Best's Insurance Professional Resources
Client-Recommended Attorneys, Adjusters and Experts
Best's Insurance Professional Resources
Client-Recommended Attorneys, Adjusters and Experts


Best's Recommended Insurance Attorneys - General Defense

120 West Tenth Street, Erie, Pennsylvania 16501

Practice Areas

  • Insurance Defense
  • Subrogation
  • Trial Practice
  • Workers' Compensation
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Employer Liability
  • COVID-19/Coronavirus

About Us

Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, P.C. was founded in Erie in 1958. Today we are one of the largest law firms in the region, with around 40 attorneys, 25 paralegals, a dedicated support staff, and a growing, dynamic practice throughout Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and beyond. We are down-to-earth professionals who successfully combine the diverse disciplines and skills of a large firm with the accessibility and personalized manner of a small firm.

We provide earnest and attentive advocacy and counsel grounded in a comprehensive knowledge of the industries in which our clients operate. Our attorneys include title insurance agents and members of the bars of other jurisdictions. Our broad-based team approach enables us to leverage individual attorney strengths, assuring that clients benefit from our collective experience.

Our clients include a wide array of businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit institutions, insurance companies and financial institutions, as well as individuals and families. Whether you are the CEO of a large company or a young family developing an estate plan, we understand your needs and strive to fulfill them in a friendly, responsive and cost-effective manner.

Our attorneys have decades of experience and long-standing success in dealing with coverage and liability issues, third-party liability coverage, and uninsured/underinsured motorists matters. We have in-depth understanding of the unique challenges faced by the insurance industry. Our clients cover a wide array of insurance lines.

We are experienced in defending claims before administrative law judges, courts of common pleas, appellate courts, and federal court. We also provide representation in alternative dispute resolution forums such as arbitration and mediation.

Our attorneys focus on specific areas of litigation, giving them a distinct advantage in obtaining the best possible results for our clients.

We also represent insurance companies from a business perspective. Our work for insurers includes mergers and acquisitions and the development of risk pooling contracts.

Additional Locations

  • North East, Pennsylvania
  • 33 East Main Street
  • North East, Pennsylvania 16428
    • Telephone: 814-725-9657
    • Fax: 814-725-3582
  • Jamestown, New York
  • 509 North Main Street
  • Jamestown, New York 14701
    • Telephone: 716-338-0413

Client Information

Insurance Clients

  • Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association

Personnel Information

Shareholders


Bryan G. Baumann

Erie, PA

Years of Experience: 21

Practice Areas
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Construction Litigation
  • COVID-19/Coronavirus
Admitted
  • Illinois, 2002
  • Pennsylvania, 2005
  • New York, 2013
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Additional Biographical Details:

AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell; Best Lawyers in America (Litigation-Construction), 2020-2021; Pennsylvania Super Lawyers 2015-2016 & 2019-2022, and Rising Stars, 2013-2014; 2015 Lawyer on the Fast Track, The Legal Intelligencer

Memberships:
  • Pennsylvania and Erie County Bar Associations
Education:
  • West Virginia University, B.A., 1998
  • Loyola University Chicago, J.D., 2002

Neal R. Devlin

Erie, PA

Years of Experience: 21

Practice Areas
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Civil Rights
  • COVID-19/Coronavirus
Admitted
  • Pennsylvania, 2002
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court
  • U.S. Tax Court, 2008
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 2009
Additional Biographical Details:

Best Lawyers in America, Woodward White, 2013-2023; Pennsylvania Super Lawyers (2018-2022) and Rising Stars 2008, 2010, 2013-2016; 2015 Erie's 40 Under 40, The Erie Reader; 2014 "Lawyer on the Fast Track," The Legal Intelligencer

Memberships:
  • Federal, Pennsylvania and Erie County Bar Associations
Education:
  • Colgate University, B.A., 1999
  • University of Pittsburgh, J.D., 2002

Michael J. Musone

Erie, PA

Years of Experience: 14

Practice Areas
  • Litigation
  • COVID-19/Coronavirus
Admitted
  • Pennsylvania, 2009
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
Additional Biographical Details:

Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® Rising Stars, 2022

Memberships:
  • Pennsylvania and Erie County Bar Associations
Education:
  • Colgate University, B.A., 2005
  • Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, J.D. (cum laude), 2009

Julia M. Herzing

Erie, PA

Years of Experience: 15

Practice Areas
  • Labor and Employment
  • Litigation
  • COVID-19/Coronavirus
Admitted
  • Pennsylvania, 2008
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Additional Biographical Details:

Best Lawyers in America®, (Litigation - Labor and Employment), 2023; Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® Rising Stars, 2017-2022

Memberships:
  • Pennsylvania and Erie County Bar Associations
Education:
  • Penn State University, B.A., 2004
  • Duquesne University, J.D. (cum laude), 2007

Alexander K. Cox

Erie, PA

Years of Experience: 12

Practice Areas
  • Commercial Litigation
  • COVID-19/Coronavirus
Admitted
  • Virginia (Inactive), 2011
  • District of Columbia, 2013
  • Pennsylvania, 2016
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third, Sixth and Ninth Circuits
Additional Biographical Details:

Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® Rising Stars, 2021-2022; Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property Law), 2021; Forbes Magazine's Nationwide "30 Under 30" List-Law and Policy, 2012

Memberships:
  • Pennsylvania and Erie County Bar Associations
Education:
  • The George Washington University, B.A. (cum laude), 2007
  • University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 2010

Robert D. Zaruta

Erie, PA

Years of Experience: 14

Practice Areas
  • Labor and Employment
  • Litigation
  • Workers' Compensation
  • COVID-19/Coronavirus
Admitted
  • New Jersey, 2009
  • Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court, Middle and Western Districts of Pennsylvania
Memberships:
  • American, Pennsylvania and Erie County Bar Associations
Education:
  • University of Pittsburgh, B.S., 2006
  • Syracuse University, J.D., 2009

Associates


Aurora L. Hardin

Erie, PA

Years of Experience: 5

Practice Areas
  • Litigation
  • COVID-19/Coronavirus
Admitted
  • Pennsylvania, 2018
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 2019
Memberships:
  • Pennsylvania and Erie County Bar Associations
Education:
  • The Pennsylvania State University, B.A. (Dean's List), 2015
  • Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville, J.D. (magna cum laude), 2018

Philip J. Seaver-Hall Esq.

Erie, PA

Years of Experience: 2

Practice Areas
  • Commercial Litigation
Admitted
  • Pennsylvania, 2021
Memberships:
  • Pennsylvania and Erie County Bar Associations
Awards
  • "Best Brief" Award and Semifinalist - ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition, Brooklyn Regional
  • #1 Best Defense Advocate Award - Intra-School Mock Trial Competition, Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law
  • CALI Excellence for the Future Awards (several), Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law
Education:
  • Mercer University, B.A. (cum laude), 2018
  • Pennsylvania State University-Dickinson School of Law, J.D., 2021

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