WILLIAM DOPIERALA Erie native Bill Dopierala ’72 majored in history at Mercyhurst and thought he’d become a teacher – until the prospect of student teaching convinced him education wasn’t the right feld f or him. Instead, after taking a law course from former Erie County Executive Barry Grossman, he opted for law school, graduating from Duquesne University School of Law in 1975. He’s believed to be the frst male M ercyhurst graduate to become an attorney.
Albert Veverka, an avid golfer.
- ALBERT VEVERKA An internship following his junior year at Mercyhurst helped push Albert Veverka ’05 toward law school. He spent that summer working for Senator Barbara Boxer (D Calif.). Like several other graduates, he’s quick to credit the grounding in reading, writing and oral argument he got in the political science department for preparing him to succeed at the West Virginia University College of Law. “I felt abundantly prepared, and I owe Doctors Clemons, Ripley, Federici and Morris a world of gratitude for challenging me through four years at Mercyhurst,” he says. He interned his frst summer of la w school with Justice Max Baer of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and eventually took his frst job as a la w clerk to the Hon. Katherine B. Emery of the Washington County Court of Common Pleas. Albert then spent three years as an assistant district attorney In Allegheny County before accepting a position this fall with the law fr m of Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote in Pittsburgh. He currently focuses his practice on criminal and medical malpractice defense. He’s returned home to Mt. Lebanon, a suburb in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. An avid golfer, he loves traveling to play courses all over the country. He also still plays tennis, the sport in which competed for four years at Mercyhurst. Following up on his student ofc e as co-president of the Mercyhurst Young Democrats, he now serves as a Democratic committeeman. He also visits high schools throughout the Pittsburgh area, talking to students about careers in law as well as preparing them for the legal challenges they may face when they turn 18.
After graduation he went to work for Erie Atty. George Levin, but in 1979 joined the staf of Er ie County Children’s Services, working to protect abused and neglected children. When he moved to the Erie County District Attorney’s Ofc e nearly a decade later, he helped establish a special child abuse prosecution unit within the DA’s ofc e. Working with County Detective Larry Dombrowski ’91, he pursued grant funding that allowed
the county to hire a detective to specialize in child abuse. In 1996, Bill joined the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Ofc e in Erie. As a senior deputy attorney general in the Erie ofc e, he defends lawsuits against state agencies in a 10-county area of northwestern Pennsylvania. Bill and his wife, Heather, have three kids: Scott, 39; Katie, 33; and Emily, 28, a 2008 Mercyhurst grad. Bill was the frst captain of the men’s tennis team, the frst intercollegiate sport of ered in 1971 for men at the newly coeducational Mercyhurst, and helped the Lakers to an undefeated match record in their frst y ear. Though he plays little tennis these days, he does enjoy ofcia ting high school football in the Erie area and spends a lot of time reading.
ANDREA BULLOTTA DALOIA Andrea Bullotta Daloia ’98 was about halfway through a dance major at Mercyhurst when she decided political science would be a better ft f or her (though she still kept a dance minor). During her senior year, Professors Michael Federici and Randy Clemons encouraged her to pursue law school. She attended Cleveland Marshall College of Law, fnishing sec ond in her class in 2001. “Although nothing can entirely prepare you for law school, the tougher classes that focus on a ton of reading and writing (especially the ones taught by Drs. Federici and Clemons) did a great job in preparing me,” she says.
Today she’s still in Cleveland as counsel in the law ofc es of Thompson Hine. She focuses mainly on construction litigation involving contract disputes or injuries at construction sites. She’s also part of the Products Liability Practice Group, most often handling lawsuits related to occupational exposure to various chemicals. Though she’s single and has no children of her own, she loves spending time with her nieces and nephews and other family members who have moved near her home in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake. In her spare time, she frequently practices yoga and Pilates, and is also involved in a variety of community service projects, from legal aid events to soup kitchens.
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