Despite what the appearance of his office might suggest, John Gierl is not an avid collector of paperweights – or, if he is, it is only of paperweights that tell a story.

Perhaps more than any attorney at Katz Teller, John’s shelves are overflowing with heavy glass objects that commemorate significant lending and financing transactions and mergers and acquisitions John has closed over the years.  From $3.4 million in private equity financing to $125 million in senior secured credit facilities to a $1.4 billion acquisition of hotels throughout the United States, you can trace the course of John’s career in glass collectibles and get a sense of the range and scope of matters he has handled.

John’s corporate practice has a broad scope, including corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, financing and private securities transactions.  In addition to his corporate transactional practice in those areas, John has been involved in a variety of franchisor and franchisee organizations, including the Skyline Chili Franchisee Association.

At Katz Teller, John chairs the firm’s finance and opinion committees.

Ask Mark Jahnke how he's doing, and he will tell you he's living the dream.  And while every attorney knows on some days that might ring sarcastic, Mark regularly means it.

For him, the dream is the opportunity to work with clients to help them achieve their dreams. Because clients recognize that his level of care and concern is something unique, Mark is often asked to serve on client boards, advisory groups or in other capacities that allow him to work hand-in-hand with management to achieve business goals or navigate challenges and complexities.

While day-to-day client counseling frequently occupies a portion of Mark's workday, his reputation has been built on and staked to the special skill he brings to advising clients on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and other major corporate transactions.  Several times Mark has represented one party in a deal only to be hired later by the other party in connection with a separate transaction.

A long-time client describes Mark as “the kind of lawyer that every CEO dreams of hiring,” and the lawyer he would want on his side of the table in any negotiation.  As that client recognized, Mark does not pretend to be an expert in every area, but involves the right people as needed to help clients avoid unnecessary legal adventures.  This echoes Mark’s recognition in Chambers USA as an “astute business lawyer and negotiator who is very easy to deal with,” and who will "fight for the things that are important with great practical judgment and a sense of humor.”

From 2000-September 2020, Mark was the President and CEO of Katz Teller.  Mark’s ability to bring out the best in those around him, along with his leadership and judgment, help to keep us focused on achieving the level of service our clients expect and deserve.

“Where are you from?” is not often a question that requires rehearsal to answer.  For most of us, it’s a city or a state – the place we were born and raised or where we spent our formative years.  For Gabriel Kurcab, this question is considerably more complicated.  That’s because by the time Gabriel was 25, he had lived in 12 cities in 5 states and the District of Columbia, as far north as Michigan and as far south as Louisiana.

Gabriel joined Katz Teller after receiving his law degree cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was on the Dean’s list each semester and worked on the staff of The Tax Lawyer. During law school, Gabriel spent a summer working on felony trials with a state prosecutor and a year teaching a class on practical legal skills in an inner-city Washington, D.C. public high school.  Here in Cincinnati, he has carried that love of the trial environment and education of high school students into his role as a legal advisor to the Summit Country Day mock trial team.

Prior to law school, Gabriel graduated cum laude from the Honors Program at Union University, where he received a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in Economics.

Gabriel's corporate and real estate practice regularly advises clients on legal matters that arise in corporate transactions and day to day business operations. Gabriel also leads the firm’s health care practice, working with physicians and medical practices in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and other regulated transactions.

At Katz Teller, Gabriel is a member of the recruiting committee, the IT committee and the party planning committee.