Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP is pleased to announce the addition of four new attorneys to the firm’s Cleveland office. The firm welcomes Dana Marie DeCapite, Ann E. Knuth, Sarah Lewis and Gregory A. Thompson.
“We are extremely pleased with our new additions who add strength and depth across our practice areas,” said Stanley R. Gorom, partner-in-charge of the Cleveland office. “They each bring experience and backgrounds that make them a great fit for our firm and position us to serve our client needs well into the future.”
DeCapite, who joins the Business Practice Area as a partner, dedicates her practice to estate planning, business succession planning, asset protection planning, prenuptial planning and estate and trust administration. She collaborates with individuals, families and businesses to recommend and draft custom-tailored plans that implement each client’s personal, financial and charitable goals. She has extensive experience drafting and interpreting documents ranging from basic estate plans to asset protection and special needs plans.
Before joining Hahn Loeser, DeCapite spent four years as an associate at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP in the firm’s Succession Planning/Wealth Management Practice Group.
DeCapite is frequently called upon by various publications and organizations to share her insight into the importance of estate planning. She regularly speaks at continuing legal education seminars and local civic groups to educate other attorneys and the community on estate planning best practices. She earned her B.S. in Business from Miami University and her Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School.
Knuth joins Hahn Loeser’s Labor & Employment practice as an attorney Of Counsel and has over 20 years’ experience in labor and employment law. She regularly guides employers through the entire employment relationship from hire to termination and has counseled businesses of all sizes, from start-up companies to international corporations to help them manage their human capital and meet their business goals. She leverages her deep understanding of labor and employment law to assist clients in building policies and proactively taking compliance measures to avoid costly litigation.
Knuth has extensive litigation experience and has defended employers in state and federal courts, and before the Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Ohio Civil Rights Commission and other state regulatory agencies. She represents clients facing claims of discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, breach of contract and statutory violations, including Title VII and wage and hour class and collective actions. Knuth earned her B.S. from the State University of New York, magna cum laude, her MBA from Grand Valley State University with distinction, and her Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University, cum laude.
Lewis joins the firm as an associate in the firm’s Litigation Area and represents clients in complex commercial and business disputes. She handles cases at all stages of litigation, including drafting pleadings, researching and drafting dispositive motions and briefs, and engaging in and managing discovery. Sarah has experience handling matters involving the business judgment rule, implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and pro bono civil rights claims.
Lewis was a summer associate for Hahn Loeser in 2016. Prior to joining the firm, Lewis served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Marvin E. Aspen in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and an extern in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio. She also worked for the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she counseled juvenile clients on criminal matters, drafted motions, appeared in court, and investigated cases.
Lewis received her B.A. in Political Science and Spanish, summa cum laude from Youngstown State University and her Juris Doctor cum laude from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Thompson joins the firm’s Litigation Area as an associate and brings with him extensive first-chair experience handling various aspects of commercial litigation, including non-compete disputes; shareholder, fiduciary and business tort litigation; probate litigation; UCC contract disputes and real estate litigation. Thompson represents clients before administrative agencies and in local, state and federal courts.
Prior to joining Hahn Loeser, Thompson most recently spent three years as an associate at Schneider Smeltz Spieth Bell LLP. Prior to his time at that firm, he spent three years as an associate at Thompson Hine.
Thompson earned his B.B.A., cum laude, from Ohio University and received his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of Akron School of Law.
