Position: Associate

Natalie Alexander

Natalie is a member of the firm’s Business and Real Estate practice groups. She comes to the firm with considerable experience stemming from her vast educational background, internships and previous job history.

During law school, Natalie spent time as a summer and fall associate for a firm in South Central Pennsylvania where she drafted filings for corporate, estate, family and property law matters. She performed legal research and advised attorneys of appropriate courses of action pertaining to cases. Natalie also gained experience as a Certified Legal Intern for the Dickinson Community Law Clinic where she drafted and filed legal documents relating to various family and disability law matters in addition to advocating for clients at administrative hearings.

As an editor for the Dickinson Law Review, Natalie gained a unique perspective in the legal field, editing and preparing book reviews received for publication. She also solicited book reviews from legal professionals for writing and publication. In addition, Natalie worked as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Martin C. Carlson at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. In this role, she conducted legal research and drafted memorandum opinions and recommendations.

Outside of the firm, Natalie enjoys playing tennis and reading. She is a native of Hagerstown, Maryland, and is fluent in Spanish. Natalie volunteers with Micah’s Backpack, a program in Hagerstown designed to feed hungry students over the weekend by providing them healthy meals and snacks to take home.

RECOGNITIONS
  • Dean’s Fellow, Dickinson Law
  • Academic Excellence Award, University of Maryland
  • Honors in English, University of Maryland
  • University Honors, University of Maryland
PUBLICATIONS
  • Law Review Comment, Meaningless DNA: Moore’s Inadequate Protection of Genetic Material, 127 Dick. L. Rev. 399 (2022).
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
  • Judicial Intern, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • Certified Legal Intern, Community Law Clinic at Dickinson Law
  • Summer Associate, Black and Davison, P.C.
  • Executive Book Review Editor, Dickinson Law Review

Caitlin M. Long

Caitlin is a member of Barley Snyder’s Business and Creditors’ Rights practice groups with strong analytical skills, a keen attention to detail, and the ability to find creative solutions to problems. A significant portion of Caitlin’s practice is helping clients with mergers and acquisitions. In this role, she conducts due diligence, structures transactions, negotiates and drafts letters of intent, negotiates and drafts acquisition agreements, assists with the coordination of financing sources and brings the transaction to a successful close.

In her business practice, Caitlin also helps clients with general business matters including entity formation and selection, contract drafting and review as well as internal corporate governance including shareholder agreements, operating agreements and ownership interest transfers. She also has experience with handling the sale and purchase of both commercial real estate and liquor licenses. In her creditors’ rights practice, Caitlin assists with commercial financing including loan document preparation. 

Caitlin is a member of Barley Snyder’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee and has strong ties to firm. She previously worked as a law clerk at the firm as she completed her final year of law school and is a former summer associate. Before joining Barley Snyder, Caitlin clerked for the Office of Maryland Attorney General’s Antitrust Division where she conducted legal research and interviews, assisted with litigation claims and handled other tasks. 

A Pennsylvania native who graduated from Lancaster Catholic High School, Caitlin currently lives in Montgomery County with her wife. Outside the office, she enjoys cooking and spending time at Longwood Gardens where they are members. 

OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
  • Barley Snyder Summer Associate, June 2022 – July 2022
  • Office of Maryland Attorney General, Antitrust Division, Law Clerk – May 2021-December 2021
  • Dorman Products, Corporate Development Intern – May 2019-August 2020
  • Wipfli LLP, Tax Intern – January 2019-April 2019
  • Comcast Spectacor, Payroll Intern – August 2018-December 2018
  • Sungard Availability Services, Human Resources Management Intern – May 2018-August 2018
  • Sungard Availability Services, Legal Intern – October 2017-May 2018
CERTIFICATIONS
  • Westlaw; LexisNexis

Andrew J. Mahon

Andy Mahon is an attorney in Barley Snyder’s Immigration and Employment practice groups with over a decade of experience. He concentrates his practice on immigration law, representing businesses and families seeking immigration benefits as well as defending individuals placed in removal proceedings. 

Andy manages a complex caseload of immigration matters for the firm, counseling a diverse range of businesses across industries including healthcare, dental, engineering, architecture, construction, manufacturing, technology, nonprofit and higher education. He works closely with his clients to address their full range of immigration needs. Andy guides clients through issues related to the Form I-9 process, assisting with the evaluation of employees’ authorization to work and the implementation of self-audits to ensure clients develop and maintain sound HR policies to promote consistency and compliance. He conducts comprehensive evaluations of foreign nationals’ eligibility for both temporary and permanent immigration statuses, developing tailored immigration strategies and overseeing the exchange of information and progress among the legal team to ensure seamless execution of these plans. Additionally, Andy prepares and submits petitions and applications for a wide range of immigration statuses, including temporary statuses, such as E-2, H-1B, J, L-1, O-1, R-1, and TN, as well as permanent resident status through EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, and EB-4 classifications, navigating various paths such as PERM and National Interest Waivers (NIW). His business immigration practice also includes representing international medical graduates in applications for immigration status and securing 212(e) waivers through the Conrad 30 and HHS programs. 

Andy has represented hundreds of clients before various agencies that are responsible for administering U.S. immigration laws, including the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of State. He also litigates immigration cases in federal court, filing petitions for review and submitting oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and preparing mandamus and habeas petitions before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He routinely advises attorneys from other areas of practice on immigration matters affecting their clients, often working with criminal defense counsel to structure guilty pleas to avoid future immigration consequences. Additionally, Andy has presented on immigration topics at several training courses for lawyers, paralegals and community members.

Before joining Barley Snyder, Andy worked at a Lancaster law firm focused exclusively on the practice of immigration law, becoming a partner in 2019. Prior to that, he was a staff attorney for the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center where he defended individuals in removal proceedings who were most in need due to mental illness, poverty or persecution in their country of origin. He started his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Penny L. Blackwell in the York County Court of Common Pleas. 

Andy graduated from Fordham University with a bachelor’s degree in history and French. He then spent two years living in France and working as an English teacher. He earned his juris doctor from Widener University School of Law, graduating with honors. He was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society and Widener Law Journal.

MEMBERSHIPS
  • American Immigration Lawyers Association
AWARDS/RECOGNITION
  • Light of Liberty Award, Pro Bono Attorney of the Year (2014)
PUBLICATIONS/SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
  • “H-1B Status Overview,” Widener University Commonwealth Law School (September 2024)
  • “Immigration HR 101,” LSHRM (July 2024)
  • “Form I-9: Best Practices, Updates, and Immigration Statuses,” Barley Snyder Employment Law Seminar (May 2024)
  • “Immigration Forum,” ABC Keystone Peer Group Presentation (April 2024)
  • “Immigration Forum,” ABC Keystone Peer Group Presentation (February 2024)
  • “Human Resource Hot Topics,” PennAg (October 2023)
  • “Intro to Business Immigration and I-9 Compliance,” Lancaster Area Paralegal Association 8th Annual Civil Conference (September 2023)
  • “Immigration Law Training,” Mennonite Central Committee, Presenter (2013-2017)
  • “Model Hearing Program:  Withholding-Only Proceedings,” PIRC and York Immigration Court, Presenter (May 2014)
  • “Immigration 101,” LAPA General Business Meeting (January 2013)
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
  • Former teaching assistant, Bordeaux, France

Megan Ryland Tanner

Megan is a member of Barley Snyder’s Business and Real Estate practice groups, bringing over 20 years of experience to the firm. She is dedicated to serving her clients while making a difference in the community.

In her business practice, Megan assists clients with entity formations and agreements including liability, operations and indemnification. She has experience handling liquor license matters with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) such as liquor license purchases, sales, transfers and related matters. In one instance, Megan represented a restaurant owner in a matter where PLCB would not approve a restaurant manager due to her criminal history. Megan advocated for her client and requested a hearing, and the manager was ultimately approved to act as manager. Furthermore, Megan frequently handles business sales, for both buyers and sellers, in the region. Megan’s business and liquor license experience ties in nicely with her real estate practice where she regularly handles real estate closings and sales agreements in addition to being a licensed title agent.

Megan started her law career in private practice where she gained a breadth of experience in real estate and title work, family law, criminal defense work and litigation. In addition to her years in private law firm practice, Megan previously served in the Lebanon County District Attorney’s Office as Senior Deputy District Attorney where she prosecuted felony and misdemeanor cases including child abuse, juvenile and adult sex crimes, domestic violence, homicides and robberies in both adult and juvenile criminal systems. Megan handled sensitive cases while working closely with the Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center (SARCC), conducting well over 100 jury trials. Additionally, she managed and handled all the Act 21 (civil commitments) for the office as well as developed and managed the child abuse response police advisories and multidisciplinary investigative team (MDIT). Megan was an active member of the Lebanon County Child Abuse Task Force and a board member representing Lebanon County for the Children’s Resource Center in Harrisburg. She was appointed by the Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas as a Custody Conciliator, a role which she served in from June 2003 to January 2023, resolving familial custody issues in lieu of litigation.

Megan has been recognized for many of her professional achievements. She was honored among the “Women Working for Justice” by the Lebanon County Commission for Women and received the “Children’s Hero Award” in 2014 from the Children’s Resource Center and again in 2015 from SARCC. Outside of the firm, Megan stays involved with Leadership Lebanon Valley’s Justice Day Program volunteering with its mock trial and providing a presentation about the criminal system.

A life-long resident of Lebanon County and mother of three, Megan earned her bachelor’s degree from Penn State University in Public Policy and her juris doctor degree from Widener University School of Law.

MEMBERSHIPS
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
RECOGNITIONS/AWARDS
  • “Women Working for Justice” by the Lebanon County Commission for Women in 2013
  • “Children’s Hero Award” from Children’s Resource Center in 2014
  • “Children’s Hero Award” from Sexual Assault Resource and Counseling Center in 2015
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
  • Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas, Custody Conciliator, June 2003 to January 2023
  • Lebanon County Child Abuse Task Force, Former Member
PRESENTATIONS
  • Mock Criminal Trial/Presentation on the Criminal Justice System, Leadership Lebanon Valley Justice Day Program (June 2023)

Jacob H. Kiessling

Jake is an attorney in the firm’s Business, Real Estate and Trusts & Estates practice groups with significant experience in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, business formation and succession planning, solar leasing and other real estate transactions, and estate and trust matters.

In his business practice, Jake represents clients across many industries ranging from health care, professional services and institutional businesses to family farms and real estate investors. His representation includes a wide array of legal matters including mergers and acquisitions, business formations and succession planning, and general business advisement. He has successfully negotiated numerous small to mid-market M&A transactions on behalf of buyers and sellers alike. 

Jake also represents clients in various real estate transactions, including commercial real estate acquisitions, financing and leases. Most notably, Jake has extensive experience successfully negotiating leases for solar energy and battery storage facilities on behalf of landowners throughout Pennsylvania, as well as in other states in the Mid-Atlantic region, and is widely regarded as an expert on landowner considerations in the leasing and development processes of the solar energy industry. As a lecturer and panelist, he has presented on numerous occasions regarding solar development and ground leasing for organizations such as Pennsylvania State University, Cornell University and the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and has had the honor of testifying as an invited panelist before the Pennsylvania Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee with respect to solar industry leasing practices and the impact of solar development on prime agricultural land. 

As an estates and trusts practitioner, Jake assists clients with all of their estate planning needs, whether simple or complex, and has represented financial institutions with respect to their estate, trust and fiduciary account management and services.

Prior to joining Barley Snyder, Jake was a partner in a mid-sized Harrisburg law firm.  Jake is a graduate of Lycoming College where he was President of his fraternity, Kappa Delta Rho, and a member of the varsity wrestling team. He currently serves on the Congregation Council of Zion Lutheran Church in Hummelstown, the Lycoming College Alumni Association Executive Board and the LutheranHANDS Foundation Board of Directors. In his spare time, Jake enjoys fly fishing and fly tying, playing guitar, Penn State wrestling, Philadelphia sports, and spending time camping or at his family cabin in Lycoming County with his wife and their two children.

PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
MEMBERSHIPS
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • Dauphin County Bar Association

Charmaine E. Nyman

Charmaine is a member of Barley Snyder’s Business and Real Estate practice groups. She is also a member of the firm’s Food & Agribusiness Industry Group, the Liquor Law and Land Use practices, and the Corporate Transparency Act and PA Annual Report response teams. 

Charmaine focuses her practice on business law, with a particular emphasis on mergers and acquisitions. As an M&A attorney, she helps clients navigate the complexities of buying, selling, and merging businesses, ensuring that every transaction is structured to protect their interests and achieve their financial and operational goals. She works with clients across various industries to handle all aspects of a deal from due diligence and contract negotiation to post-deal integration. Charmaine also assists clients with general corporate matters, ranging from entity formation and dissolution to drafting and negotiating shareholder agreements, operating agreements, and other essential corporate documents. She is dedicated to helping businesses move forward, ensuring legal and operational success as they grow, evolve, and adapt. 

In addition to her work in corporate law, Charmaine has a strong foundation in real estate law. She assists clients with buying, selling, and leasing both residential and commercial properties, as well as handling land development and entitlement matters. 

With a passion for the food and agriculture sector, Charmaine has contributed to grant research and would like to expand her practice to focus on the business side of the industry, particularly contracts and supply chain management. She is eager to help clients in this space streamline their operations and secure robust, effective agreements that drive growth and innovation.

Beyond her legal work, Charmaine is committed to continuous professional growth. She is a member of Barley Snyder’s Practice Excellence Champions group, a team dedicated to ensuring the firm delivers exceptional service, quality, and value to clients. Charmaine holds a Yellow Belt in Lean Six Sigma, which enables her to implement process improvements and enhance efficiency in her practice. 

Charmaine is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Richmond School of Law and a summa cum laude graduate from Kutztown University. Before law school, she worked as a paralegal, drafting estate planning documents and assisting with real estate transactions. As a Clinton County native, Charmaine spent her childhood on a small family farm. During this time, she showed livestock in 4-H and was named 2015 Clinton County Fair Queen. She now resides in York County and enjoys spending her time away from the office reading, traveling, and spending time outdoors.

RECOGNITIONS
  • Nominated for VA State Bar Oliver White Hill Award for Pro Bono Service (2022)
  • Harry L. Carrico Center for Pro Bono Service Certification Award (2022)
  • CALI Awards for Excellence in Military Law and in the Legal Business Design Challenge (2021)
MEMBERSHIPS
  • York County Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • American Bar Association
  • Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC)

Tasha R. Stoltzfus Nankerville

Tasha is a member of Barley Snyder’s Litigation, Health Care and Higher Education groups, concentrating her practice in the areas of civil litigation and medical malpractice.

In her general civil litigation practice, Tasha uses her strong advocacy, problem-solving and leadership skills to effectively and efficiently assist businesses, institutions and individuals in navigating the litigation process. In particular, Tasha handles matters related to employment discrimination, Title IX, civil rights, breach of contract, and landlord/tenant issues.

As a member of the firm’s Health Care Industry Group, Tasha also focuses her practice on the defense of health care facilities and physicians in medical malpractice litigation. Tasha handles a wide range of tasks including taking depositions, preparing defensive pleadings, conducting research for all stages of litigation, and counseling clients prior to testifying in court.

As a member of the firm’s Higher Education Industry Group, Tasha provides counseling for administrators, faculty, and staff regarding student rights and discipline issues arising under a host of federal and state laws including the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act. She has assisted colleges and universities in drafting and implementing ADA-compliant policies and procedures to accommodate students with disabilities. Tasha has also represented colleges and universities in a diverse array of litigation matters.

Tasha continues a longtime firm tradition of former Barley Snyder summer associates returning to the firm. Before joining Barley Snyder, Tasha worked as an intern with the Lancaster County District Attorney’s office and Villanova Law’s Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE Institute). She previously worked in Lancaster City as a Finance/Human Resources director for six small businesses, as an Executive Director of a non-profit working alongside women affected by homelessness, and as a refugee resettlement caseworker. She relates to a broad spectrum of people and is comfortable in diverse settings.

A Lancaster native with Amish roots, Tasha has a passion for public service and social justice. She enjoys volunteering her time to represent pro bono those in need of legal services. Her pro bono work involves cases seeking U Visa immigration relief and defending prisoners’ rights. Tasha has volunteered in her hometown with various non-profit organizations including Advoz, Lancaster County Conservancy, Night to Shine, and Church World Services. She is also a former volunteer of The Mix and Clare House. In her spare time, Tasha enjoys anything outdoors, running, and thrift shopping at Goodwill. She lives in Lancaster with her husband and dog.

RECOGNITIONS
  • Dorothy Day Award for Pro Bono Service
  • Arthur J. Kania Prize in Professional Ethics
  • Daniel F. O’Dea, Jr. Fellowship Award for Outstanding Professionalism
  • Distinguished Service Award, Villanova Law Moot Court Board
MEMBERSHIPS
  • Lancaster Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association

Emily C. Watkins (formerly Marzock)

Emily is a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Practice Group. She concentrates her practice on estate planning, trust and estate administration, long-term care planning, and elder law issues. Emily combines her legal knowledge with a compassionate, people-centered approach to assist clients in creating personalized estate plans that align with their unique needs and goals. She regularly advises clients on wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and medical directives. Emily also counsels clients on long-term care planning, including how to navigate Medicaid eligibility and protect families from financial hardship. She is also experienced in guiding clients through the probate process and settling estates with care and efficiency, remaining empathetic to the emotional stress that can accompany the death of a loved one.  

In addition to her estate planning work, Emily is well-versed in advising nonprofit organizations blending her legal know-how with the practical experience of having worked as a development officer. Emily advises on matters throughout the nonprofit life cycle, including formation, governance, obtaining tax-exempt status, state registration, stewardship of charitable gifts and endowment management, as well as navigating mergers, affiliations and dissolution. 

Emily received her law degree from the University of Virginia after majoring in Classics and Economics at Brown University. She began her career practicing at the Washington, D.C. office of a large, international law firm, where she provided regulatory counseling to Fortune 100 energy and telecom companies and represented them in administrative and judicial matters concerning economic and regulatory issues.

In 2016, Emily moved to Lancaster and served as the Associate Director of Gift Planning at Franklin & Marshall College. In this role, she worked with donors to find ways to satisfy their philanthropic intentions while advancing their financial and estate goals. Emily’s experience in charitable gift planning adds a unique dimension to her estate planning practice. 

Deeply committed to her community, Emily currently serves as a board member and chair of the Finance Committee for The Lancaster Science Factory and as a Generosity Group Member of the Lancaster Community Foundation. She is the former chair of the Board & Leadership Gifts Committee of Lancaster Lebanon Habitat for Humanity’s Open Doors campaign.

MEMBERSHIPS
  • Lancaster Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys

Alexandra E. Otto

Alex advises and guides clients through both the estate planning and the estate administration process. She identifies and implements various options and strategies to achieve clients’ objectives and utilizes combinations of different vehicles to achieve such objectives while taking into consideration clients’ unique family dynamics and interpersonal relationships. She also provides guidance and support to clients regarding their obligations and duties when acting in various fiduciary capacities. Additionally, she aids clients in navigating the estate administration process by preparing various state and federal tax returns, creating and executing family settlement agreements, and drafting, filing, and defending formal accountings before county orphans’ courts.

Her practice routinely includes aspects and elements of estate planning including:

  • Transitioning family businesses
  • Portability
  • Gifting
  • Generation skipping transfer tax
  • Inheritance tax
  • Medicaid planning
  • Various state probate processes
  • Step-up basis

Alex also counsels and represents clients in real estate transactions. She assists clients with purchasing and selling real estate by providing guidance throughout the entire process from the negotiation of the terms of the transaction through the execution of the finalized documents. She advises clients about realty transfer tax concerns, like-kind exchanges, preferential tax assessment programs such as Clean & Green, resolving title issues and financing, lending, and leasing arrangements.

Prior to joining the firm, Alex took every opportunity to focus her studies at both Dickinson School of Law and Georgetown University on not only tax, but also the interaction of tax and estate planning. She served as the student coordinator for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at Dickinson overseeing the preparation of and helped to prepare hundreds of returns annually. She also interned for the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue briefing issues and drafting opinions on corporate tax and personal income tax cases.

Alex’s background in the areas of tax, real estate and estate planning and administration permits her to provide comprehensive services to her clients as she can preemptively identify a variety of issues that arise in these areas and appreciate the impact that aspects of these areas of law have.

In her free time, Alex enjoys running, traveling, scuba diving and spending time with her pets.

MEMBERSHIPS
  • Cumberland County Inn of the Court, former member
  • Cumberland County Bar Association

Zachary J. Daly

Zach is an associate in the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group and is a registered patent attorney. He attended Elizabethtown College and graduated with a degree in physics before attending Santa Clara University School of Law.

Zach has experience with preparation and prosecution of copyrights and trademarks in addition to patent preparation and prosecution. He has experience and provides litigation support in areas involving intellectual property. He also provides guidance and strategy to clients for protecting their intellectual property rights in diverse industries. Zach has a wide range of client experience from dealing with small-startup businesses to large corporations. Zach possess a background in physics and has provided services to clients in a plurality of fields including mechanical, electrical, medical and systems.

In his spare time, Zach enjoys hiking, snowboarding and collecting vinyl records.

RECOGNITIONS
  • Witkin Award for Academic Excellence at Santa Clara University School of Law
  • High Tech Law Certificate with honors at Santa Clara University School of Law
MEMBERSHIPS
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • American Institute of Physics
  • American Intellectual Property Law Association

Get in Touch

Our attorneys, paralegals and staff look forward to hearing from you. Please reach out to let us know how we can help.

Get In Touch
RECOGNIZED IN
Super Lawyers
Best Law Firms US News
Best Lawyers