Nicholas S. Preservati

Legal Experience:

Mr. Preservati served as litigation counsel for AEP, which is a Fortune 500 Company and North America’s largest electric utility. He litigated or managed thousands of personal injury, asbestos, and wrongful death cases. He also managed the litigation for AEP’s admiralty and maritime operations, which included the nation’s second largest barge fleeting company. As part of his responsibilities, Mr. Preservati dealt with toxic torts, electrocutions, drownings, and fatal automobile accidents on a daily basis. This experience has allowed Mr. Preservati to develop an expertise in complex litigation as well as a thorough understanding of the organization and operations of major corporations.

Prior to his employment with AEP, Mr. Preservati was an associate attorney with the prestigious Charleston firm of Goodwin & Goodwin. As an associate, he litigated numerous cases involving personal injury, medical malpractice and product liability. Before returning to West Virginia to work with Goodwin & Goodwin, Mr. Preservati worked in Chicago for Hinshaw & Culbertson, one of Illinois’s largest law firms. At Hinshaw & Culbertson, his practice focused on wrongful death cases and violations of the federal civil rights laws.

Education:

• Loyola University Chicago School of Law - Juris Doctorate Degree (1997)
• University of Notre Dame - Bachelor of Arts Degree (1994)

Admitted to Practice:

• Illinois – 1997
• West Virginia – 1999

Admissions:

• United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
• United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
• United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
• United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
• West Virginia Supreme Court
• Illinois Supreme Court

Memberships and Committees:

• West Virginia School Building Authority Board Member
• Salvation Army Advisory Board
• Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club Advisory Board
• American Bar Association YLD
  • Chair, Public Utilities, Transportation & Telecommunications Committee
  • Chair, Environment, Energy & Resources Law Committee
  • Special Committee on the Practice of Law
  • Individual Rights Executive Subcommittee
  • Litigation Committee Executive Subcommittee
• West Virginia Bar Association
• Justinian Lawyers Society
• Kanawha County Bar Association
• St. Thomas Moore Society

Articles and Publications:

• "From Bagley to Agurs: The Seventh Circuit Ignores 20 years of Jurisprudence"
  Illinois State Bar Journal, 1997
• "Mastering the Art of Oral Argument, The Young Lawyer, June 2000