Mr. Koczanowicz began practicing law in 1987 after receiving his J.D. from University of La Verne. While in the Los Angeles area, he was an associate with Bollington, Stilz, Bloeser and Curry and later with McKay, Byrne, Graham and Van Dam. His practice was concentrated in the areas of insurance defense, coverage issues and environmental law.

In 1991 Mr. Koczanowicz moved to the Mountain area with his wife, Elaine, and their two children. For the next eight years, Mr. Koczanowicz served as a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Fresno, working in the areas of environmental law, insurance and governmental tort claim litigation, and defense of civil rights lawsuits.

In September of 1999, he opened his office in Oakhurst, focusing on municipal and governmental law, real estate, business litigation, personal injury and environmental law. In August of 2004, he was joined by Larry A. Donaldson, and the firm of Koczanowicz & Donaldson was established.

In addition to the practice of law, Mr. Koczanowicz is available to serve as a mediator for conflict or dispute resolution. For the past four years Mr. Koczanowicz has served as a Court-appointed mediator for Fresno County Superior Court in their Alternate Resolution Dispute program.

Mr. Donaldson graduated from San Joaquin College of Law and was admitted to the California State Bar in 1975. His 29-year legal career has provided him with extensive experience in various areas of practice. These include civil and criminal litigation, personal injury, wills and trusts, family law, as well as business and real property law.

Mr. Donaldson’s extensive experience was gained from being in private practice for eight years, as well as working for governmental entities. He has served as a Deputy District Attorney for the County of Fresno and Assistant District Attorney for the Kings County. Mr. Donaldson’s municipal law experience was gained as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Visalia and for the past 16 years, a Senior Deputy City Attorney for the City of Fresno.

In August of 2004, Mr. Donaldson joined Mr. Koczanowicz in the Oakhurst office, establishing the law firm of Koczanowicz & Donaldson. Mr. Donaldson will focus his practice in the areas of wills and trusts and family law, as well as personal injury and business and civil litigation.

Mr. Donaldson is a native of the San Joaquin Valley and recently with his wife, Marie, acquired property in the Eastern Madera County foothills. He finds this a wonderful place to practice law and looks forward to many years of service to his clients and the community.

Ms. Karen Nagel serves as a legal assistant and manages the administrative operation of the firm. She brings with her over 20 years of legal secretarial experience, as well as several years of business management experience as an owner and operator of a retail establishment with over 25 employees.

During her career, Ms. Nagel worked for several large firms including O’Melveny & Myers; McDonough, Holland & Allen; Littler, Mendelson, and others. Her experience covers the areas of family law, civil and business litigation, insurance defense, personal injury, labor and employment law.
 

CORINNE R. ORTIZ

Ms. Ortiz joined the firm in April of 2007 and serves as the firm’s paralegal. She started her career in 1997 working with the Orange County firms of Johnson, Flyer & Harrison and Silverstein & Huston (1999). In 2003, Ms. Ortiz moved to the Central Valley where she was employed by Wild, Carter & Tipton as a civil litigation paralegal/legal secretary in the areas of agri-business litigation, general business litigation and real estate law with a special emphasis on construction litigation.