Sparta, NJ

Thomas Ryan is a founding partner and senior counsel of Laddey Clark & Ryan LLP. Tom is an employment and commercial litigator and a business lawyer who focuses on representing management and individuals in both the private and public sectors. He has litigated cases in both the New Jersey State Superior Courts and in Federal District Court. He has long been - and continues to be - a leader in the legal community and the business community, as well as in community service. Tom has extensive experience in employment discrimination, wrongful termination, discipline, breach of contract, harassment, wage and hour, collective bargaining, and other employment related issues. In addition to litigating cases in the State and Federal Courts, he also advocates on behalf of clients in the Administrative Courts; before the Department of Labor, NLRB, OSHA, PERC, EEOC and NJDCR. He represents clients on employment contracts, compensation agreements, non-competition and non-disclosure agreements and severance agreements. Tom reviews and prepares personnel policies and handbooks, conducts investigations into employee complaints, provides harassment and discrimination training and counsels clients on all employment issues. In the area of commercial litigation, Mr. Ryan has represented corporate and business clients in consumer fraud actions, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, professional negligence, common law fraud and shareholder oppression litigation. He also serves as outside general counsel to corporations, municipalities and business on litigation, commercial agreements, corporate compliance and strategic planning. Tom serves as Municipal Attorney for Sparta Township and Jefferson Township, as Employment and Labor Counsel for Rockaway Township, as General Counsel for the Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative, outside General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Directors of Atlas Refinery, Inc. and as outside litigation counsel for Weichert Co. He has also been a leader in the legal community, having served as the President of the Sussex County Bar Association and as a continuing member of both the Sussex and Morris County Bar Associations. He also is a Master Emeritus of the Sydney Reitman Employment Law Inn of Court. He is a member of the Labor and Employment Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Tom has been selected for inclusion on the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers each year since 2010.* He was a 2018 recipient of the NJBIZ Icon Award which honors business leaders who are helping to grow and encourage New Jersey’s economic development and its business community. Tom was named among only 50 lawyers in New Jersey to NJBIZ’s 2021 “Leaders in the Law.” In 2022, Tom was selected for inclusion in The Irish Legal 100, an annual compilation of the most distinguished legal professionals in the United States who share a common bond: pride in their Irish heritage. Tom also plays a leading role in the Sussex County business community. He is a former Chair of the Sussex County Economic Development Partnership. He has long been active in the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce, previously serving as the Chairman of its Board of Trustees. In addition, Tom serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Newton Medical Center Foundation and is a former President of the Board of Trustees of The 200 Club of Sussex County. He is legal counsel to - and formerly on the Board of Trustees of - the Medical Needs Foundation and the MLBT Junior Lacrosse Association. Tom was a member and former President of the Mountain Lakes Board of Education. Just as important to Tom as his personal involvement is his role as a mentor to his colleagues in his firm to become leaders. He has been instrumental in ensuring that the attorneys play an active role in not-for-profit organizations throughout the State of New Jersey. He does this through his role in the Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership and by the law firm’s hosting of annual symposiums including the LCR Economic Forum and the LCR Nonprofit Summit.

Michael P. Burakoff

Michael P. Burakoff is the principal attorney at The Law Offices of Michael P. Burakoff, P.A., with over 40 years of experience representing accident victims in New Jersey. He has achieved numerous six and seven-figure recoveries through negotiations and trial. Mr. Burakoff serves as a Superior Court arbitrator for automobile accidents and personal injury cases, and also arbitrates uninsured and underinsured motorist claims. He was co-counsel for several New Jersey municipalities in mass tort litigation against the lead paint industry. His practice is exclusively dedicated to personal injury litigation, and he is recognized for his expertise by insurance companies and other attorneys. He provides personalized service, handling critical aspects of cases himself and working on a contingency fee basis.

Timothy E. Dinan

Timothy Dinan’s practice focuses solely on helping people who have been injured. As practice leader of Laddey Clark & Ryan’s Personal Injury practice, Tim is involved in every personal injury case in the office. He has experience in all aspects of personal injury law from client intake, to preparing for a deposition, to when the final appeal of a case has been exhausted. He is also a talented trial attorney and has obtained some of the largest verdicts in the state. Tim is responsible for a team of five attorneys and several support staff members, and the growth of the Personal Injury practice group. He was also named chair of the firm’s Litigation Department, overseeing the firm’s commercial and estate litigation. Tim has handled cases ranging from standard automobile collisions to construction accidents to product liability claims to mine collapses. In his cases, his focus is on the individual stories of the clients and his efforts to provide them the tools and skills they need to effectively communicate how much their lives have been altered as a result of their injuries. Over the course of his career, Tim has helped clients obtain over $50 million in verdicts and settlements. A key to Tim’s success in the courtroom has been his embrace of technology. Tim has been designated a Certified Civil Trial Attorney, by far the youngest in Northwest New Jersey. Attorneys are designated as “certified attorneys” by the New Jersey Supreme Court if they are able to demonstrate sufficient levels of experience, education, knowledge and skill in a specific area of law or practice, have passed a rigorous examination and have been recognized by their peers. In 2021, Tim was named one of NJBIZ’s “Forty Under 40” honorees. Previously, he was recognized by The New Jersey Law Journal as a “New Leader of the Bar.” He has also twice been inducted into the New Jersey Personal Injury Hall of Fame. He is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Amicus Committee and has helped to write submissions to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Tim is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He has been selected to the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars from 2016 through 2021*, and he has been included on the list of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, for 2021-2025.** He has been selected for inclusion in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers guide, as well as the 2024 Lawdragon 500X - The Next Generation.

Travis W. Nunziato

Travis Nunziato is a partner in the firm’s Personal Injury Practice Group and Practice Leader of firm’s Workers’ Compensation Department. He is committed to providing legal representation to his clients, who have been seriously injured by an accident through no fault of their own. Travis’s practice is primarily focused on automobile accidents, work injuries, products and premises liability claims, and other accidents in which severe, catastrophic injuries are involved. Prior to joining Laddey, Clark & Ryan, Travis worked for Halloran & Sage, LLP, a mid-size law firm in Hartford, Connecticut, as staff counsel for Selective Insurance Company of America, and as an associate attorney for a personal injury firm in Bergen County, where he handled personal injury, workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability matters. Travis currently serves as President-Elect of the Sussex County Bar Association and is the Sussex County Representative for the Young Lawyers Division of the New Jersey State Bar Association and the County Coordinator of Sussex County’s High School Mock Trial Program. He previously volunteered as a coach for the Newton High School Mock Trial team. Travis graduated with honors from Rutgers University - New Brunswick, obtaining degrees in both Political Science and Sociology. He received his J.D. with high honors from Quinnipiac University School of Law. During his time at Quinnipiac School of Law, he earned a concentration with honors in Civil Advocacy & Dispute Resolution, served as the Lead Articles Editor for the Quinnipiac Health Law Journal, was a competing member for both the Mock Trial Honor Society & Society for Dispute Resolution, and served as the Chair of the Honor Code Committee. Travis is also an Adjunct Professor at Sussex County Community College, where he teaches Introduction to Legal Research & Writing and Advanced Legal Research & Writing. In 2021, Travis was recognized by The New Jersey Law Journal as a “New Leader of the Bar.”

Stephen O. Davis

Stephen Davis is the Managing Partner of DiFrancesco Bateman. He concentrates his practice in complex litigation, including construction, premises liability, Title 59 and commercial matters on behalf of defendants. Steve’s experience in the courtroom and successes has enabled him to be certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Civil Trial Attorney, and he was named a Master of the Joseph Halpern Inns of Court. He has also been certified by the State of New Jersey as a mediator. Steve has successfully defended both corporations and individuals in tort and commercial matters. His clients have included Veolia Water Contract Operations USA, Inc., Diocese of Metuchen, Bank of America and Maersk. In addition to his litigation work, Steve counsels his clients in a wide variety of commercial and contract matters, drawing upon his litigation experience to resolve challenging legal and business issues and to offer his clients advice for business development. Steve is General Counsel to the Suburban Municipal Joint Insurance Fund and Litigation Counsel to the Somerset County Joint Insurance Fund. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Somerset County Bar Association. He is also a member of the Defense Research Institute, The Defense Association of New Jersey, and the DRI Construction Law Committee. He was formerly an assistant prosecutor in Union County, as well as a Municipal Prosecutor in Bedminster Township, Bernards Township, the Borough of Bernardsville and Readington Township.

Jacqueline M. O'Donnell

Jacqueline M. O'Donnell graduated from the Honors Program at the University of Scranton in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. She attended Seton Hall Law School and worked at law firms and the Newark Office of the Public Defender. She was appointed Director of the Juvenile Justice clinic and handled bail hearings. After law school, she continued with the Adult Division of the Newark Public Defender’s Office and worked for various prestigious firms in Essex, Bergen, and Morris Counties, practicing medical malpractice, personal injury, and insurance defense. In 1993, she opened her law firm, which became O'Donnell & Dumbroff in 1995 and O'Donnell Law Firm LLC in 2014. She has over 34 years of experience and a successful reputation. She was President of the Sussex County Bar Association in 2001 and worked pro bono for 9/11 families through Trial Lawyers Care. She is an active member of the Sparta VFW Post 7248, Saint Kateri Parish, and Project Self Sufficiency, and has received numerous awards for her Pro Bono work.

Meghan L. Steingall

Meghan Steingall concentrates her practice in all areas of personal injury litigation. She has represented clients injured by negligence and wrongdoing throughout New Jersey, as well as other parts of the country. Over the years, Meghan has assisted in obtaining millions of dollars for her clients in settlements and verdicts in various cases. In addition to handling her own caseload, Meghan assists the Personal Injury team in trial preparation, specifically witness preparation. She is dedicated to providing compassionate and zealous representation to recover just compensation for losses and damages her clients have endured. She is dedicated to representing members of her community who have been seriously injured by an accident through no fault of their own. Prior to joining Laddey, Clark & Ryan, Meghan served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Edward V. Gannon, J.S.C. in the Superior Court of Sussex County. Previously, she was an associate with a New Jersey law firm where she defended manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and contractors in asbestos litigation at the local and national level. Meghan has been included on the list of New Jersey Rising Stars for 2018-2021. She was also included on the list of Top 20 Personal Injury Verdicts in New Jersey for 2016.