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KNR expands in Poland and Cleveland
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: September 4, 2018
It is already one of the largest plaintiff personal injury law firms in Ohio and since July 2017 Kisling, Nestico & Redick (KNR) has increased its size by another 7.5 percent, adding 12 employees, five new attorneys and expanding two of its offices.
Based in Akron, a large chunk of the firm’s growth has taken place in the Mahoning County office, prompting KNR to buy the building at 22 E. McKinley Way in Poland, Ohio, where a total of 21 staff members and attorneys will occupy 8,500 square feet of space.
“Our office in Mahoning County has grown substantially since we opened it in 2007,” said KNR Managing Partner Rob Nestico. “We were running out of space so we found a building that gives us the room we need to continue to grow and serve our clients in the Mahoning Valley.”
The Poland office will continue to be managed by KNR partner and Mahoning Valley native Thomas M. Vasvari, a former 7th District Court of Appeals staff attorney.
KNR partner Nomiki P. Tsarnas will co-manage the office with Vasvari. Tsarnas started in 2007 after working in Nationwide Insurance Company’s trial division.
Two new associates, Thomas D. Vasvari and Kaitlyn Utkewicz, will also be part of the team, which includes attorneys Michael Maillis and Anthony Fusco.
A former law clerk at KNR, Thomas D. Vasvari started in November 2017 after graduating from The Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law.
Utkewicz, who received her juris doctor from The Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law in 2017, will begin on Sept. 3. She’s spent the last year as a judicial law clerk for Judge Maritza Berdote Byrne in Morris County, New Jersey.
In addition, four newly hired paralegals and one office assistant will be working out of the new Poland location.
The firm’s Cleveland office, located at 1111 Superior Ave., has been expanded as well to accommodate a full-time staff, including two new attorneys and paralegals.
“It is the second time we expanded the square footage since we opened in December 2017,” he said. “We now have 64 percent more square footage to accommodate employees,” said Nestico.
He said when KNR started its Cleveland office it did so to better service client needs.
“We did not staff it initially,” said Nestico. “We opened it to make it convenient for our clients in the Cleveland area so they would have a place to meet with the attorneys.
“It quickly became apparent that there was enough demand to staff it,” he said.
“Since January we’ve hired one attorney and five paralegals and we are going to add a receptionist and another attorney before the end of the year,” he said.
KNR partner Joshua R. Angelotta, who joined the firm in 2011, will be managing the Cleveland office. Prior to joining KNR, Angelotta defended the interests of insurance companies and large corporations.
Founded in 2005, KNR has grown to include 35 lawyers and 122 support staff.
It has 11 offices around Ohio. While some of those locations serve as meeting spaces, Nestico said the goal is to turn each one into a full service office.
He said the firm’s Toledo and Columbus offices are already fully staffed.
“Attorney Marshall Kupresanin recently joined the team in Toledo and Somali-born attorney Ismail Mohamed joined the legal team in Columbus,” said Nestico.
Mohamed ran as a Democrat in the May 2018 primary, losing his bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Rep. Bernadine Kennedy Kent in the race for Ohio House District 25.
“Our next project will be to staff the Cincinnati office, followed by Dayton,” said Nestico. “Once we complete those projects then we will have fully staffed offices in every major city in the state.”