ERIE – The law firm of MacDonald, Illig, Jones & Britton LLP recently announced that Jenna Bickford, Jennifer B. Hirneisen and S. Craig Shamburg have been named partners with the firm, while Horan Caparosa and Brian P. Hennessy have been named associates.
Bickford represents clients across a number of practice areas, including real estate and banking, business transactions, government services and public finance, and health care. She handles residential and commercial real estate transactions and various types of financing transactions, including commercial lending and municipal finance. She represents business clients with a variety of legal needs such as business formation, contract matters, corporate and regulatory compliance, and sales and acquisitions. She also counsels health-care providers on regulatory compliance matters including, among others, HIPAA, False Claims Act, Stark and Anti-Kickback matters.
Bickford graduated from Susquehanna University, summa cum laude, with a bachelor of science degree in business, with concentrations in finance and marketing. In 2009, she earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she was an executive editor of the Journal of Law and Commerce and a teaching assistant for Legal Writing. Bickford currently serves on the Board of Directors for the expERIEnce Children’s Museum.
Hirneisen concentrates her practice in the areas of real estate, municipal law, creditor’s rights and domestic law. She handles both purchase and sale transactions for residential consumers, including first-time homebuyers as well as sophisticated real estate developers. Her real estate practice also includes work relating to tax sales, tax assessment appeals, quiet title actions, and landlord/tenant matters.
Hirneisen serves as counsel for real estate-related municipal matters, including zoning, municipal liens, subdivision and land development, and tax assessment matters. Her practice also includes creditors’ rights relating to collection matters. In addition to her real estate practice, Hirneisen also assists individuals with a wide range of domestic matters including child custody, support and divorce.
Hirneisen received her bachelor of science degree in business logistics with a minor in real estate from the Pennsylvania State University. She earned her Juris Doctor from the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University. Hirneisen currently serves as the chairperson of the Real Estate Section for the Erie County Bar Association and is a member of the Site Selection Committee for Habitat for Humanity.
Shamburg concentrates his practice in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, tax and business transactions. He works with individuals in preparing both simple and sophisticated Wills and Trusts to transfer wealth in the most tax efficient manner. He is also active in a wide variety of business and nonprofit matters, including business formation, corporate governance, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, executive compensation, equity financing and succession planning.
Shamburg received his bachelor of science degree in accounting from the Pennsylvania State University in 2005. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Dayton School of Law in 2009, where he graduated cum laude. Shamburg currently serves as the president of the Board of Directors of the Mercy Hilltop Center, Inc. He is licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Florida and Georgia.
Additionally, MacDonald Illig has named Caparosa and Hennessy as associates with the firm.
Caparosa is a member of both the firm’s Commercial/General Litigation Practice Group and the Insurance/Personal Injury Practice Group. She is licensed to practice in all Pennsylvania state courts, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Caparosa graduated from Pennsylvania State University with degrees in finance and international politics in 2011. Thereafter, she earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. While at the University of Pittsburgh, Caparosa worked as a student law clerk for the Honorable Maureen P. Kelly, Chief Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and as a legal intern for Duquesne Light Company. Caparosa also served as a Pitt Law Ambassador, a member of the Pitt Law Women’s Association, and as a volunteer tax preparer for the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Hennessy is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group and the Business Transactions Practice Group. Hennessy received his bachelor’s degree in legal studies from Gannon University, graduating summa cum laude. Hennessy attended the University of Akron School of Law, graduating magna cum laude. While attending law school, he served as senior law clerk for Attorneys Schrader, Romanoski and Stevenson and held a clerkship with the Honorable Beth Whitmore, Ninth District Ohio Court of Appeals. Since returning to Erie in 2015, he has been practicing law primarily in the areas of real estate transactions and litigation.
