About Us

Rodney O. Personius, Partner

Experience

Mr. Personius was a partner with Brown & Kelly, LLP between 1988 and 2001. As an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of New York from 1982 through 1988, he served as both Chief of the Financial Crimes Unit (1985-1987), and as Chief of the Civil Division (1987-1988). Prior to his government service, he was employed as an associate with Condon & Sedita, P.C. between 1976 and 1982.

Associations & Memberships

In addition to being a Fellow of the International Association of Trial Lawyers and the Litigation Counsel of America, Mr. Personius is a member of the Erie County and New York State Bar Associations, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and the Western New York Trial Lawyers Association. He currently serves on the Committee to Revise the Local Rules of Practice for the Western District of New York, the National Criminal Justice Act eVoucher Study Group, and the district’s Criminal Justice Act Plan Review Committee, where he also serves as National CJA representative. Mr. Personius sits on the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission for the state’s Eighth Judicial District. He is a past member of the Board of Directors for both the Bar Association of Erie County and the Erie County Bar Foundation, where he also served as Treasurer.

Presentations or Publications

Mr. Personius regularly lectures and writes on trial-related issues at programs sponsored by the New York State and Erie County Bar Associations, as well as for students attending the SUNY at Buffalo School of Law and various area colleges, including Canisius College, SUNY at Buffalo and SUC at Buffalo.

Contact

  • Telephone: 716-855-1050, ext. 101
  • Facsimile: 716-855-1052
  • Mobile: 716-515-8763
  • Email: rop@personiusmelber.com

Areas of Practice

  • White collar criminal defense
  • Business litigation
  • Commercial litigation
  • False Claims Act
  • Healthcare fraud
  • Complex litigation

Bar Admissions

  • New York State, 1977
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, 1977
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York, 2000
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 1979
  • U.S. Tax Court, 1978

Education

  • SUNY at Buffalo School of Law, J.D., 1976
  • Syracuse University, B.A., cum laude, 1973