Six Attorneys Elected Members (Partners)
January 27, 2009
Syracuse, NY: Bond, Schoeneck & King is pleased to announce the election of six Members (Partners) to the Firm: John C. Godsoe (Buffalo), Frank C. Mayer (Albany), David L. Nocilly (Syracuse), Richard L. Weber (Syracuse), Matthew N. Wells (Syracuse) and Caroline M. Westover (Syracuse).
Mr. Godsoe is a member of the Employee Benefits Practice Group and resides in the Firm's Buffalo Office. His areas of practice expertise include: the design, implementation and termination of qualified pension plans (including 401(k) and profit sharing plans); tax-sheltered annuity plans; insured and self-funded medical plans (including health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements and flexible spending accounts); cafeteria plans; and COBRA compliance. Mr. Godsoe also counsels employers regarding fiduciary responsibility, reporting and disclosure obligations and other requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") and has assisted clients with the resolution of plan qualification errors under Internal Revenue Service correction programs. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University (B.A. cum laude, 1995) and State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law (J.D. cum laude, 2000).
Mr. Mayer is also a member of the Business and Transactions Department and resides in the Firm's Albany Office. His primary areas of practice include corporate and business law, tax planning for closely-held and public companies, and estate planning and administration with a concentration in tax-related matters. He provides advice on corporate reorganizations, and the tax aspects of closely-held businesses and succession planning. Mr. Mayer has experience in international tax matters including treaty and withholding tax issues, involving both in-bound and out-bound investments. His practice encompasses several other areas, including multi-state taxation and not-for-profit tax matters. Mr.Mayer is a graduate of Siena College (B.B.A., cum laude, 1981), the University at Albany, State University of New York (M.B.A., 1983) and Syracuse University College of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 1996).
Mr. Nocilly is a Registered Patent Attorney and is a member of the Firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group. He resides in the Firm's Syracuse Office and is trained in the mechanical, chemical, environmental, and biotechnology disciplines. He is involved in the preparation and prosecution of patent, trademark, and copyright applications in the U.S. and overseas, and handles the enforcement of the full range of intellectual property rights, including the litigation of patent, trademark, and copyright infringement. Mr. Nocilly is a graduate of Cornell University (B.S., Biology, 1991) and Syracuse University College of Law (J.D., summa cum laude, 2000).
Mr. Weber is a member of the Firm's Litigation Department and resides in the Firm's Syracuse Office. Mr. Weber's practice involves the representation of businesses and individuals in complex civil litigation and alternative dispute resolution proceedings. He concentrates his practice in commercial litigation, premises liability (including defense of lead paint exposure claims), trust and estate litigation, creditor's rights and construction law. Mr. Weber is also a member of the firm's Media and Communications Law Practice Group, and frequently counsels newspaper editors regarding potential defamation liability. Mr. Weber is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo (B.A., magna cum laude, 1994) and William and Mary School of Law (J.D., 1999).
Mr. Wells is a member of the Firm's Public Finance Practice Group and resides in the Syracuse Office. He concentrates his practice in the public finance, commercial lending and corporate fields. He has experience serving as bond counsel, underwriter counsel, trustee counsel and issuer counsel in connection with taxable / tax-exempt bond financings. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Wells was associated with Cahill Gordon & Reindel, LLP, where he represented various public and private corporations and investment banks. Mr. Wells is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A., 1995) and Albany Law School of Union University (J.D., summa cum laude, 1998).
Ms. Westover is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Practice Group and resides in the Firm's Syracuse Office. She represents employers in a wide variety of labor, employment and immigration matters. Her practice includes counseling and representing management in state and federal employment discrimination litigation, employee discipline, family leave issues, layoffs, collective bargaining, labor arbitration and union organizing. She also counsels and represents employers regarding the employment and retention of foreign national employees, including non-immigrant work visas and permanent residency petitions. Ms. Westover has spoken to various management and personnel groups on a variety of topics, including family leave issues, workplace investigations, selecting and terminating employees, sexual harassment and employment immigration issues. Ms. Westover is a graduate of Cornell University's New York School of Industrial and Labor Relations (B.S., with honors, 1997) and Boston University School of Law (J.D., 2000).
Bond, Schoeneck & King is a full service law firm, founded in 1897, and has since grown to a firm of 200. The firm operates offices in Albany, Buffalo, Garden City, Ithaca, Manhattan, Oswego, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica, New York; as well as Overland Park, Kansas; Bonita Springs and Naples, Florida. For a complete list of practice areas and industries served visit the Bond, Schoeneck & King website at www.bsk.com.
