor to several journals and Continuing Legal Education seminars. He is one of the first attorneys to be designated a Certified Specialist in the area of Domestic Relations Law by the Ohio State Bar Association.

Kristen M. Kraus has extensive experience in handling civil jury trials in both state and federal court. She has litigated cases in nearly every county in Northeast Ohio, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Kristen joined Dworken & Bernstein upon graduation from law school in 2001. Since joining the firm, she has been representing victims of personal injury, as well as those injured in workplace accidents. A significant portion of her current practice is devoted to representing injured workers in workers’ compensation matters both at the Industrial Commission of Ohio and at the...

Jo A.Tatarko focuses on Commercial Litigation, representing clients in the areas of breach of contract, lease disputes, construction disputes, business disputes, and all other aspects of business litigation. Jo devotes 90% of her practice to litigation. In 2007 when Jo first joined Dworken & Bernstein, she was as a member of our Workers’ Compensation practice group. She represented individuals who were injured at work, both at administrative hearings before the Industrial Commission of Ohio and in Common Pleas courts in Ohio.

Amanda Condon brings experience as an acting municipal court judge to her personal injury practice. She has earned a “Superb” AVVO rating and has been recognized as one of the top 100 trial lawyers in the U.S. Prior to joining Dworken & Bernstein in 2014, she worked at a small boutique firm specializing in personal injury. Amanda also previously served as a Magistrate in Lyndhurst Municipal Court, and from 2005 to 2012, was a prosecutor in Ashtabula County Eastern and Western County Courts. Amanda is currently an Acting Judge in Painesville Municipal Court.

This experience gives Amanda a unique perspective to...

Grant Keating is a partner practicing in the firm’s Business and Commercial Litigation department. He employs a pragmatic approach to litigation and has successfully represented a wide variety of businesses and individuals at trial, appeal and in ADR. Grant has extensive experience in the following areas of law: banking and loan restructuring, breach of contract, Clean Water Act, commercial lease disputes, construction disputes, creditor’s rights, defamation, director and officer liability, e-commerce, employment disputes, environmental litigation, foreclosures, international discovery assistance pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1782, mechanic’s liens, minority shareholder rights, Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act R.C. 1345.01 et. seq., professional negligence,...

Erik L. Walter is a bold advocate for business clients in the areas of environmental law, oil and gas, commercial transactions, zoning and litigation for both individuals and corporations. He sits on numerous nonprofit boards in the community. Prior to joining Dworken & Bernstein Co., L.P.A., Erik was a shareholder with the law firm of Knaggs, Harter, Brake & Schneider, P.C. located in Lansing, Michigan. Prior to joining Knaggs, Harter, Brake & Schneider, P.C. in 1999, Erik served for nearly three years as the law clerk for the Honorable William E. Collette in the Ingham County Circuit Court located...

Since 1991, Ken Cahill has been practicing family law, working toward outcomes that are in the best interest of families and children. Ken is a noted speaker on issues of family law and serves as chair of the Family Law Committee. Protecting dependent, neglected and abused children was the role of Family Law attorney Kenneth J. Cahill at the Lake County Prosecutor’s Juvenile Division representing the Lake County Department of Jobs & Family Services. Practicing Family Law since 1991, Ken started first as an Assistant Lake County Prosecutor enforcing and modifying child support orders before joining the Lake County...