Staas new county assistant prosecutor

VW independent/submitted information

Attorney Martin D. Burchfield’s recent appointment as judge of the Van Wert County Common Pleas Court to replace retired Judge Charles D. Steele has made it necessary for Burchfield to exit his role as Van Wert County assistant prosecutor, as well as his private practice.  This has resulted in the transition of Martin D. Burchfield Company. LPA to Dillon W. Staas IV Company LPA.

Van Wert County Prosecutor Charles F. Kennedy III has also appointed Staas to replace Burchfield as assistant prosecutor and Staas will also assume Burchfield’s private practice. This transition will be similar to the transition that occurred in 2007 when Burchfield and Kennedy merged their two practices, and later in 2009 when Kennedy & Burchfield Company LPA became Martin D. Burchfield Company LPA.  The office will remain at its long-time location at 101 E. Main St. in Van Wert, where Kennedy also has his offices.

Staas received his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and is a graduate of the Ohio Northern University School of Law. He has practiced law in Van Wert for more than five years and previously practiced in the law office of Diller & Rice LLC and also served as a Van Wert County public defender during that time.

Staas’ law practice is a general practice that includes estate and business planning, real estate transactions, real estate title insurance and loan closing services, probate, domestic relations and general civil cases. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and is currently president of the Van Wert County Bar Association. He is licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio and before the United States Federal Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

“Mr. Staas is a very competent attorney and brings an impeccable work ethic and wealth of knowledge to this office,” Burchfield noted.

The office’s present staff of Sue Verhoff, Kelly Schlemmer and Terah Thatcher will continue to serve the needs of clients at Staas’ law office.

Staas and his wife, Renee, reside in Van Wert with their son and are active members of First United Methodist Church.