Attorneys

Attorney Ira J. Mirkin is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Specialist in Labor and Employment Law. Attorney Mirkin’s practice has included, among other things, the preparation and trial of many civil rights and employment related cases, and representing employees and employers. He has been invited to speak on constitutional issues, procedural issues relating to employment litigation, Family & Medical Leave Act, education law, sexual harassment, employment-at-will and employment discrimination at conferences sponsored by the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio Education Association, the Industrial Relations Research Association, the National Business Institute, the Mahoning County Bar Association, the Trumbull County Bar Association and the Mahoning/Trumbull Counties Trial Lawyers Association. Attorney Mirkin carries the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory’s highest rating, AV Preeminent, and has been selected by Super Lawyers Magazine as an Ohio Super Lawyer.

Attorney Shawn D. Scharf is a senior partner with the law firm of Green Haines Sgambati Co., LPA. Prior to starting his employment with the firm in 2000, Attorney Scharf was a staff attorney for two years for the Honorable Joseph J. Vukovich of the Seventh District Court of Appeals of Ohio. Attorney Scharf presently focuses on managing the firm’s Ohio Workers’ Compensation practice and representing hundreds of injured workers throughout northeast Ohio.

Areas of Practice

• Ohio Workers’ Compensation Law
• Labor and Employment Law
• ERISA and COBRA Litigation

Bar Admissions

• State of Ohio, 1998
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, 2000
• U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 2000

Education

• The University of Akron School of Law, Akron, Ohio, 1998 J.D.

Associations

• Ohio State Bar Association, Member
• Mahoning County Bar Association, Member
• Columbiana County Bar Association, Member

Past Employment

• Seventh District Court of Appeals of Ohio, Honorable Joseph J. Vukovich, Staff Attorney

Blogs

Unclaimed Awards in Existing Ohio Workers’ Compensation Claims

Attorney Richard T. Bush’s practice spans a broad array of civil litigation including personal injury, medical malpractice, insurance litigation, business disputes and employment law. He has extensive experience in wage and hour litigation, having successfully handled hundreds of wage cases ranging from individual claims to collective actions on behalf of hundreds of similarly situated workers. He has also published and presented several seminars on wage and hour issues including minimum wage and overtime claims.

Areas of Practice

• Wage & Hour Law
• Personal Injury Litigation
• Medical Malpractice
• Product Liability
• Insurance Litigation
• Business Disputes
• Employment Law

Bar Admissions

• State of Ohio, 1983
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, 1983
• U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania, 2003
• U.S. District Court District of Colorado, 2009
• U. S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 1988

Education

• The Ohio State University College of Law, Columbus, Ohio, 1983 J.D.

  Honors: With Honors
  Honors: Order of the Coif

• Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, 1980 B.A.

Associations

• Ohio State Bar Association, Member
• Mahoning County Bar Association, Grievance Committee
• Ohio Association for Justice, Member

Attorney Dennis Haines’ practice has included, among other things, the preparation for and the trial of a broad range of labor and employment-related cases including actions under the Employee Income Security Act [ERISA-401(k)]. 25% of his practice is devoted to litigation and he has represented both employees and employers on constitutional issues, employment-at-will issues, matters related to employment discrimination and matters involving the National Labor Relations Act and The State Employment Relations Act. Attorney Haines has been specially appointed counsel over the years for the Ohio Attorney General and was an Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor.

Attorney Haines has lectured before numerous teachers’ associations about teachers’ constitutional and collective bargaining rights and has been a lecturer regarding employment matters at seminars sponsored by the State Employment Relations Board and Cleveland Marshall Law School. He has been recognized by the Ohio Education Association for “exemplary actions and untiring efforts to win recognition of the constitutional and legal rights of teachers in Ohio.” Attorney Haines carries the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory’s highest rating AV. Attorney Haines was the recipient of the 2005 Professionalism Award from the Mahoning County Bar Association.

Areas of Practice

• Labor Law
• Pension and Retirement Law
• Civil Rights
• Employment Law

Bar Admissions

• State of Ohio, 1962
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, 1963
• U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 1969
• U.S. Federal Courts
• U.S Supreme Court, 1970

Education

• George Washington University National Law Center, Washington, District of Columbia, 1962 J.D.
• Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 1959 B.S.C.

Attorney Charles Oldfield’s practice is focused on prosecuting and defending appeals and motion practice in trial courts. He has argued cases before state appellate courts, the Supreme Court of Ohio, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He has represented clients in matters related to employment law, labor law, education law, personal injury, and medical malpractice. Before joining Green Haines Sgambati Co., L.P.A., he served as a law clerk in the Ohio Eleventh District Courts of Appeals. He has also worked for judges in Ohio’s Fourth and Seventh District Courts of Appeals. Attorney Oldfield has presented seminars and lectures on legal writing and appellate advocacy. In addition to contributing to The Appellate Advocacy Blog, he has published articles in Ohio Trial and The Kentucky Law Journal.

Areas of Practice

• Labor Law
  
• Education Law
  
• Appellate Advocacy
  
• Consumer Law
  

Bar Admissions

• State of Ohio, 1999
  
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio
  
• U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit
  
• U.S. Supreme Court
  

Education

• The University of Akron School of Law, Akron, Ohio, 1999 J.D.
  Honors: Magna Cum Laude; Corpus Juris Secundum Award – Contracts I
  
• Bluefield State College, Bluefield, West Virginia, 1996
  

Associations

• Ohio State Bar Association, Member
  
• The University of Akron School of Law Alumni Association Board of Directors, Member
  

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Adjunct Instructor, Legal Writing Program, The University of Akron School of Law, 1999-2000
  
• Ohio Association for Justice Appellate Advocacy Seminar
  
• Ohio Education Association: Presentation on fiscal control, watch, emergency and academic emergency.
  
• Trial Team Coach, The University of Akron School of Law, 1999-2001
  

Publications

• Parent-Child Loss of Consortium Claims: It’s Time to Bury an Antiquated Analogy, 18 Ohio Trial 1,33
  
• Seven Tips for the Brief Writer 19 Ohio Trial 1,35
  
  

Attorney Patrick S. Collins came to us with past state experience as Legal Counsel to the Ohio Lottery Commission, workers compensation insurance third party administrators and several defense and injured workers law firms. He has dedicated his legal career to protecting the rights of injured workers and citizens. He has practiced before all levels of the Industrial Commission in every Commission venue throughout Ohio.

Areas of Practice

• Ohio Workers’ Compensation Law

Bar Admissions

• State of Ohio, 1984
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, 1985
• U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 1985
• U.S. Tax Court, 1985

Education

• Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio, 1984 J.D.
• Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, 1978 B.A.

Associations

• Ohio State Bar Association, Member
• Mahoning County Bar Association, Member
• Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, Member

Attorney Lisa A. Connolly has worked in the workers’ compensation field in several different capacities. She served as a Legal Intern for the Industrial Commission of Ohio while finishing law school. Upon graduating, she worked for a firm representing injured workers and then ultimately opened her own full service, private practice law firm in Akron, Ohio. While in private practice, she represented both injured workers and employers. Her next professional venture led her to the City of Cuyahoga Falls as Assistant Law Director for a number of years. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Akron. She taught several courses in different departments at the university. Prior to joining our firm, she worked for a third party actuarial firm handling workers’ compensation hearings for employers, unemployment hearings and as presentation specialist in Drug Free Workplace Seminars. She has practiced before all levels of Industrial Commission throughout the state of Ohio. Additionally she brings extensive trial and litigation experience to the firm. She has tried cases at the Municipal, Common Pleas, and Appellate and Federal levels. She was past Secretary of the Summit County Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Areas of Practice

• Ohio Workers’ Compensation Law

Bar Admissions

• State of Ohio, 1989
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio

Education

• The University of Akron School of Law, Akron, Ohio, 1986 J.D.
• Capital University, Bexley, Ohio, First year legal studies.
• Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, B.A.

Kelly has been a licensed attorney since 1990, graduating from the Ohio State University with a nursing and law degree. Her experience includes working as a Healthcare Risk Management Consultant within the insurance industry; an insurance defense litigation attorney primarily focusing on the defense of personal injury cases; a legal consultant providing analysis and evaluation of various personal injury cases; and a civil case mediator. She presently works in the areas of personal injury, medical malpractice, and probate law.

Areas of Practice

• Personal Injury
• Medical Malpractice
• Probate Law

Bar Admissions

• State of Ohio, 1990
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, 2017

Education

• The Ohio State University College of Law, Columbus, Ohio 1990 J.D.
• The Ohio State University College of Nursing, Columbus, Ohio 1986, B.S.N.

Associations

• Columbiana Bar Association, Member

Attorney Jeffrey J. Geisinger graduated magna cum laude from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law where he received a Juris Doctorate with a concentration in employment and labor law. A lifelong resident of northeast Ohio, he attended high school at Western Reserve Academy and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts from Cleveland State University. Prior to joining the firm, he worked for a Cleveland-based law firm that specializes in employment litigation. He was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in May 2019, and he is a member in good standing with the Mahoning County Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Attorney Geisinger’s practice focuses on civil rights, employment litigation, and assisting multiemployer benefit trust funds.

Areas of practice

• Employment
• Labor
• Civil Rights
• Multiemployer Benefit Trust Funds

Bar admissions

• State of Ohio, May 2019

Education

• Cleveland-Marshall College of Law; Cleveland, Ohio; December 2018; J.D.; magna cum laude
• Cleveland State University; Cleveland, Ohio; May 2013; B.A.; cum laude

Associations

• Ohio State Bar Association, Member
• Mahoning County Bar Association, Member
• American Bar Association, Member

Born and raised in Boardman, Ohio, Emily S. Bush graduated from Boardman High School in 2007 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University in 2010. While still in college, Emily interned with the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia where she was introduced to the idea of advocating for others as a full-time profession. While in law school, Emily held an internship during every semester she was enrolled, including positions within four different District Attorney’s Offices across Massachusetts. In May 2014, Emily graduated and received a Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School in Boston.

After law school, Emily’s spent a year representing claimants appeal denials of disability benefits pursuant to Title II and Title XVI of the Social Security Act. Then, for the next four years, Emily was the only associate in a solo-practitioner's, where she worked primarily on personal injury, consumer protection, federal civil right actions, product liability, and medical malpractice cases. Because she worked on defending clients against U.S.C. Section 1983 actions in federal court, in December 2015, Emily was admitted to practice in the United States District Court, District of Massachusetts.

After being hired by the Law Firm of Green Haines Sgambati Co., LPA. in September 2020, Emily submitted her Application for Admission to Practice Law in Ohio in October 2020. Due to her prior admission and good standing in Massachusetts, Emily was officially admitted to the Ohio bar in July 2021.

In her free time, Emily is a proud volunteer mentor in the Ursuline Sisters Scholars program through the Beatitude House. Emily also enjoys going to see live music and spending time outdoors, hiking and camping.

Areas of practice:

• Personal Injury
• Medical Malpractice
• Civil Rights
• Disability Law

Bar admissions:

• State of Ohio, July 2021
• United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, December 2015
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts, November 2014

Education:

• Suffolk University Law School; Boston, Massachusetts; May 2014; J.D.
• Pennsylvania State University; University Park, Pennsylvania; December 2010; B.A.

Associations:

• Mahoning County Bar Association, Member
• Ohio State Bar Association, Member