About Us

Tricia Herzfeld is a founding partner at HSGLaW. She has extensive experience in handling complex litigation, along with numerous, high-profile civil rights cases in state and federal courts in the areas of sexual assault, harassment and discrimination, free speech, freedom of religion, equal protection, immigrants’ rights and racial profiling, which have led to multi-million-dollar settlements for clients.

Tricia earned her undergraduate degree from George Washington University and received her law degree from George Washington University Law School. 

For their work on the Tennessee opioids litigation on behalf of cities and counties in Upper East Tennessee, Tricia and the members of the opioid team were awarded the 2022 Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. In 2018, Tricia was honored to receive the Amiga We Love Award from Conexion Americas.  A graduate of the 2010 Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law program, she is a frequent lecturer on a variety of civil rights and civil liberties issues, including election law and systemic voter disenfranchisement.  

Tricia was named a Tennessee Supreme Court Attorney for Justice every year since 2018. She is on the advisory board of the Tennessee Language Center, an agency of the University of Tennessee’s Institute for Public Service. She also volunteers with Conexión Américas and Oasis Center. Tricia has served on the Davidson County Election Commission since 2013.

Tricia is licensed to practice in law in Tennessee, Florida, and West Virginia.

David Suetholz is a founding member of HSGLaW.  He concentrates his practice on labor and employment law, appellate practice and civil litigation. He has broad experience in representing working people and their unions in Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri. He previously served as the general counsel of the Kentucky Labor Cabinet and was partially responsible for record-breaking wage recoveries for Kentucky workers.

Additional legal accomplishments include victories at both the Kentucky Supreme Court in Workforce Development Cabinet v. Gaines (2008) and the U.S. Supreme Court in Thompson v. North American Stainless LP (2011), which changed the law for the entire country to more broadly protect people from retaliation under Title VII.

Mr. Suetholz is a graduate of Villanova University, where he studied history and theology. He credits his theology background for his decision to attend Notre Dame Law School, where he earned his J.D., and ultimately become a Union-side labor attorney. After law school, he spent nine months at the Instituto de Idiomas in Cochabamba, Bolivia, to learn Spanish and assist immigrant workers. He served as the General Counsel of the Kentucky Labor Cabinet for nearly three years before returning to private practice in 2012. 

He is licensed to practice law in Kentucky and Indiana.

Benjamin Gastel maintains a robust litigation practice representing clients in mass tort cases, consumer fraud litigation and medical malpractice cases. He represents consumers in consumer class action cases, as well as injured individuals and their loved ones in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits filed across the country. He also represents public utilities in federal and state court on a wide variety of litigation matters, including condemnations, territorial disputes and property disputes. He has litigated in numerous federal and state courts, and has appeared before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Mr. Gastel has taken a leading role in state election law, advising numerous clients on elections, election finance and lobbying requirements. He serves on the board of many nonprofits, and regularly advises non-profits on compliance with IRS requirements related to electioneering and lobbying activities.

He has robust experience in the world of mass torts, including being part of the team that sought to hold New England Compounding Clinic, its vendors, affiliates and customers responsible for the tragic 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak, and he regularly appeared in federal court in In re New England Compounding Pharmacy, Inc. Products Liability Litigation, MDL 2419 (D. Mass) on behalf of the victims. His work along with the many other lawyers involved in this MDL led to the creation of settlement funds in excess of $200 million.

Prior to joining the Firm, Mr. Gastel practiced in Atlanta, Georgia, where he represented utility and technology companies in transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. He received his undergraduate degree from Dayton University in Ohio, where he graduated summa cum laude, and his legal degree from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Mr. Gastel lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife and three children, where he tends to a large garden, lots of trees and a small beehive.

Mr. Leniski is a founding member of HSGLaW, and is Co-Chair of HSGLaW’s Complex Litigation Practice Group.  During his career, Mr. Leniski has litigated all manner of complex and class action matters, recovering millions on behalf of individual and institutional investors, purchasers, and consumers.  Mr. Leniski was Co-Lead Counsel in In re Wellbutrin XL Antitrust Litigation, an antitrust class action alleging that pharmaceutical companies colluded to illegally suppress a cheaper generic form of the blockbuster drug Wellbutrin XL from reaching the market, which ultimately resulted in a $11.5 million settlement for the class and garnered praise from the judge for “effectively and efficiently prosecut[ing] this difficult and complex action on behalf of the members of the Class.” Mr. Leniski also represented consumers in In re Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” MDL (nationwide class action which generated settlements worth over $11.2 billion); pensioners in In re Xcel Energy, Inc. ERISA Litigation (resulted in $8 million cash payment to the Plan for participants and lifted stock restrictions in the Plan with a value between $38 million and $94 million); and drug purchasers in In re Prograf Indirect Purchaser Litigation (resulted in class-wide settlement award of $13.25 million).

Mr. Leniski is also very active in litigation involving privacy rights under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, on behalf of individuals with non-compete, non-solicitation agreements and workers facing all manner of workplace harassment and discrimination.  He also represents Union-side clients in NLRB and in collective bargaining matters, and advises employee pension and health funds and their trustees.  For their work on the Tennessee opioids litigation on behalf of cities and counties in Upper East Tennessee, Mr. Leniski and the members of his team were awarded the 2022 Outstanding Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. 

Mr. Leniski graduated cum laude from the University of Notre Dame in 2000, and from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2003, where he served as president of the Vanderbilt Bar Association and received the Jordan A. Quick Memorial Award for Outstanding Leadership. He is also an Eagle Scout. Mr. Leniski is a member of the AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance, served on the Tennessee Bar Association’s Committee to revise the Tennessee Business Corporations Act, and was named to Super Lawyers “Rising Star” list, Class Action Trial Lawyers Top 25, Mass Tort Trial Lawyers Top 25, and The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 for Civil Plaintiffs practice.

Michael Wall is an experienced appellate advocate and a former chair of the Nashville Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Committee. He has successfully argued for clients on a wide range of topics, including labor and employment, constitutional rights and consumer protection. Recently, he secured a decision from the Tennessee Supreme Court applying the Tennessee Drug Dealer Liability Act to prescription opioid manufacturers.  This groundbreaking interpretation of a model act gives people in many states a way to recover for harm caused by the opioid epidemic.

Mr. Wall also leads the firm’s public utility practice, representing water, sewer and natural gas utilities across the state. He advises utilities on their legal powers and responsibilities and drafts contracts on their behalf. When necessary, he represents utilities in condemnations, service area disputes and other types of litigation.

Mr. Wall is a 2002 graduate of Vanderbilt University and earned his J.D. in 2005 from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he won the Nathan Burkan Memorial Prize for his seminar paper on copyright.