H. Ward Hamlin, Jr., Partner

H. Ward Hamlin, Jr. is a Western New York native, and a graduate of Nichols School, Hamilton College and Albany Law School of Union University. He is admitted to practice in New York State Courts, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Western Districts of New York. Mr. Hamlin has practiced in the area of insurance defense litigation for over thirty-five years, and previously was managing attorney in field litigation for a major casualty insurer. He represents defendants in personal injury lawsuits and appeals, involving auto and public liability, products liability, construction and municipal liability, and also represents carriers in coverage matters. He frequently serves as an arbitrator for alternative dispute resolution matters, and has conducted educational presentations for insurance carriers, agents and corporate and municipal clients on legal matters.

Mr. Hamlin is a member of the Bar Association of Erie County (past Chair of the Practice and Procedures Committee), the Western New York Trial Lawyers' Association, and the Defense Trial Lawyers Association of WNY. He is also a Lay Vicar Choral in the Choir of St. Paul's Cathedral, and serves on the Board of Friends of Music at St. Paul's.

William D. Harrington concentrates his practice in business and corporate law, real estate, probate, estate planning and administration, and tax law. He is a graduate of Colorado College (B.A., 1975) and Albany Law School (J.D., 1978). He was admitted to the State Bar of York and the United States District Court for the Western District of New York in 1979. He joined the firm in 1988.

Mr. Harrington is an instructor of Business Law at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management. He has also lectured on estate planning and related topics for the New York State Bar Association and other organizations. Mr. Harrington served on the Board of Directors of the Visiting Nursing Association and the Millard Fillmore Health Education and Research Foundation and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Presbytery of Western New York, which he served as president. He is the current treasurer for Partners for a Livable Western New York, a group devoted to encouraging good land use and design. He is a native of Buffalo, New York.

Paul Michael Hassett was President of the New York State Bar Association from 2000 to 2001. He was President-Elect from 1999 to 2000, Eighth District Vice President of the Association from 1997 to 1999, a Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee from 1996 to 1997, and has served in the House of Delegates since 1990. He has served as Co-Chair of the President's Committee on Access to Justice and is a member of the Association’s Finance Committee. He was Chair of the Commission on Providing Access to Legal Services for Middle Income Consumers and Vice-Chair of the Review Committee on the Profession and the Courts. He is a Past-Chair of the New York State Conference of Bar Leaders, having served as a member of the Executive Council from 1992 to 1998. He was Chair of the Special Committee to Improve Courthouse Facilities from 1994 to 1997. He is also a member of the Trusts and Estates Law Section, the Health Law Section, and has served on the Committee on Attorney Professionalism, the Special Committee on the Judiciary and the Task Force on the Profession where he chaired the Sub-Committee on Disciplinary Issues. He is a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation and a member of its Board of Directors.

Mr. Hassett is a Past-President of the Bar Association of Erie County and has held all four elected offices of that Association. He currently serves as Chairman of the Committee on Grievances and is a Member of the Finance Committee. He is a Past-President of the Erie County Bar Foundation and served as a member of the Board of Directors for nine years. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of Erie County Volunteer Lawyers Project, the Aid to Indigent Prisoners Society and the Erie Institute of Law. He received the Lawyer of the Year Award from the BAEC in June 2000.

Mr. Hassett is a member of the Board of Governors of the Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Resolution of the Office of Court Administration. He is a member of the Program Committee of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, a former President of the Metropolitan Bar Caucus, an ABA affiliate organization, and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of the University at Buffalo Law School. He is also a member of the American Bar Association and a delegate to its House of Delegates from the NYSBA.

Mr. Hassett is a native of Buffalo and was graduated from Canisius College (B.S. cum laude, 1962), and Georgetown University Law Center (LL. B., 1965) where he was associate editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He served as a Captain in the United States Army from 1966 to 1968 and has been associated with Brown & Kelly, LLP and its predecessor firms since that time. His practice is concentrated in probate, estate and trust administration, and general business law.

Mr. Hassett is a Past-Commodore of the Buffalo Canoe Club, Past-President of the Amherst Male Glee Club and General Chairman of its Annual Musical Revue, the Red Blazer Varieties, and served as a member of the Development Committee of the Community Music School of Buffalo.

Carolyn M. Henry practices in the area of civil litigation, including insurance defense and coverage litigation.

Ms. Henry received her J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law and her B.S., cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management. She is admitted to the New York State Court and the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.

Ms. Henry is a member of the Bar Association of Erie County, the New York State Bar Association, and the Western New York Chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Thomas J. Kelly devotes his practice to general business law, probate, estate planning and financial administration. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.S.C., 1949) and the University of Buffalo School of Law (J.D., 1952). He was an associate editor of the Law Review and later served as a lecturer in law for eight years. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1952, at which time he joined the firm. Mr. Kelly’s extensive community involvement includes serving as a member of the Town Board of the Town of Tonawanda for 24 years. He was Deputy Supervisor of the Town for 12 years and as the acting Supervisor from January to April of 1973, and again from September to November of 1983. Mr. Kelly was also special attorney for the Town of Tonawanda in connection with the remediation and cleanup of the contamination of Town facilities caused by a former local industry.

In addition, Mr. Kelly is chairman of the Board of Directors of Selective Insurance Company of New York and a member of the Board of the James B. Ryan Paramedic Foundation. He is a former member of the Advisory Board of Kenmore Mercy Hospital and the Advisory Board of Cardinal O’Hara High School. He is a member of the Erie County and New York State Bar Associations and has been a member of the Republican Executive Committee for several years.

Peter E. Klaasesz concentrates his practice in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, tax law and elder law. He has also had considerable experience in the area of residential and commercial real estate transactions. Recently, Mr. Klaasesz supervised the administration of several estates that involved significant Federal and New York State estate taxes and was able to conclude the audits of those estates by the Internal Revenue Service to the benefit of his client. With the shift in emphasis away from the issue of estate tax toward preserving assets, Mr. Klaasesz, in the practice of elder law, helps clients in accomplishing this goal so that as much of their assets as possible can be passed to the next generation.

Mr. Klaasesz is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo (B.A., 1959) and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law (J.D., 1961) and is admitted to practice law before the Federal District Court for the Western District of New York. He joined Brown & Kelly in 1988 as a result of the merger of the firm of Harrington & Klaasesz into Brown & Kelly. He is a member of the Elder Law Section of the Bar Association of Erie County and the New York State Bar Association, as well as a member of the Real Estate Committee of both associations.

A native of Lancaster, New York, Mr. Klaasesz is active in the community. He is a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Lancaster and a former member of the Buffalo Junior Chamber of Commerce and board of the Lancaster Opera House. A trustee of the Lancaster Presbyterian Church, Mr. Klaasesz serves on the finance committee for the construction of a new sanctuary. He has also served on the Board of Trustees of the Presbytery of Western New York and is currently counsel to the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod Eastern District.

Ms. Kowalczuk is a native of Gdansk, Poland and has resided in the Buffalo, New York area since 1980. She is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo (B.A., magna cum laude 1994) and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law (J.D. 1997). Ms. Kowalczuk was admitted to the State Bar of New York in 1998, and admitted to practice before the United States District and Bankruptcy Courts for the Western District of New York. She speaks conversational Polish.

Ms. Kowalczuk's practice includes civil defense litigation in the areas of no-fault/uninsured/underinsured motorist actions; automobile/personal injury; premises liability; fraudulent claims investigations; and declaratory judgment actions. Ms. Kowalczuk's practice also includes investigating first and third party insurance claims and providing coverage opinions and analyses. She is also member of the Erie County and New York State Bar Associations; WNY Trial Lawyers; Defense Trial Lawyers Association; Defense Research Institute; Women's Bar Association of New York; Women Lawyers Association; Charles S. Desmond Inn of Court; and Advocate's Club.

Kenneth A. Krajewski practices in the areas of civil litigation, negligence, personal injury, insurance defense and safe place to work law. He joined the firm as a partner in 2001. Mr. Krajewski is a graduate of Empire State College and the Capital University Law School, cum laude. He is admitted to the bar of the State of New York, and the Western, Northern and Southern Districts of New York. He is a native of Western New York.

Mr. Krajewski is a member of the Bar Association of Erie County and the New York State Bar Association -Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section. He is also a member of the Defense Research Institute, has served as an officer and director of the Defense Trial Lawyers Association of Western New York, and is a past president of The Advocate's Club of Western New York. Mr. Krajewski is currently an adjunct faculty member at Empire State College.

Mr. Krajewski has served as a lecturer and moderator on insurance and personal injury topics for state and local bar association and is a frequent in-house lecturer for insurers. He is a seasoned trial attorney with experience in automobile, safe place to work and product liability litigation.