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Seven Knox Law Attorneys Named to 2017 Best Lawyers In America® List

Posted on August 15, 2016

Guy C. Fustine, Thomas A. Tupitza, Richard A. Lanzillo, Neal R. Devlin, Michael A. Fetzner, Carl N. Moore and Richard W. Perhacs, shareholders at Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, P.C., were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2017 Best Lawyers in America® list.

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation: over 79,000 leading attorneys globally are eligible to vote on the legal abilities of other lawyers based on their specific practice areas around the world. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers "the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice." Please see the Best Lawyers website for more on the methodology.

Guy Fustine

Guy C. Fustine was selected for both Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law as well as Litigation – Bankruptcy.

He is among a distinguished group of attorneys who have been listed in Best Lawyers for over twenty years (since 1993) and is AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated. Mr. Fustine is board certified in business bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification and has acted as lead counsel in many notable cases.


Thomas (Tom) Tupitza

Thomas A. Tupitza was selected for four practice areas for 2017: Public Finance Law for the sixth consecutive year; Real Estate Law and Land Use & Zoning Law for the third consecutive year; and Health Care Law for the second consecutive year.

He has been active as bond counsel in tax-exempt financing transactions for over 25 years and is a title insurance agent in Pennsylvania and New York. His practice is focused on public finance, real estate, health law and nonprofit organizations. Mr. Tupitza is President of Knox Law, AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated, and is active on many boards, including UPMC Hamot, the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, and Westminster College.


Richard A. Lanzillo was selected for Commercial Litigation for the fifth consecutive year.

He has extensive experience in complex commercial and employment litigation and has successfully litigated numerous cases to verdict and other disposition in state and federal courts. Mr. Lanzillo is AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated, and his practice is focused on litigation of contract, corporate, intellectual property and employment disputes. He is Chair of Mercyhurst University’s Board of Trustees.


Neal Devlin

Neal R. Devlin was selected for Commercial Litigation for the fifth consecutive year.

His practice is focused primarily on litigating contract, business and intellectual property disputes, though he also practices in constitutional law, appellate practice, and commercial, employment and tort litigation. He was selected as one of Erie’s 2015 "40 Under 40" (Erie Reader) and a 2014 "Lawyer on the Fast Track" (The Legal Intelligencer).


Michael (Mike) Fetzner

Michael A. Fetzner was selected for Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers for the fourth consecutive year.

An AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated attorney, Mr. Fetzner focuses his practice on real estate, estate planning and administration and workers’ compensation. He has successfully defended several large manufacturing companies against numerous claims and has counseled many other employers in establishing risk management programs to reduce workers’ compensation costs. Mr. Fetzner is active in both the Erie County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, serving in many leadership capacities over the years.


Carl Moore

Carl N. Moore was selected for Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers for the third consecutive year.

He has practiced in the areas of workers' compensation and governmental law for over 35 years. Mr. Moore is active on several committees of the Erie County Bar Association, including the Workers' Compensation Section, of which he was Chair in 2013. He is currently President of the Pennsylvania School Board Solicitors Association.


Richard (Rich) Perhacs

Richard W. Perhacs was selected for Labor Law - Management for the third consecutive year and for Employment Law – Management for the second consecutive year.

He has counseled both local government and business employers on labor and employment law issues for over 35 years. Mr. Perhacs represents more than a dozen public school systems, and authored “Labor Relations for School Leaders: A Practical Guide to Labor Contracts, Negotiations, Strikes and Grievances,” a book that leads school board members and administrators through an array of labor relations situations.



For more information or for photographs of any attorneys, please contact Sarah Holland at 814-923-4897.

For more information, please contact Sarah Holland.