Responsive Menu
Add more content here...

Katherine Connolly

Background


Katherine (“Kate”) Connolly, CPA, is a licensed certified public accountant with a broad background in small business management, bookkeeping, and external audit. For more than 15 years, she served as a bookkeeper and office manager in Southern California, where she became known for streamlining back-office operations, implementing new accounting systems, and leading complex cleanup and recovery projects. In those roles, she handled day-to-day bookkeeping, cash-flow tracking, payroll coordination, and vendor management, while also developing practical processes that helped owners understand their financial position and make more informed decisions.

In 2022, Kate relocated to Philadelphia to join KPMG as an Audit Associate in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications practice. There, she worked with dynamic, growth-oriented companies performing risk assessment, data analysis, and financial statement review, experience that deepened her understanding of accounting standards and regulatory requirements.

Kate now brings that combined small-business and Big 4 experience to McEldrew Purtell, where she oversees the firm’s accounting and financial operations, supports budgeting and forecasting, and helps design efficient, scalable systems to support the firm’s growth. Her focus is on accuracy, transparency, and building processes that give leadership clear insight into the firm’s financial health.

Outside of work, Kate lives in South Philadelphia and enjoys exploring her adopted city’s neighborhoods, public art, and historic architecture. She is especially interested in how communities evolve over time and how local businesses contribute to the character and resilience of the places they serve.

Beulah Agbabiaka

Background


In her seven years as an attorney, Beulah has developed insight into the myriad factors that are necessary for a strong case and consistently applies this knowledge in her quest for positive outcomes for her clients.  Her commitment to justice and client-centered advocacy was inspired by her mother founding a charter school for at-risk and system-involved youth in the San Francisco Bay Area where Beulah grew up.

Prior to joining the firm, she worked as an appellate public defender with the Center for Appellate Litigation. She advocated for clients in the New York Appellate Term and the Appellate Division, as well as Bronx and New York Criminal Court, representing people on misdemeanor and felony matters in addition to her briefs and motions practice. As a member of the Sexual Offender Registration Act team at the Center for Appellate Litigation, she represented clients in hearings to determine their Sexual Offender Registration Act level, as well as filing petitions to modify her client’s sexual offender status after court-determined milestones had been met.

Beulah relocated to Philadelphia in order to clerk for the Honorable Petrese B. Tucker in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. After her formative two-year clerkship, Beulah had the privilege of serving as a Research and Writing Attorney at the Federal Community Defender’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Due to the nationwide practice of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s Capital Habeas Unit, where the office is called upon to represent clients at all stages of their post-conviction proceedings due to their demonstrable outcomes in the toughest cases around the country, Beulah had the opportunity to study Southern jurisprudence and advocate for clients in Texas and Louisiana as well as Pennsylvania.

As a student at Columbia Law School, Beulah honed her written and oral advocacy skills through a variety of challenging internships and as the Editor-in-Chief of The Columbia Journal of Race and Law Volume 8.  As an intern for Zhicheng Public Interest Lawyers in Beijing, China, she conducted comparative research on juvenile justice policy and issues affecting senior citizens and presented the research on panels at local universities. Her research was in Mandarin and English, and she was tasked with ensuring the research was accurate and relevant to both Beijing and New York City’s developing juvenile justice policy and senior citizen policy.

As the Spring Break Pro Bono Caravan Leader to the Miami Dade Public Defender’s Office, and as an intern at the Neighborhood Defender Services of Harlem, she engaged in the criminal trial and pre-trial process, conducted legal research on the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, and assisted in pre-trial investigation. While interning with Alliance of Families for Justice New York, she drafted drafting administrative tickets to dispute conditions of confinement for incarcerated adults and helped to build out the beginnings of their legal program, which today has progressed to full-service representation for incarcerated individuals and their families’ battling conditions of confinement issues. As a law clerk for the Public Defender Services for the District of Columbia, she assisted with a suppression hearing and with a criminal trial, as well as client management.  As an extern for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, she conducted research underpinning their impact litigation agenda for the following year. During her last semester of law school, Beulah interned for the Honorable Margo K. Brodie in the Eastern District of New York.

Beulah is published in the Cornell Law Review Online for an article she co-authored with Emmanuel Hiram Arnaud called “New York Bail Reform: A Quick Guide to Common Questions and Concerns.” She has presented on panels for the Color of Change, a racial justice organization dedicated to building impactful campaigns that build power within Black communities.  She has also presented on panels for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, a Tony Award-winning organization uniting artists with legal experts and community leaders to have a lasting impact on policy issues including criminal justice reform and education equity.  She hopes to continue building faith in the justice system through advocacy and excellent representation.

Beulah’s honors include:

  • NAACP Legal Defense Fund Earl Warren Scholar, for academic excellence, and commitment to public interest and social justice
  • Columbia Law School Oldhams Fellowship, for advanced research in comparative Chinese law
  • John Paul Stevens Foundation Public Interest Fellowship, for academic excellence and demonstrated commitment to public interest
  • Leadership Institute of Women of Color Attorneys Scholarship, for academic excellence and student leadership
  • The Parker School Certificate of Achievement in International and Comparative Law, for completing coursework requirements and advanced research in international and comparative

In her free time, Beulah volunteers as an Assistant Coach for her mother’s Science Olympiad team at a School District of Philadelphia middle school, plays jazz bass and guitar, and loves to visit amusement parks.

Practice Areas

[team_practice_areas]

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • New York

Our Results

McEldrew Purtell has a proven track record of maximizing recovery for our clients.

[results_by_category category=””]

Ellie Schwab

Background


At McEldrew Purtell, Ellie Schwab is an attorney on the Civil Rights Team specializing in wrongful convictions.

Ellie earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School where she focused on public interest work, particularly in areas affecting underrepresented communities. Her dedication to criminal justice reform led her to intern at several organizations, including the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, the Wrongful Conviction Unit at the Legal Aid Society, and the Capital Habeas Unit at the Federal Community Defender Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Through these experiences, Ellie gained invaluable insight into post-conviction work and the legal challenges faced by individuals wrongfully convicted of crimes.

In addition to her work in post-conviction cases, Ellie refined her trial skills at the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender and the Defender Association of Philadelphia. She also was an intern at the Federal Reentry Court, where she assisted formerly incarcerated federal prisoners with their reintegration into society, a role that deepened her commitment to criminal justice reform.

During law school, Ellie was recognized with the Exemplary Pro Bono Service Award for her commitment to public interest work. She served as a volunteer on multiple pro bono projects and, as President of the Equal Justice Foundation, raised funds to financially support public interest law students pursuing unpaid work in the public sector.

Originally from Texas, Ellie received a B.A. in Sociology with Honors from the University of Texas at Austin. In her free time, Ellie enjoys Pilates classes, spending time with friends, exploring local restaurants, and hiking.

Practice Areas

[team_practice_areas]

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania

Our Results

McEldrew Purtell has a proven track record of maximizing recovery for our clients.

[results_by_category category=””]

Luke Sanabor

Background


Luke is an experienced IT professional specializing in project management and compliance, focused on delivering secure, scalable solutions through process improvement and cross-functional collaboration.

Before joining our team, Luke spent more than seven years on AMETEK, Inc.’s Corporate IT team, serving as IT Projects Manager, IT Business Systems Analyst, and IT Support Specialist. His work spanned web applications and enterprise systems with a strong emphasis on privacy and compliance. Luke earned a Bachelor of Science in Computing and Security Technology from Drexel University.

Outside of work, Luke is a Northeast Philadelphia native who enjoys time with friends and family and taking weekend trips to the Jersey Shore or the mountains of northern Pennsylvania.

Megan Turner

Background


Megan Turner is a seasoned marketing leader with over a decade of experience driving strategic growth and customer acquisition for global B2B enterprises. She is a passionate marketing leader who thrives on strategy, creativity, and technology. She is driven by a deep commitment to building meaningful connections between brands and their audiences – transforming insights into action and strategy into measurable growth. Megan is energized by the challenge of scaling marketing efforts, entering new markets, and crafting campaigns that not only generate leads but also inspire loyalty.

With a strong belief in the power of collaboration, Megan excels at aligning cross-functional teams and mentoring rising talent. She’s passionate about using data to tell compelling stories, optimizing performance, and creating marketing ecosystems that are as efficient as they are impactful. Whether she’s launching a new product, refining a brand’s voice, or leading digital transformation, Megan brings heart, vision, and a relentless focus on results.

Outside of work, she’s an advocate for continuous learning, a curious explorer of emerging technologies, and loves spending time with her family.

Carrie Capouellez

Background


Carrie is a skilled and dedicated attorney with extensive experience in medical malpractice, products liability, personal injury, and wrongful death litigation.

Following her graduation from Penn State University, Carrie began her legal journey as a paralegal at a prestigious defense firm in Philadelphia. This role provided her with invaluable insight into the intricacies of defense work, laying the foundation for her future work. While attending law school at Temple, she worked for the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Fund (Mcare Fund) where she collaborated with physicians, hospital administrators, and attorneys to defend and negotiate settlements for malpractice claims.

Over the course of her legal career, she has represented plaintiffs in a wide range of personal injury cases, focusing particularly on medical malpractice matters such as hospital negligence, prescription medication errors, surgical mistakes, birth injuries, and failure to diagnose serious medical conditions. In addition to her medical malpractice work, Ms. Capouellez has successfully pursued high-profile pharmaceutical and medical device mass tort cases, including those involving testosterone replacement therapy, SSRI antidepressants and birth injuries, birth control, gadolinium-based contrast agents, Vioxx, and IVC filters.

Carrie has been admitted into practice in all state courts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as well as the federal courts for the Middle and Eastern Districts of Pennsylvania. She is committed to seeking justice for her clients and providing skilled legal representation in challenging and high-stakes cases.

Cristin Wittwer

Background


As the Director of Strategic Initiatives and People, Cristin Wittwer brings over a decade of experience in the HR field. She excels in recruiting top talent and setting them up for success, fostering an inspiring work environment where employees are motivated to perform at their best. Cristin is passionate about developing innovative solutions to organizational challenges through new processes and systems. She has successfully launched HR and Talent Acquisition departments from the ground up, demonstrating her leadership and strategic vision.

Outside of her professional life, Cristin enjoys spending quality time with her family and three dogs. She loves cooking and taking weekend trips to explore new cities, always seeking new adventures and experiences.

Katherine O’Donnell

Background


At McEldrew Purtell, Kate is committed to advocating for injured people as an attorney handling medical malpractice and nursing home cases.

Kate is the first member of her family to receive her Juris Doctor, graduating from Rutgers Law School in 2024. While in law school Kate spent time developing her passion for advocacy as an active member of the Rutgers Law community. She served as Associate Managing Editor for the Rutgers International Law and Human Rights Journal, and spent two years on the Rutgers Camden Jessup International Moot Court team, competing against other law students across the country.

Her interest in advocacy began early on at University of Delaware, where she graduated on the Dean’s List in 2020. While at University of Delaware, she served as an executive board member for the UDance Dance Marathon, a campus-wide event that annually raises millions of dollars to fight childhood cancer.

With an interest in civil litigation, Kate joined McEldrew Purtell as our Civil Rights Law Clerk, where she gained valuable experience writing and advocating for our clients, and acquired important insight into the civil litigation process.

While at University of Delaware, Kate also spent four years studying French. When she isn’t practicing law, or cheering on the Philadelphia Eagles, she enjoys reading and Pilates.

Practice Areas

[team_practice_areas]

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey

Our Results

McEldrew Purtell has a proven track record of maximizing recovery for our clients.

[results_by_category category=””]

Greg Kiss

Background


Greg Kiss focuses on litigating catastrophic injury cases involving defective products, industrial accidents, workplace accidents, nursing home negligence, medical malpractice, and accidents involving tractor trailers. Over the course of his career, Greg has recovered over $70,000,000 for those injured, including eight figure settlements for clients that were catastrophically injured. Greg prides himself on his ability to argue with precision, passion, and persuasion. He applies these qualities to every stage of every case he works on.

In recognition for his outstanding work as a personal injury attorney, Greg has been named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers Magazine. The award is given to only 2.5% of attorneys eligible for the award.

In addition to his work as an injury attorney, Greg is also an adjunct professor at Villanova’s Charles Widger School of Law, where he teaches aspects of trial advocacy to members of the law school’s trial team. As a practicing attorney and decorated law school mock trial competitor, Greg relishes the opportunity to teach and give back to the next generation of trial lawyers.

Born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Greg has lived in and around Philadelphia for his entire life. He attended Drexel Law School and graduated with honors. While in law school, Greg earned multiple awards for trial advocacy in both national mock trial and moot court competitions.

Greg is married to his beautiful wife, Lauren, and they live in Philadelphia with their golden-Pitbull, Louie.

Named by Peers to the 2023 and 2024 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Stars List
Top Speaker Award, NAAC Moot Court Competition, 2017
Best Advocate Award, Peter James Johnson National Civil Rights Trial Competition, 2016
Champion, Thomas R. Kline School of Law Moot Court Competition, 2015
CALI Award, Trial Advocacy, 2015

Our Results

McEldrew Purtell has a proven track record of maximizing recovery for our clients.

[results_by_category category=””]

Juan Andrews Jr.

Background


At McEldrew Purtell, Juan plays a key role in the firm’s Catastrophic Personal Injury, Toxic Tort, and Complex Personal Injury practice groups. He joined the firm after gaining valuable experience at another highly regarded plaintiffs’ firm.

Juan graduated from Delaware Law School, where he demonstrated an unwavering commitment to advocacy while balancing a full-time job with evening classes. His exceptional advocacy skills were recognized when he was awarded the “Best Negotiator” honor in 2022 by the school’s Transactional Law Honor Society. He was also selected to join the prestigious Delaware Law Civil Clinic, where he refined his trial and client advocacy skills by representing low-income clients in Protection from Abuse and Custody dispute matters related to domestic violence.

Throughout his career, Juan has consistently demonstrated a passion for public service and community advocacy. Prior to and during law school, he worked at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, first as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff and later as Coordinator for the Juvenile Diversion Program. In these roles, he championed alternative pathways for at-risk youth, advocating for solutions that kept them out of the criminal justice system.

Juan’s diverse legal background also includes experience as an in-house Summer Associate at a Fortune 500 company, where he gained a comprehensive understanding of both litigation and transactional matters.

Beyond his professional achievements, Juan is deeply committed to pro bono work. Outside of his regular practice, he assists low-income Philadelphians with various trust and estate matters and supports local musicians with contract negotiations, licensing agreements, and trademark matters.

In addition to his legal work, Juan is a passionate mentor who guides teens and aspiring law and undergraduate students across the Philadelphia region. He recently launched a college preparation program aimed at providing college and career preparation and planning for diverse high school students, empowering them by sharing his network, insights, and experiences.

Practice Areas

[team_practice_areas]

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania

Our Results

McEldrew Purtell has a proven track record of maximizing recovery for our clients.

[results_by_category category=””]