Attorneys
Elizabeth L. Hurley, ESQ - Shareholder Email Elizabeth
B.A., University of New Hampshire (cum laude)
J.D., University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law
Elizabeth Hurley is a shareholder of Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin, P.A. in Manchester, NH, where she is a litigator with a concentration in construction defect and injury cases and the defense of government entities. She also handles a wide variety of insurance defense, insurance coverage and personal injury matters. Attorney Hurley has previously lectured on a broad range of topics within her areas of practice, including the Medicare Secondary Payer Act; insurance and indemnification; medical records and discovery.
Attorney Hurley received her undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1992 and her law degree from the University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law in 1995. She is currently licensed in the state and federal courts of New Hampshire and Maine, as well as the First Circuit Court of Appeals, where she successfully argued the principal case regarding Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the “Offer of Judgment” rule. Attorney Hurley is a member and former President of the Tri-State Defense Lawyers Association. She also serves on the New Hampshire Bar Association’s Committee on Cooperation with the Courts and is a member of the Daniel Webster Batchelder American Inn of Court.
A New Hampshire native, Attorney Hurley returned to New Hampshire in 2004 following her time as a prosecutor with the Pima County Attorney’s Office in Tucson, Arizona. While there, Attorney Hurley was a supervisor and handled a variety of high priority cases, including homicides and sex offenses, and practiced regularly in front of the Arizona Court of Appeals and Arizona Supreme Court, resulting in a number of published opinions.
Practice Areas
Civil Rights Defense,Insurance Defense
Clara E. Lyons, ESQ - Shareholder Email Clara
B.F.A., Emerson College
J.D., American University, Washington College of Law (cum laude)
Clara Lyons is a shareholder of Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin, P.A. in Manchester, NH. Attorney Lyons is a litigator with experience in a wide variety of insurance defense matters, including property disputes, personal injury, construction defects, and products liability.
Attorney Lyons has been selected as a top-rated civil litigation defense attorney in Manchester, NH by Super Lawyers with a Rising Stars designation for 2018, 2019, and 2020. She is a member of the Webster-Batchelder American Inn of Court, and past chair of the New Hampshire Bar Association’s New Lawyer’s Committee.
Attorney Lyons graduated cum laude American University, Washington College of Law in 2010, and earned her bachelor’s degree from Emerson College in 2002. While in law school, Attorney Lyons interned for the Honorable Deborah K. Chasanow of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland and was the content editor for the Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law.
Attorney Lyons is currently licensed in the state and federal courts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the state courts of Maine
Areas of Practice
Insurance Defense, General Civil, Commercial
Debbie Lorusso Makris, ESQ - Shareholder Email Debbie
B.S., Boston College
J.D., Suffolk University Law School
Debbie Lorusso Makris is a shareholder of Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin, P.A. in Manchester, NH, where she is a litigator who handles a wide variety of insurance defense, breach of contract, condominium law, insurance coverage and personal injury cases. Attorney Makris has previously lectured on a broad range of topics within her areas of practice, including defense of brain injury claims and uninsured motorist coverage.
Attorney Makris received her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Accounting from Boston College and earned her law degree from Suffolk University School of Law in 1991. She is currently licensed in the state and federal courts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, as well as the state court in Vermont. Attorney Makris is a member the NH Bar Association and the Vermont Bar Association as well as the Tri-State Defense Lawyers Association. Attorney Makris is also a member of the Daniel Webster Batchelder American Inns of Court.
A New Hampshire native, Attorney Makris began her practice working for a small plaintiff firm in Boston, Massachusetts. During her time at her prior practice, she handled product defect, personal injury, and workers’ compensation cases. Attorney Makris returned to live in New Hampshire with her husband to raise their three children. Attorney Makris recently successfully argued a case before the New Hampshire Supreme Court related to the application of the Sutton Doctrine in a college setting which received national media attention.
Areas of Practice
Insurance Defense, Products Liability, Personal Injury
B.A., Bates College
M.B.A., Babson College
J.D., Massachusetts School of Law
Christopher's professional experience includes: Corporate Claims Counsel for Peerless Insurance Company and Officer at Devine, Millimet & Branch, PA, Manchester, NH. Chris was admitted to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bar in 1996 and the New Hampshire Bar in 1997. Chris is the past President of the Tri State Defense Lawyers Association (TDLA) and current New Hampshire State Representative for the Defense Research Institute (DRI).
Areas of Practice
Insurance Defense, Construction Law, General Liability/Premises, Liability, Automotive Liability, Products Liability, Medical Malpractice
Stephen D. Coppolo Email Stephen
B.A., Colgate University
J.D., William and Mary School of Law
Stephen worked as a litigation associate for nine years in Boston, Massachusetts after beginning his career as an associate with a Manchester, NH law firm. He is admitted to practice in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, the U.S. District Courts for New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
Areas of Practice
Medical and professional liability, employment law, civil rights claims, personal injury, construction law and litigation, and business/commercial disputes.
Jill A. Demello Email Jill
B.A., Harvard University (cum laude)
J.D., Boston University School of Law (cum laude)
Jill’s professional experience includes practicing as an Attorney: Independent Consultant – Motion & Appellate Practice; Trial Attorney, Abramson, Reis & Brown, P.A.; and Trial Attorney at Brown & Nixon, P.A.
Practice Areas
Personal Injury, Insurance Defense, State and Federal Appeals.
B.A., Bucknell University
J.D., Franklin Pierce Law Center/UNH School of Law
Cindy graduated from Bucknell University in 1979 with a degree in economics and from Franklin Pierce Law Center (UNH School of Law) in 1984. Upon graduation from law school, Cindy worked as the prosecutor for the City of Dover and then as an Assistant County Attorney for Strafford County in Dover, N.H. After leaving the County Attorney's office, Cindy joined a small insurance defense litigation firm. Cindy worked for almost twenty years as an insurance defense litigator in N.H. including as a partner at Devine Millimet in Manchester, N.H. Upon leaving that firm, Cindy joined the Disabilities Rights Center as a senior litigator where she spent fourteen years representing individuals with severe disabilities. Cindy joined Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin in 2022 where she is a litigator specializing in insurance defense cases.
While at the Disabilities Rights Center, Cindy was a panel presenter for a number of legal courses covering such topics as trial practice and Medicaid law. She also served on the Medical Care Advisory Committee working with the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services on various issues effecting individuals with severe disabilities as well as served on the board of EngAging N.H., a non-profit organization focused on elder issues.
Practice Areas
Insurance Defense
Michaela C. Kelty Email Michaela
Michaela C. Kelty
B.S., University of New Hampshire
J.D., New England Law | Boston
Michaela Kelty is an associate attorney at Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin, P.A. in Manchester, NH, specializing in litigation across various legal areas.
Attorney Kelty holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a concentration in Biomedical Sciences from the University of New Hampshire, and a Juris Doctorate from New England Law | Boston. She is a former member of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a current member of the American Inn of Court.
Attorney Kelty started her career as an associate at a litigation firm in the State of Maine, where she gained ample experience in both civil and criminal litigation.
Practice Areas
Insurance defense, real property law, construction law, medical malpractice, premises liability, debtor-creditor law, personal injury, commercial law
Madeleine Ables
Madeleine (Maddie) Ables is an associate attorney at Getman, Schulthess, Steere & Poulin, P.A., where she concentrates her practice in litigation matters, including insurance defense, breach of contract, employment law, insurance coverage and personal injury cases.
Maddie holds a Bachelor of Science in Soil Science from Purdue University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of New Hampshire School of Law. She is admitted to practice in the State of New Hampshire and the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire.
Maddie is a 2024 graduate of the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program and while at UNH Law she interned with the Honorable Melissa Countway of the New Hampshire Supreme Court and the Honorable Charles Greenhalgh of the 3rd Circuit Court of New Hampshire.
Born in New Hampshire, Maddie enjoys spending time in her downtown Concord community and in her garden, where she puts her soil knowledge to good use. Maddie and her fiancé are also proud parents of their loving cat, Iris.
Geoffrey Gallagher
Geoffrey Gallagher graduated with honors from the University of New Hampshire School of Law in 2013, earning both his JD and LL.M while completing the prestigious Daniel Webster Honors Scholar program. Since then, he has dedicated his career to litigation, representing both municipal and private clients in state and federal court. With over fifty trials to his name, Geoff is known for his passionate courtroom advocacy and commitment to achieving the best outcomes for his clients.
In addition to his more general litigation practice, Geoff specializes in professional liability, with a focus on legal ethics and malpractice. A member of the New Hampshire Bar Ethics Committee since 2013, he currently serves as its Vice-Chair. He provides legal advice and opinions regarding compliance with lawyer’s ethical obligations and risk management. He also represents lawyers called as witnesses or otherwise find themselves involved in litigation. He advocates for a proactive approach that emphasizes preventing liability issues before they arise.
Before pursuing law, Geoff earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston College in 2003, followed by a master's in social psychology/affective neuroscience in 2006. During graduate school, he managed a bowling alley in Davis Square, where learned to play pool, poker, and how to hand-score candlepin bowling. Today, Geoff serves as the treasurer of both the New Hampshire Bar Association and the Daniel Webster-Batchelder Inns of Court, an organization that brings together judges, experienced lawyers, new lawyers, and law students in a social atmosphere to foster professional congeniality inside and outside of the courtroom. He is also a bar examiner for the New Hampshire Board of Bar Examiners.