Margaret M. Koesel is a partner with Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP in Cleveland, Ohio. For more than 20 years, Ms. Koesel has practiced in the areas of employment, business, and commercial litigation, devoting a substantial portion of her practice to counseling and defending companies in employment discrimination and wrongful discharge litigation, and representing clients in pension and welfare benefit disputes, as well as, in trade secret and non-compete disputes. She has significant trial experience and has argued appeals in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, various Ohio courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Ms. Koesel also has substantial experience as a neutral mediating and arbitrating employment and ERISA cases. She serves on the panel of employment mediators and arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association and under private and court-annexed dispute resolution procedures.
Ms. Koesel is an adjunct professor at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where she teaches Ohio Civil Procedure. She also has lectured on appellate advocacy at Case Western Reserve UniversityLaw School.
Ms. Koesel graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College with a degree in business administration. She received her law degree from Cleveland Marshall College of Law (magna cum laude), where she served as an editor on the law review. Before she entered private practice, Ms. Koesel served as a law clerk for the Honorable Ann McManamon of the Eighth Appellate District of the Ohio Court of Appeals in Cuyahoga County.
Ms. Koesel is a member of the American Bar Association, the Ohio Bar Association, the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, the Ohio Women’s Bar Association, and the Defense Research Institute. She has published numerous articles on mediation, employment, and spoliation related topics and is a frequent speaker on employment law and destruction of evidence issues.
Tracey Turnbull is a partner in the Cleveland, Ohio, office of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP. She focuses her practice on commercial and employment litigation matters. She has represented corporations and individuals in cases involving contracts, covenants not to compete, trade secret, intellectual property, and product liability claims. In the area of employment litigation, she has represented clients in cases alleging discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and FMLA violations. Ms. Turnbull has significant experience litigating and resolving complex discovery issues and has successfully tried commercial disputes and employment cases before juries in both state and federal courts.
Ms. Turnbull received her undergraduate degree from Hamilton College with honors and received her law degree cum laude from Case Western Reserve UniversitySchool of Law, where she served as an editor on the Case Western Reserve Law Review.
Ms. Turnbull is a member of the American Bar Association, the Defense Research Institute, and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. She has co-authored a number of publications on spoliation of evidence, and is a frequent lecturer on destruction of evidence, document retention, and electronic evidence issues.
Mr. Gourash is a partner practicing in the Cleveland, Ohio, office of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, LLP. He has a national practice in the area of complex civil litigation involving a wide variety of legal issues. He has broad experience at all levels of trial and appeal representing insurance carriers in coverage disputes. Mr. Gourash also has substantial trial and appeal experience defending manufacturers, distributors, and service providers in both land-based and maritime products liability actions involving claims for personal injury, wrongful death, and property damage. He has represented manufacturers and trade associations in a variety of mass tort matters. His experience further includes substantial involvement in the litigation of construction defect, ERISA, environmental, commercial, and securities fraud actions.
Mr. Gourash is admitted to practice in Ohio, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Ohio and the Eastern District of Michigan, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth and Sixth Circuits, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He also has appeared pro hac vice in numerous state and federal courts across the country. He further has broad experience in a variety of alternative dispute resolution contexts, including arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association and the National Association of Securities Dealers, and mediation and arbitration under private and court-annexed procedures.
Mr. Gourash graduated from the University of New Haven (B.A., summa cum laude, 1980) and received his law degree from Duke UniversitySchool of Law (J.D. 1983). He has substantial involvement in the organized bar, having held numerous positions of responsibility in the American Bar Association, including serving as the chair of the Young Lawyers Division, serving several terms in the House of Delegates, and serving on a variety of special and standing committees within the Judicial Division Lawyers Conference and the Torts and Insurance Practice Section. He currently is serving as chair of the Lawyers Conference, is immediate past chair of the TIPS Publications Editorial Board and is a member of TIPS Council. Mr. Gourash is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and served on its Board of Governors for a five-year term.
