Attorneys & Paralegals
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The team at NFD Law is widely diversified between numerous areas of law. The lawyers and support staff work together to ensure the best outcome for our clients. Please click on the names below to learn more about our team. |
- Gabriel J. Ferber - Partner
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Gabriel J. Ferber concentrates his practice on the cost-effective resolution of litigated matters in practice areas which include commercial, bankruptcy, employment, municipal, real estate and administrative law. He has more than twenty-five years of litigation experience in state and federal courts and has argued appeals before the New York State Court of Appeals and United States Second Circuit.
Education:
J.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1976 (Moot Court Board; The order of Barristers; Trial Lawyers Award for Trial Technique)
B.A., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1970Professional Associations:
Mr. Ferber was admitted to practice in the States of New York and Florida in 1977. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Bar Association of Erie County, and the Florida Bar. He has been a member of the Erie County Bar Association Committee on Commercial and Bankruptcy Law since 1977 and served as Chairperson from 1998 until 2001.
Mr. Ferber has completed extensive training as a mediator through a program sponsored by the Eighth Judicial District and has become an advocate of mediation as a mechanism to obtain effective resolution of legal disputes. He is certified as a mediator by the Eighth Judicial District New York State Supreme Court.
Mr. Ferber belongs to the New York State Bar Association's Commercial and Federal Litigation Section; the Erie County Bar Association Committee on Commercial and Bankruptcy Law [former Chair and Lecturer]; the Commercial Law League (Creditor Rights and Bankruptcy Sections); and the American Bankruptcy Institute. Mr. Ferber was a contributing author of "Collections and the Enforcement of Money Judgments" a treatise published by the New York State Bar Association.
Mr. Ferber has been actively involved as a director of the West Side Rowing Club of Buffalo since 1975 (president) and the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo, Inc. (past president). He has also served as president of Congregation B'nai Shalom and remains active on its board of directors. - Richard F. DiGiacomo - Partner
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Richard F. DiGiacomo concentrates his practice on real estate law and commercial loan transactions, including purchases and sales, bank, industrial development agency and other financial transactions. He serves as closing attorney for M&T Bank and GMAC and has extensive experience in representing lenders, purchasers, and sellers in commercial transactions.
Education:
J.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, magna cum laude, 1976
B.A., Canisius College, 1973Professional Associations:
Mr. DiGiacomo was admitted to practice in the State of New York in 1977. He is rated A(V), the highest rating given by the Martindale attorney rating service. He is a member of the Bar Association of Erie County and served on the Board of Directors from 1991 to 1994. He has participated in several committees including the Committee on Real Estate Law since 1977, on which he served as Chairman from 1987 until 1990. Mr. DiGiacomo is also a member of the New York State Bar Association, Real Property Law Section. In addition, Mr. DiGiacomo has served as a panelist, speaker and lecturer for the Erie County and New York State Bar Associations in Finance and Real Property Law Seminars. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for the UB Law School Alumni Association
For more than ten consecutive years, Mr. DiGiacomo has been named one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in the area of real estate law in the Woodward/White, Inc. publication. He is also named in Business First’s “Who’s Who in Law” in the area of real estate law. - Paul T. Nesper - Partner
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Paul T. Nesper concentrates his practice on corporate law, business law, and real estate law. He is legal counsel to various corporations ranging in size from small, single shareholder to large multi-national corporations. He also represents numerous limited liability companies, sole proprietorships and partnerships. He has worked with closely held businesses and is involved in all transactional matters including business formation, commercial finance, and the construction and development of commercial realty. In addition, Mr. Nesper has extensive experience in business succession planning and has assisted clients in the transfer or sale of their businesses to family members.
Mr. Nesper is an Agent for Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company and Examining Counsel for Ticor Title Insurance Company.Education:
J.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1984
B.S., State University of New York at Buffalo, summa cum laude, 1981Professional Associations:
Mr. Nesper was admitted to practice in the State of New York in 1985. He is rated A(V), the highest rating given by the Martindale attorney rating service. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and has participated in the Section on Real Estate Law since 1987. He is also a member of the Erie County Bar Association and has belonged to the Committee on Real Estate Law and the Surrogate's Court, Practice and Procedures Committee.
Mr. Nesper frequently lectures throughout the legal community and has spoken on Real Property Law each year since 1987; the New Limited Liability Company Law in New York in 1998; and on Corporate Buy-Sell vs. Redemption Agreements in 2001.
Mr. Nesper serves as chairman of the Amherst Chamber of Commerce; Director of the Amherst Task Force for Healthy Community, Healthy Youth; and Director of the Epilepsy Association of Western New York. - William P. Johnson - Partner
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Mr. Johnson’s practice focuses on real estate, title insurance, commercial loan transactions, preparation of wills and trusts, elder law issues, administration of estates and representing volunteer fire companies.
In his real estate work, Mr. Johnson represents clients buying and selling business properties and homes as well as regional and national mortgage lenders. Further supplementing Mr. Johnson’s real estate work is his skill in examining title to real estate and his ability to write title insurance as an agent or examining counsel for title insurance companies. Mr. Johnson’s work in commercial loan transactions has provided him with several years of experience in representing regional and national lenders.Through his estate planning work, Mr. Johnson prepares Wills, Trusts, Health Care Declarations, Power of Attorney forms and other estate planning documents for clients of various ages while in his elder law work Mr. Johnson focuses specifically on the estate planning needs of more senior clients. Administration of estates and trusts is also an important part of Mr. Johnson’s practice.
In representing a number of volunteer fire companies, Mr. Johnson has dealt with real estate and construction projects, internal governance, purchasing of firefighting vehicles and tax-exempt loan transactions.
Education:
J.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1986 (State and Local Government Law Program Award)
B.A., Canisius College, magna cum laude, 1983, All College Honors Curriculum
Professional Associations:
Mr. Johnson was admitted to the State of New York in 1987. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association including the sections on Trusts and Estates, Elder Law and Real Property Law. For several years he has served as Co-Editor of the New York Real Property Law Journal. As a member of the Bar Association of Erie County Mr. Johnson is a member of the Surrogate’s Court Committee and for three years served as chairman of the Real Property Law Committee coordinating real estate practices and educational issues for local attorneys. Mr. Johnson has lectured for the Bar Association of Erie County, the New York State Bar Association and for the National Business Institute. He is also involved with various civic organizations and is married with three children. - Gretchen M. Nichols - Partner
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Gretchen M. Nichols concentrates her practice on corporate law and business law and assists the firm with real estate law, elder law issues, the administration of estates and representing volunteer fire companies.
Ms. Nichols’ practice involves assisting business entities with various issues including formation and choice of entity, preparation of organizational documents and general guidance on corporate matters. She has experience drafting business relationship contracts, such as, shareholder, operating, employment, lease, severance, subcontractor, distributorship, buy-sell, asset purchase, licensing and computer related agreements and various other corporate contracts. She also has experience with forming, dissolving and obtaining tax exemptions for not-for-profit corporations and obtaining liquor licenses for businesses from the New York Sate Liquor Authority. In addition, Ms. Nichols’ has represented landlords in eviction and housing matters.Education:
J.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, 2001 (Finance Transactions Concentration)
B.A., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1995
Professional Associations:
Ms. Nichols is admitted to practice in the State of New York and is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Bar Association of Erie County and the Western New York Chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.
Ms. Nichols is a member of the Erie County Bar Association Corporate Law Committee and the Erie County Bar Association Real Property Committee, where she assisted past Chairman William P. Johnson for three years by recording the minutes at monthly Committee meetings, arranging for speakers and researching current real estate issues affecting the legal community.
Ms. Nichols is currently vice-chair of the Business Resource Council for the Amherst Chamber of Commerce. She is also vice-president and a board member of the Buffalo Niagara Chapter of New York State Women Inc.
Ms. Nichols is a past secretary and board member of the Business and Professional Women of Buffalo/Amherst and past director of the UB Law Alumni’s GOLD Group.
Recently, Ms. Nichols presented at a continuing legal education seminar Landlord Tenant Law Issues. She also wrote an article entitled, The Parable of the Disappearing Street, published in a title company publication. - Julia C. Mombrea - Associate
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Julia C. Mombrea concentrates her practice on general litigation, specifically in the areas of commercial law and bankruptcy law.
Ms. Mombrea received her B.A. from the University of Michigan in 2005. She received her J.D., cum laude, from The State University of New York at Buffalo in 2008, with a concentration in civil litigation. While attending school, Ms. Mombrea was a recipient of the Robert J. Connelly Trial Technique Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy, and had a paper entitled, “Human Subject Research and Developing Countries: Beneficence and Protection of Human Rights” accepted and published in The Food and Drug Law Institute’s Academic Excellence Program.Education:
J.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, cum laude, 2008
B.A., University of Michigan, 2005
Professional Associations:
Ms. Mombrea is admitted to practice in the State of New York as well as the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. She is a member if the New York State Bar Association and the Bar Association of Erie County. - John W. Dorn - Of Counsel
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John W. Dorn is a general practice attorney who is of counsel to the firm. His practice consists of criminal and civil litigation, family and matrimonial law, wills and trusts, negligence, real estate and military law.
Education:
J.D., State University of New York at Buffalo, 1970
Professional Associations:
Mr. Dorn is admitted to practice in the State of New York, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, and is a member of the Bar Association of Erie County.
Mr. Dorn is a retired Colonel in the Army Judge Advocate Generals Corps. - Mary Jane Kelm - Paralegal
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Mary Jane Kelm has been a member of the support staff at Nesper, Ferber & DiGiacomo, LLP since she joined the firm in 1981 as secretary to James M. Nesper. Her duties quickly expanded as she began to work on real estate transactions with other attorneys in the firm.
Mrs. Kelm has extensive experience in residential real estate transactions, including assisting our firm in the representation of sellers, purchasers, lenders, developers and relocation companies; preparing real estate closing documents and loan closing documents; conferring with clients and lenders; and attending real estate closings throughout the Western New York area. - Deborah Trzaska - Paralegal
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Deborah Trzaska received her BA degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and joined Nesper, Ferber & DiGiacomo, LLP in 1980. She serves the firm and its clients as an estate paralegal.
Mrs. Trzaska's responsibilities include conferring with decedents' families; discussing the marshalling of assets; dealing with banks, insurance companies, and government entities; completing proper estate tax forms; preparing probate documents for Surrogate's Court; taking care of the informal accounting, assets and inventories for estates; and guiding decedents' families from the beginning to the discharge of legal representation.