Laws are made to help. We were made to simplify.
The law should make your life better. But it often doesn’t. We’re here to make it as simple as possible to get what’s best for you: Buying a house. Selling. Or planning your estate.
Meet the Vallones
Eric T. Vallone Esq.
Gina L. Vallone-Bacon Esq.
Cara L. Smith Esq.
Mike Wild Esq.
Andrea Main
director of operations
Alyssa Miller
Closer / Marketing
Shawna Moorhouse
paralegal
Sierra Ellis
Paralegal
Kelsey Faulks
Paralegal
Kayla Coyle
Paralegal
Sydnie Moxley
Paralegal
Rachel Zimmerman
Paralegal
Mirijana Vassallo
Paralegal
Eric T. Vallone Esq.
Eric has a glorious beard that enters a room 10 minutes before he does. But his warmth and openness is what you’ll remember when he leaves. As soon as you meet Eric, you’re a friend. He’s our real estate attorney, so if you want to buy or sell a house, Eric’s your guy. His work is less dramatic courtroom appearances and more emails, phone calls, and (his favorite) face-to-face meetings with the folks he’s helping. Someday, he’s going to pack up his family, fly to Europe, and see how much of it they can explore before the real world calls him back again.
- Canisius College, Bachelor’s, 2001
- University at Buffalo Law School, JD, 2006
Gina L. Vallone-Bacon Esq.
Nobody’s ever asked Gina to “speak up” in her life, and they’ve never wondered if she was telling God’s honest truth. She’s a straight-talker. That’s good for you, because she’s got a brain absolutely brimming with every scrap of knowledge needed to inspect each line of a contract. And she can calmly, thoroughly explain it to you. Gina loves Christmas movies year-round, being warm and cozy, and Mexican food. She doesn’t care for bacon.
- University at Buffalo, BA English, 2013
- University at Buffalo Law School, JD, 2016
- Admitted to NYS Bar, 2017
Kelsey Faulks
If you’ve got a property question, then you’re in luck: we have Kelsey. She’s fun to talk to, but more importantly, she knows a whole heck of a lot about property transactions. Kelsey is one of the reasons our closing process is so easy and so quick. If she had a plane, a pilot, and a free weekend she’d go back to Nashville for a visit with her friends. If she didn’t have access to all that, it’d be either football or true crime shows with her dog Ralph (Wilson).
Sierra Ellis
If there’s money involved (purchases, sales, bank stuff) then Sierra is on the case. She’s not your stereotypical numbers gal, though, being quick to smile and maybe even quicker to laugh. When she’s not working on the numbers, Sierra is a refreshingly open book. No secrets. Sometimes she daydreams about going back to Hawaii and island hopping with her husband and her dog.
Alyssa Miller
If Alyssa got a TV show someday, it’d be called “The Closer-Upper” (her nickname from Jim). She’s aces at getting keys into the right hands, but she also brought 10 years of marketing experience with her (and gets to do two things she loves). Buying or selling a home takes many steps, and thank goodness Alyssa is the last. It’s nice to see her smile right before you transfer keys. Despite her general cheeriness, she’s not rocking some bubble gum pop in her headphones every day. No, she’s definitely listening to the latest true crime podcast.
Andrea Main
Director of Operations
We asked Andrea what she did and she still hasn’t stopped laughing, so we’re assuming “anything that needs done and hasn’t yet.” She’s officially our Director of Operations and brings 15 years of keeping offices running like clockwork to the table. You’ll probably hear Andrea before you see her (she’s not shy), but when you sit down for that meeting it is on. Andrea’s always prepared, and because of her, our team’s always prepared. Nobody’s ever handed a blank check to Andrea (yet), but if they did, she’d take her mom to Greenland for the northern lights, backtrack, fly her dad to Sicily, then lay on the beach and make them bring the buffet to her. If you find a blank check, just let her know.
Cara L. Smith Esq.
Cara is the person you want sitting beside when there’s property litigation to handle. Her day is a flurry of court appearances, client meetings, working with her team, and legal research and writing. Cara doesn’t mind the legal weather, though, because she relishes a good challenge. It’s also a chance to put her values into practice–Cara’s as confident in those as she is in her knowledge of the law. If she had a new RV and a long weekend, she’d head to Acadia with some close friends and family.
- SUNY Brockport, Summa Cum Laude, 2014
- Penn State Law, JD, 2019
- National Environmental Law Moot Court Competitor 2018, Coach 2019; Women’s Law Caucus Treasurer 2017-2019
- Admitted to NYS Bar, WDNY and WNY Bankruptcy Court, 2020
Kayla Coyle
When your claims are all filed on time and you never miss a court date or legal notice, that’s Kayla’s doing. All the horror stories you’ve ever heard about dealing with the logistics of our judicial system stop at her door. Kayla might just have discovered the fountain of youth, what with her boundless energy for dealing with snafus and the fact that she hasn’t aged a day since starting here. When she’s not keeping our part of the legal system running like a well-oiled machine, she’s probably showing off her delicious cooking and baking skills. Someday, she and her fiance are taking a trip up north. Not Canada, too close. Maybe somewhere Nordic.
Mirijana Vassallo
Rachel Zimmerman
Shawna Moorhouse
Shawna knows that purchases and sales are a lot more complicated than the days when you’d just shake hands and exchange money for keys. That’s great for you, because she makes purchase and sales contracts simple to understand. And while contracts rarely make folks smile, Shawna always does. Life’s too short to spend it grumpy. When she’s not working, she loves to be on a beach, mystery novel in hand, or maybe in the waves, from sun-up to sun-down.
Sydnie Moxley
Paralegal
Organization is how Sydnie shows she cares, so you should feel safe knowing all the paperwork and filing dates, and meeting scheduling for your legal matter is being handled by her. Sydnie loves spending time with her friends…and making them helpful spreadsheets and itineraries for their trips. Some day, Sydnie will hike as much of the eastern hemisphere as she can. She’ll stay within a day’s travel of the ocean and always carry spritz-making materials in her pack. Oh, and if you ever need to look up a critical factoid and don’t have a phone handy, ask Sydnie. She probably knows it.
Mike Wild Esq.
Something unexpected always happens. When it does, you want Mike in your starting lineup. He’s already spent hours researching legal questions and drafting documents for the issue at hand. He’s earned his confidence in every case, and it puts our whole team at ease. He’s also pretty quick with a joke, which helps when things get tense. When he’s not helping clients navigate property concerns, he’s relaxing with his wife and their celebrity dog, Franc LeBlanc (he was in a super bowl commercial!). One of these days, he’s taking his wife on a dream trip to Italy.
- Colgate University, Bachelor’s, 2004
- Valparaiso University School of Law, JD, 2010
- Admitted to the NYS Bar in 2011
Jim Vallone founded our firm in 1983. He was a mentor and a father to us. He always believed the best of everyone till they gave him reason to think differently. Even then, he hoped for the best. That motivated him as both a judge and later a DWI attorney. He also had a fabulous voice for radio. You never felt like you were going it alone with Jim around. Visit the digital memorial we created in his honor, and listen to his voice again.
Take it from our clients.
There are not enough stars to show just how pleased we are with Eric & Rachel in particular. They’re phenomenal.
Their office manager Andrea and their paralegal Rachel are amazing as well and went above and beyond for us.
Eric and his staff always follow through and take care of my legal needs. I am very pleased with their service.