Frantz Ward is pleased to announce that attorneys
Michael J. Frantz, Jr. and
Melissa A. Jones have been elected to the partnership effective January 1, 2018.
Mike has been with the firm over six years and dedicates his practice to the construction industry. He has the experience to assist clients with virtually any issue they may encounter. Mike regularly assists his clients with preparing and reviewing contract documents, developing and implementing risk avoidance procedures, closing out projects, and managing project-related claims, such as breach of contract claims, delay and acceleration claims, differing site condition claims, and defective work/defective design claims. Mike also has an extensive understanding of the insurance and surety industries and regularly assists his clients with insurance coverage disputes, preparing and responding to bond claims, and analyzing surety and indemnitor rights under General Indemnity Agreements. Mike teams with his clients to identify creative and efficient ways to best protect their legal and business interests. He received his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law and his B.A., with High Honors, from Michigan State University.
Melissa joined Frantz Ward over 17 years ago after teaching internationally, and initially served in an administrative role while attending law school. Melissa focuses her creditor’s rights practice on commercial credit management, complex collection and default remedies to assist businesses within the health care, surety, manufacturing, and waste management industries, among others, nationwide. She also regularly aids clients within the construction industry to preserve, perfect and enforce payment claims, including lien and bond claims, on public and private projects. Melissa has successfully resolved hundreds of matters of all sizes and complexity, through which she has gained extensive litigation, bankruptcy, foreclosure and trial experience. Melissa frequently lectures on mechanic’s lien management and complex debt collection procedures, as well as ethics in the legal profession. She received her J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and her B.A., with Honors, from The Ohio State University.