Attorneys

The Supreme Court of Ohio has accepted several prominent cases on which she wrote the briefs including Ronald Ameigh, etc., et al. v. Baycliffs Corporation, et al.; Harold R. Clagg et al. v. Baycliffs Corp., et al.; and Earlin E. Worley v. Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. et al. Avila has also been at the forefront of litigation in the Ortho Evra multi-district litigation, and is a member of the plaintiffs’ discovery committee.

Her publications include “Kissing Cousins: The relationship of the dual-capacity doctrine to workers’ compensation” in the Tort Law Journal of Ohio, where she has been an editor and contributor. Avila also serves as an editor for the Ohio Trial Magazine. In addition, she has spoken on “The Basics of Insurance Coverage” for the Ohio State Bar Association Insurance Seminar. The Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, The Ohio Association for Justice, and the Ohio State Bar Association also requested her more advanced “Insurance Coverage” presentation.

Avila graduated from Miami University cum laude and is a summa cum laude graduate from the University of Toledo College of Law. A trial and appellate attorney with Connelly, Jackson & Collier since 1994, she is admitted to practice in Ohio and in Michigan. She is currently President of the Toledo Women’s Bar Association. Her professional association memberships include the American Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association, Toledo Bar Association where she is Secretary of the Notaries Public Committee, and Ohio Association for Justice, where she is a trustee on the board of directors.

For the last 17 years, Bonfiglio has devoted his practice exclusively to the representation of injured persons, where he has gained significant trial experience. His personal injury practice includes claims for wrongful death, uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage, and pre and post judgment interest. He also obtained a jury verdict in litigation extending insurance liability coverage to a licensed driver accompanying a temporary permit holder.

In addition, Bonfiglio has lectured for the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, Ohio State Bar Association, and The Toledo Bar Association on issues of personal injury and insurance law. He is in his second term as a member of the Toledo Bar Association Grievance Committee.

Bonfiglio is a graduate of Bowling Green State University and a cum laude graduate of the University of Toledo College of Law. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1985 and began his practice with the firm of John R. Wanick & Associates. From 1987 to 1988 he was an Assistant Lucas County Prosecutor, Criminal Division, and he joined Connelly, Jackson & Collier LLP in August of 1988. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court, U. S. District Courts for the Northern District of Ohio, and the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Bonfiglio is a member of the Ohio Association of Justice, and the Ohio State, Toledo, and Lucas County Bar Associations. He serves as Secretary of the Grievance Committee for the Toledo Bar Association. Bonfiglio is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a membership limited to trial lawyers with exceptional skill, experience, and excellence in advocacy by achieving a trial verdict, award or settlement of one million dollars or more.

He focuses his practice in the areas of personal injury, wrongful death, and medical malpractice. Collier is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum whose membership is limited to trial lawyers who have demonstrated exceptional skill, experience, and excellence in advocacy by achieving a trial verdict, award or settlement in the amount of one million dollars or more. He has also briefed and argued cases before the Ohio Supreme Court.

Widely respected by his peers, Collier served as President of the Ohio Association for Justice from 2001-2002. He has been a Trustee of the Ohio Association for Justice since 1989 and a Fellow since 2003. Collier has been Chair of the Lawyers and Doctors Committee of the Toledo Bar Association. He is a member of the American College of Legal Medicine. In 2005, Collier authored the Minority Report for the Ohio Medical Malpractice Commission, a nine-member panel appointed to study the effects of the Medical Malpractice Bill (S.B. 281). Collier has lectured extensively throughout Ohio for the Ohio Association for Justice, local bar associations, Ohio Legal Center Institute, and the National Business Institute in the areas of personal injury and medical malpractice. He has served as Co-Chair of the Annual Fundraising for LAWO and ABLE which provides assistance for those who cannot afford attorneys. Also, he was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio to serve on a task force to formulate guidelines for court reporter certification.

Since 1992, he has been a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Toledo Medical Center teaching Law & Medicine. He was an adjunct teacher at the University of Toledo College of Law teaching Trial Practice from 1997 to 2004.

Collier graduated from Wittenberg University cum laude and from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, with honors. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1981. He is a member of the Toledo, Ohio State, and American Bar Associations and is a Fellow of the Ohio and Toledo Bar Foundations.

While so employed, he was specially assigned by the United States Department of Justice as a Prosecutor in the case entitled United States of America v. Berrigan, which trial gained national attention. For his efforts, Connelly received a special commendation from the Attorney General of the United States.

Since 1972, Connelly has been in the private practice of law, concentrating his practice in personal injury, medical malpractice, complex business litigation, and federal white collar criminal defense.

From 1968 to 1975, Connelly was on the adjunct faculty of the University of Toledo College of Law, teaching Trial Practice. Connelly was an adjunct professor at the University of Toledo College of Medicine from 1986 to 1992. In 1992, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the University of Toledo Medical Center (formerly known as Medical College of Ohio) and served as Chairman of its Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2001. In April of 2001, Connelly was appointed Vice President and General Counsel of the University of Toledo Medical Center, where he served until May 2004.

Connelly has been a lecturer at seminars hosted by the Ohio State Bar Association, Toledo Bar Association, and the Ohio Association for Justice. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He is a member of the American, Ohio State, and Toledo Bar Associations, and is a Fellow of the American, Ohio and Toledo Bar Foundations. In 1995, Connelly received the University of Toledo Law Alumni Association Distinguished Toledo Lawyer Award. Since 1987, Connelly has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America, a referral guide of attorneys in the United States. He is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Connelly graduated cum laude from John Carroll University with a Bachelor of Science and received a Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University. He was admitted to practice law in 1964 and has been senior partner of Connelly, Jackson & Collier LLP since 1978.

Mr. Jackson’s practice also includes the areas of federal white collar criminal defense and professional liability. In 1978, he, together with Bill Connelly, formed the firm now known as Connelly, Jackson & Collier LLP.

Mr. Jackson is a board certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy having completed a lengthy certification process including peer review of work and a rigorous written exam. In the state of Ohio there are fewer than 150 certified civil trial advocates.

As part of his ongoing commitment to the profession, Mr. Jackson recently concluded service on the House of Delegates for the American Bar Association, where he was first appointed in 1996. In December 2009, Mr. Jackson concludes service to the Ohio State Bar Foundation, on which board he was first appointed in 1998, and served as President in 2008. Other roles include serving as President of the Ohio State and Toledo Bar Associations and becoming a Fellow of the American, Ohio State and Toledo Bar Foundations. He is also a frequent lecturer at seminars hosted by the Ohio State and Toledo Bar Associations. Mr. Jackson was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the categories of Federal White Collar Crime and Commercial Litigation.

Prior to forming Connelly, Jackson & Collier, Mr. Jackson was appointed and served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio where he tried complex business and criminal cases on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice. Additionally, he was an adjunct faculty member of the University of Toledo College of Law, teaching Trial Practice for several years. Mr. Jackson received his Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Arts from The Ohio State University.

Lavalette is a member of the Toledo, Ohio State, and American Bar Associations, and the Ohio Association for Justice.

Tim represents a wide variety of individuals and companies, ranging from small sole proprietorships to Fortune 500 corporations. This diversity in experience has led him to adopt an aggressive, yet principled and practical, approach to litigation, which has proven most effective for his clients, both in terms of success and cost.

Mr. Nackowicz is a 2000 cum laude graduate of Miami University, and a 2003 with honors graduate of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. He is a member of the Toledo, Ohio State, and American Bar Associations.

Tim is active in the community, teaching elementary students as a Junior Achievement volunteer. He is also a member of Hudson Lodge #510, F.&.A.M., and Zenobia Shriners, A.A.O.N.M.S.

Nightingale advises all manner of DEA registrants, from manufacturers, distributors, and importers of controlled substances and listed chemicals, to practitioners (such as physicians and dentists) and pharmacies.

Nightingale graduated magna cum laude from the University of Toledo College of Law in 2005, after receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the Ohio State University in 2002. During law school, Nightingale served as Assistant Executive Editor of the Law Review and worked as an extern in the chambers of the Honorable Judge David A. Katz of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio. After law school, he served as the first judicial law clerk to the Honorable Jack Zouhary of the U. S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio.

Nightingale is an active member of the Toledo legal community. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Toledo Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Committee, and is a member of the Executive Board of the Toledo Junior Bar Association. He is a member of the Toledo Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Northern District of Ohio Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Nightingale was recognized as a 2010 Rising Star by the publication Ohio Super Lawyers.

Nightingale was admitted to practice law in Ohio in 2005. He is also admitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Ohio and Western District of Michigan.

He has litigated insurance coverage issues, negotiated settlements with insurance companies for claims, and conducted coverage reviews for clients facing liability claims from third parties in both state and federal court. He has briefed and argued cases in the Ohio Supreme Court.

Smith has also tried and prosecuted appeals of lawsuits involving construction, securities, lender liability, and shareholder disputes. Smith has defended directors and officers against regulatory agencies.

Smith is an honors graduate of Miami University and the University of Toledo College of Law, and also earned a Masters degree from The Ohio State University. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1980. Smith is a member of the Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio State, Federal, and American Bar Associations and is a Fellow of the Ohio and Toledo Bar Foundations. He serves as Chair of the Bench Bar – Kiroff Committee, for the Toledo Bar Association. He is also a member of the Ohio Association for Justice and Toledo Women’s Bar Association. He served as a Trustee of the Toledo Bar Association from 1997 to 2006 and was President of the Toledo Bar Association in 2004-2005. Smith has been President of the Toledo Junior Bar and a member of numerous bar association committees. He is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and has served as a lecturer for the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio Legal Center Institute, the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, and the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association.