Stark & Knoll is pleased to announce that it has promoted two members of the Litigation & Employment Group, Julie A. Bickis and Kathleen A. Hahner, to partner.
Julie Bickis represents clients in business litigation cases as well as insurance defense matters. Last year, Julie and other S&K attorneys won a major victory in a shareholder dispute, in which our client was awarded $1.4 million by a Summit County jury. She also was part of the team that successfully defended a law firm against claims of malfeasance and limited the damages it had previously faced. She has 13 years of experience handling litigation involving public and private entities, including business disputes, personal injury and wrongful death cases.
Julie was just named vice chair of the board of YMCA's Camp Y-Noah, which provides Day Camp, Overnight Camp and an Equestrian Center for local youth development and to promote healthy living and social responsibility. She also serves on the boards of the Canton-Akron Youth Hockey Association and Boy Scout Troop 265. Julie currently resides in Jackson Township, Ohio with her husband and two sons.
Kathy Hahner represents clients in complex litigation matters, including trade secrets cases, shareholder disputes, and probate litigation. She also counsels S&K clients on HR matters and defends them in employment suits. In 2017, Kathy was part of the team that won a major Ohio Supreme Court victory protecting employers against the expansion of minimum wage rules to commissioned sales people. Last year, after prevailing in a probate court trial on removal of a trustee, Kathy assisted in the successful appellate action to affirm the lower court's decision. More recently, Kathy won another appellate matter reversing the dismissal of our client's claims for breach of contract.
Kathy also serves as a member of the board for PAWS---Public Animal Welfare Society of Ohio--- the organization that helped craft and enact Goddard’s Law, which makes it a felony to knowingly cause serious physical harm to a companion animal. Kathy currently resides in Hudson, Ohio.
"We are all very proud of Julie and Kathy, " said John K. Krajewski, S&K's Managing Partner. "They've both worked hard, provided terrific client service, and have successfully impacted our clients and our community. We're very happy that they'll be representing our firm as partners.