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Buckingham acquires boutique litigation firm
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: September 16, 2022
Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs recently expanded its litigation strength with the acquisition of the former Cleveland-based law firm Moscarino & Treu.
The deal officially took effect on Aug. 1, with all eight attorneys from the firm, including the co-founders George M. Moscarino and Kris Treu and two nurse paralegals joining Buckingham’s Cleveland office.
Founded in 1998, the boutique litigation firm focused on the defense of medical malpractice and professional liability matters but also handled commercial and insurance defense litigation, product liability, securities, banking and medical product cases.
“We have been on a path of steady growth for a while now, expanding on our expertise and experience,” said Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs Managing Partner Steve Dimengo. “The acquisition of Moscarino & Treu enabled us to add more depth and breadth to our litigation practice, which was one of our goals.
“We have never hired just to add bodies, as our expansion has always been targeted and strategic to complement the areas we practice where we consider ourselves the best,” said Dimengo. “The co-founders of Moscarino & Treu are both seasoned attorneys and the firm had an excellent reputation. We could not be happier about the acquisition.”
“We had been looking for another place for our firm to call home for a while now, but we wanted to find the right fit,” said Moscarino.
“Joining Buckingham was an opportunity for us to be part of a much larger firm with a wealth of resources and a culture similar to ours,” said Moscarino. “It will allow me to take my career to the next level since I no longer have to spend substantial time on the administrative aspects of a law firm and I can focus on what I enjoy the most, practicing law for our valued clients in northeast Ohio.
“Since we were a boutique litigation firm and Buckingham is a full service firm, our clients and potential clients will have access to seasoned attorneys in a wide range of practice areas.”
“Buckingham was a good match for us,” said Treu. “The firm has been in growth mode for some time now and they were looking to expand their Cleveland office, which is where we were based.
“Our acquisition will ensure the long-term legacy of what we began in 1998 and permit our young lawyers to help keep Buckingham thriving,” said Treu. “Additionally, not having to deal with the administration of the firm will enable me to focus on my practice and to help Buckingham grow its client base and the Cleveland office.”
A native of Mayfield Village, Ohio Treu received his bachelor’s degree in religion from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.
“When I started at Dartmouth, I was not sure what I wanted to do,” said Treu. “There were no lawyers in my family previously. My folks were music educators.
“I practiced my burgeoning persuasive lawyer skills to convince my future wife, a Dartmouth pre-med student to join me at Ohio State for law school. That was probably the most important argument, legal or otherwise I’ve ever won.”
Treu obtained his juris doctorate from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1983. He then began his legal career as an associate at Arter & Hadden, where he had been a summer clerk during law school.
Moscarino joined the same firm in 1986 after serving as an assistant prosecutor in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.
He grew up in South Euclid and received his bachelor’s degree from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, where he majored in political science.
“I was born the day my dad passed the bar exam, so I think a career in law was kind of pre-ordained in my case,” said Moscarino, who obtained his juris doctorate from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
In 1998, Moscarino and Treu left Arter & Hadden to start Moscarino & Treu.
“At Arter & Hadden we were representing a lot of hospitals and physician groups and we thought we could do well by venturing out on our own,” said Treu.
“One of the reasons Buckingham was such a good fit is because the firm has a health and medicine practice group and we were doing work for many of the same clients,” said Treu.
“We knew the chair of the group, Dirk Riemenschneider and George’s law professor Jerry Chattman also worked at Buckingham until his passing in 2021.”
“Jerry was a catalyst for the move to Buckingham,” said Moscarino. “I approached him before the pandemic to seek his advice about how he merged his small firm years ago and his immediate response was that he didn’t want us to merge with anyone other than his firm, Buckingham.
“That led to a meeting with him and then an initial lunch with Steve Dimengo and other members of the executive committee,” said Moscarino. “Things were delayed by the pandemic but then gained momentum in 2021, and unfortunately Jerry was not here to see the end result, but he was key in putting this together.
“We had a very good run for 23 and a half years as Moscarino & Treu and we loved it,” said Moscarino. “We were two guys who broke out of a large firm and took the risk to start our own firm and we succeeded.”
Moscarino is a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan and Ohio State bar associations and the Litigation Counsel of America. He served on the Law Alumni Association Board at Case Western Reserve University School of Law for over a dozen years, where he was president from 2018 to 2019.
“Now that I am no longer running a law firm, I hope to channel some of that energy into some new philanthropic endeavors,” said Moscarino.
Treu is also a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan and Ohio State bar associations as well as the Defense Research Institute, the Judge John M. Manos American Inn of Court and the Court of Nisi Prius, an invitational attorney social club in Cleveland.
In addition, he sings and plays trombone in The No Name Band.
“We’re a rock 'n' roll band made up of lawyers,” said Treu. “I come from a family of musicians and this is a great way to combine my two passions.
“I hope to make great music with the other lawyers at Buckingham for the foreseeable future.”