James E. Sher, Esquire is a native of Berks County. He grew up in Oley, Pennsylvania and graduated from Oley High School in 1988. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Albright College in 1992, where he majored in history and business management. While at Albright he spent a semester as an intern with the Honorable Albert A. Stallone of the Berks County Court of Common Pleas. Upon graduating from Albright College he attended law school at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While at Duquesne he interned at the Pittsburgh office of Pennsylvania Attorney General. He received his Juris Doctorate in 1995 having graduated in the top 20% of his class. Upon being admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1995, and returning to Berks County, he opened his own law firm, O’Keefe & Sher, P.C., in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. He has concentrated his practice in the areas of family law, estate planning and administration, business formation and transactional work, and real estate transactions. He is a member of both the Berks County Bar Association and Pennsylvania Bar Association. As an active member of the Berks County Bar Association he has served as president of the Young Lawyers Divisions, president of the Endlich Law Club, co-chairman of the Family Law Division, liaison to the Bar Association Board of Directors, and has participated with other committees and subsections. He served on the board of directors of the Kutztown Area Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Exeter Township Lions Club. He and his wife live in Exeter Township.

Practice Areas

Richard D. Adamson attended the University of New Mexico and graduated from Rider College in 1975 with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. That same year, he attended Delaware Law School, where he was a member of the law review, The Delaware Journal of Corporate Law.

After graduating from law school, Rich became an Associate in the Commercial Litigation Department at White and Williams in Philadelphia. He worked on behalf of the firm's Fortune 500 clients in the defense of nationwide anti-trust and securities class action litigation, as well as product liability litigation on behalf of heavy equipment manufacturers.

In 1984, Rich joined the firm of Curtin & Heefner in Morrisville, PA as an Associate in the Litigation Department where he represented the firm's business clients in a wide range of civil litigation matters. He also assumed a substantial insurance defense caseload for the firm's major insurance company clients. .

After a short stint with Roeger, Walker & Bahls in Perkasie, PA where he focused on insurance defense litigation, Rich started his own practice in Kutztown, PA. Because of his prior associations and reputation for excellent trial results, he was able to attract major insurance companies as clients and develop a multi-county insurance defense practice.

In 2003, Rich formed Adamson & Associates, P.C., expanding the professional and support staff to accommodate insurance clients.

In April, 2009, Rich joined the firm of O'Keefe & Sher, P.C. and moved his insurance defense practice to the firm's Kutztown, PA offices. He also assists in the representation of the firm's business clients in civil litigation matters.

Rich practices in over 12 counties in Pennsylvania and tries cases before juries on a regular basis. Over the last 31 years, he has tried well over 100 jury trials to verdict in the state and federal courts.

Practice Areas

Amy grew up in the Lehigh Valley and graduated from Northampton High School. She graduated cum laude from Moravian College in 2005 with a double major in Criminal Justice and Spanish. She attended Widener University School of Law, Harrisburg Campus, graduating cum laude in 2009. While at Widener, Amy was a member of the Trial Advocacy Honor Society.

Prior to joining O’Keefe & Sher, P.C., Amy handled cases pertaining to Immigration, Wills and Estates, and Personal Injury at a private firm in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Amy is also a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the New Jersey Bar Association, and the Berks Bar Association. Outside of practicing law, Amy is an avid runner who also enjoys reading and word games. She is a class agent for Widener Law, assisting in fundraising for the school. She is also engaged in charitable fundraising for the MS Walk, Spina Bifida and Cystic Fibrosis Foundations. Amy currently resides in Allentown.

Practice Areas

Jacob grew up in the Lehigh Valley and graduated from Parkland High School. He attended college at James Madison University, where he graduated cum laude in Political Science and with distinction for completing an honors thesis. He attended law school at Villanova University and received his juris doctorate. While in law school, Jacob worked as a judicial intern for the Honorable James T. Anthony in Lehigh County. He also worked as a certified legal intern for both the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office and the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.

Prior to joining O'Keefe and Sher, P.C., Jacob served as a law clerk to both the Honorable Joseph F. Kameen, President Judge, and the Honorable Gregory H. Chelak in Pike County. Jacob is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Pike County Bar Association. Jacob is also a member of the Berks County and Lehigh County Bar Associations.

Attorney Thielen will be focusing his practice in Criminal Law and Civil Litigation. Outside of practicing law, Jacob is an assistant coach for the Parkland Aquatic Club and a volunteer assistant coach for the Parkland High School varsity swim team. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Valley Swim League. In his spare time, Jacob enjoys exercising, watching sports, and reading. He currently resides in Fogelsville.

Danielle has been with the firm for several years. She assists the attorneys in various aspects of the law practice from the onset of a case until settlement. She is a graduate of Hamburg High School, graduate of Reading Area Community College with an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science and graduate of University of Phoenix with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. She has also received her Paralegal Certificate from Penn State Berks and is a Pennsylvania Certified Paralegal.

Danielle is a member of Eta Theta, the University of Phoenix Chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma, the National Criminal Justice Honor Society. She is also a member of the Legal Support Staff Association of Berks County and Montgomery County Paralegal Association. She is a Notary Public who is contracted with PennDot to complete limited title work.

Danielle currently resides in Pine Grove with her boyfriend, her daughter, Skye and her dog, GT. She enjoys riding motorcycles, drag racing, going to car shows with her Mustang, and skydiving as well as spending quality time with her family.

Jaclyn joined O'Keefe & Sher, P.C. as a paralegal in May, 2008. She relocated to Kutztown after residing and working in the Boston area for the past six years. Jaclyn previously worked at Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, P.C. as an immigration paralegal where she concentrated on a variety of corporate and family law cases. At O'Keefe & Sher Jaclyn focuses primarily on civil litigation, family law, general business and real estate matters.

Jaclyn was born in Southington, Connecticut and raised in Denmark, Maine, where she still returns often to ski with her family. She is a 2002 graduate of Fryeburg Academy in Fryeburg, Maine and a 2006 graduate of Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts where she graduated magnum cum laude and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management and a Minor in Law. She also has her Project Management Certificate from Penn State, accredited by the Project Management Institute. Jaclyn currently resides in Kutztown, PA with her husband, Peter, and two dogs, Bentley and Bleu.

Ali joined the staff at O’Keefe & Sher, P.C. in September, 2009 as a Legal Secretary and is currently working as a Paralegal. She moved back home to Berks County from Pittsburgh, PA in the spring of 2009 after graduating summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science in business and psychology and a minor in legal studies. At O’Keefe & Sher, P.C., Ali primarily assists the attorneys with criminal, civil litigation and family law matters. She is currently enrolled part time at Kutztown University working on her paralegal certificate. Ali currently resides in Kenhorst with her boyfriend and her dog, Moose, and spends her spare time outside kayaking, hiking and camping.