About Us | DBL Law

Our Mission
DBL Law is a full service law firm providing premier legal services and business advice in a collaborative manner with integrity, professionalism and respect, as a strategic partner with our clients. Our professionals operate with a high level of honesty and integrity, are community and civic leaders, and support justice for all. We strive to achieve results that continually exceed the expectations of our clients.

A full-service law firm
Offices in Cincinnati, Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Louisville

Experience

Depth And Breadth Of Experience
Dressman Benzinger LaVelle psc is a mid-sized full-service law firm with offices located in Cincinnati, Ohio, Crestview Hills, Kentucky and Louisville, Kentucky. Our attorneys provide a high level of valuable legal services to private individuals, institutions and companies in many industries and areas of law including:

Administrative
Adoption
Agricultural
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Antitrust
Banking & Financial Institutions
Bankruptcy
Business
Commercial
Computer
Collections
Constitutional
Construction
Copyrights
Corporate
Criminal
E-commerce
Eminent Domain
Employment
Employee Benefits
Equine
Estate Planning
Family

First Amendment
Franchising
Government
Health Care
Information Technology
Insurance
International
Internet
Labor Relations
Libel & Slander
Licensing
Litigation
Personal Injury & Wrongful Death
Probate
Professional Liability
Real Estate
Taxation
Trademarks
Trade Secrets
Trials & Appeals
White Collar Criminal Defense
Workers’ Compensation
Zoning

A Tradition Of Excellence
Celebrating over 60 years of excellence, DBL Law traces its roots to the firm of Dressman, Dunn and Deters. Dressman and Dunn became judges, after which Charles Deters teamed with Gerald Benzinger and the late Jack LaVelle. In the years that followed, the firm grew to its present size, adopting the name Dressman Benzinger LaVelle psc in 2008. Today, DBL Law is the largest Northern Kentucky-based law firm and one of the larger firms in Greater Cincinnati and Louisville.

Full Service Includes Personal Service
DBL Law offers clients the same full scope and sophistication as a large law firm, but retains the responsiveness and accessibility of a small firm. The firm is organized into the following practice groups:

Elite Member of GGI
We are proud to be a selected member of GGI, Geneva Group International, which is one of the top ten worldwide alliances of independent, well-established and experienced accounting, consulting and law firms, committed to providing clients with specialist solutions for their national and international business requirements. As a member, all included firms are locally based and indigenous to their areas, providing the highest level of professionalism and expertise when it comes to knowledge of local business practices, laws and customs.

Awards

Awards and Recognition
DBL Law’s tradition of excellence is underscored by numerous professional awards for the firm and individual attorneys. Below is a sampling of these awards.

David V. Kramer has been named one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Kentucky for 2016 by Super Lawyers
U.S. News & World Report – Best Lawyers 2016 Best Law Firm Rankings has named DBL Law to the Best Law Firms list for 2016. DBL received Tier 1 rankings in the areas of Administrative/Regulatory Law, Construction Law and Health Care Law; as well as high rankings in Banking & Finance Law, Commercial Litigation and Antitrust Litigation. DBL Law has been consecutively named to the list since the publication’s inception in 2010.
DBL Law has been recognized as the volunteer firm of the year by Northern Kentucky Volunteer Lawyers, Inc.
DBL Law has consistently been named one of the Top 100 Workplaces in the region by the Cincinnati Enquirer and the national surveying firm Workplace Dynamics.

Individual Attorney Awards Best Lawyers in America ®

DBL Managing Partner Jim Dressman and fellow partners Mark Guilfoyle, Joe Cleves, Kent Wicker, Gerry Benzinger, and Matt Klein have been selected as Best Lawyers for 2016.

2016 Super Lawyers Kentucky Super Lawyers include:

Mark D. Guilfoyle – Administrative Law
Robert M. Hoffer – Employment & Labor
David V. Kramer – Personal Injury Medical Malpractice Defense
Richard G. Meyer – Business Litigation
Kelly Schoening Holden – Employment & Labor
Elizabeth G. Weber – Bankruptcy: Business
Kent Wicker – Criminal Defense: White Collar

Kentucky Rising Stars

Nicholas C. Birkenhauer – Employment & Labor
Emily Kirtley Hanna – Creditor Debtor Rights
Justin Knappick – Civil Litigation: Plaintiff
Christopher B. Markus – Civil Litigation: Defense
Ryan M. McLane – Civil Litigation: Defense

Ohio Rising Stars

Kevin F. Hoskins – Business Litigation

Individual community service awards and recognition can be found on the DBL attorney profiles.

Community

Excellence in Citizenship
The firm is actively involved in Kentucky state government and handles a substantial number of regulatory proceedings in Kentucky. Partner David Kramer serves as the author of the leading treatise on Kentucky civil procedure, volumes 6 and 7 of West’s Kentucky Practice series.

Extracurricular Achievement
In addition to practicing law, DBL Law attorneys contribute to legal publications, lecture on practice-related topics, act as expert witnesses and help improve our community by serving on the boards of numerous charitable and non-profit organizations. For more details on the attorneys of Dressman Benzinger LaVelle, click on an individual’s name on our Attorney Profiles page.

Community Involvement
DBL attorneys and staff carry on a tradition of dedicated service to a wide variety of community organizations, including, but not limited to, the below list. Please visit individual bios for more specific community involvement.