Attorneys

Michael E. Gutmann

Michael E. (Mike) Gutmann has been a lifelong resident of Piqua, OH. After graduating Lehman Catholic High School, he attended Miami University, where he obtained his B.S. in Business in 1981. From there he attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law and received his Juris Doctor in 1984. After being sworn in as an attorney in the state of Ohio, he joined the firm in October of 1984 and became a shareholder in 1988.

Mike has established a varied and general legal practice, concentrating in the areas of small business and corporate law, real estate, estate and succession planning, probate and trust administration, and municipal law.

Mike has served as Solicitor for the Village of Bradford, Ohio for more than twenty-five years. A member of the Miami County Bar Association, Mike served as its president in 1996. He is also a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and was awarded the Bar Foundation Award for Community Service in 1997. Mike is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio.

Mike volunteers his services as a pro-bono attorney through the Volunteer Lawyers Project of Dayton, Ohio. Active in the community, Mike is a Rotarian and serves on the boards of the Piqua Community Foundation, the Johnston Farm & Indian Agency (an Ohio History Connection site), and the Upper Valley Medical Center Foundation. His past volunteer service includes the American Red Cross, Boy Scout Troop 344, Hospice of Miami County, Lehman Catholic HS Foundation, the Piqua United Way and various youth sports.

Mike is married to Elizabeth, a retired Miami County Municipal Court Judge, and they are the parents of two children, Claire and Will, both of whom are practicing attorneys.

Kyler J. Palmer

Kyler J. Palmer joined the firm in May 2022 after graduating from the University of Dayton School of Law. While in law school, he was on the University of Dayton Law Review and served as president of the Intellectual Property Law Society. Before law school, Kyler obtained a degree in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University and completed graduate-level coursework at Harvard University. Kyler is licensed to practice law in Maine and Ohio. 

Kyler’s areas of practice include probate and trust administration, estate planning, civil litigation, business and commercial law, real estate, and appellate law. He also assists with civil legal matters and criminal prosecution for the City of Piqua and the Village of Covington. 

Being an avid writer and legal scholar, Kyler has published several articles in various academic journals – including the DePaul Journal for Social Justice and the University of Dayton Law Review. His scholarship mainly focuses on the intersection of the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment. 

As a member of both the Miami County Bar Association and the Dayton Bar Association, Kyler is extremely active in the Miami Valley legal community. Notably, in May 2022, he co-led a presentation before the DBA Carl D. Kessler Inn of Court, to which he is a member, titled “Social Media and Litigation – What Practitioners Need to Know.” 

When Kyler is not counseling clients or researching the law, he can be found traveling or rooting for his favorite sports teams – the Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas A&M Aggies.

Frank J. Patrizio

Frank Patrizio graduated Piqua High School and attended the University of Dayton, where he obtained his B.S. in Finance in 1988. From there he attended the Ohio State University College of Law and received his Juris Doctor in 1991. He joined the firm in 1991 and became a shareholder in 1997. Frank was admitted to the practice of Law in Ohio in 1991 and admitted to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio in 1992.

Frank has a general and varied practice of law representing clients in business and corporate law, real estate, estate planning, trust and probate administration, municipal law, personal injury and worker's compensation.

Presently, Frank serves as the Law Director for the City of Piqua, Ohio, managing all civil legal matters and criminal prosecution. Frank has served as President and Treasurer of the Miami County Bar Association. Frank now serves on the Piqua City School Board and has previously served the community as an elected member of the Piqua City Commission and as a Trustee of the Piqua Improvement Corporation, the Piqua Cemetery Board, the Piqua United Way, and the Miami County Red Cross.

Nathaniel J. Funderburg

Nate Funderburg is a lifelong resident of Piqua, Ohio. After graduating Piqua High School, Nate graduated cum laude from Wright State University with a degree in English. He attended law school at the University of Dayton School of Law and graduated magna cum laude in 2006 after serving on the law review. Nate was admitted to the Ohio bar in November 2006, and the bar of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in December of the same year. Nate spent two years working for a local law firm before joining McCulloch Felger Fite & Gutmann Co LPA in October, 2008.

Nate has a wide-ranging practice concentrating on real estate, estate planning, trusts, probate and estate administration, creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, and corporate and business law.

Nate sits on the board of the Piqua Public Library, and formerly served on the boards of the Council on Rural Services, the Piqua Arts Council, Family Abuse Shelter of Miami County Ohio, and the Piqua United Way. Nate has served as an adjunct professor of bankruptcy and business law at Edison State Community College. He is a member of the Ohio State and Miami County bar associations and is active in Piqua community youth sports. Nate lives in Piqua with his wife, Rachel, and their children, Marin and Dane.

Elizabeth Gutmann, of Counsel

Elizabeth Gutmann joined the firm in January 2018 as “Of Counsel” after serving as a Miami County Municipal Court Judge for 18 years. Elizabeth was sworn in as a judge on January 3, 2000. She was re-elected for two additional six-year terms in 2005 and 2011. Elizabeth earned her Juris Doctorate at the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1984. She holds a B.A. in Communications from Wright State University. She previously served as a Prosecutor for the City of Piqua;. Prior to that, she was an assistant public defender in Shelby County, Ohio.

Ms. Gutmann is a member of the Miami County Bar Association and was previously a member of the Ohio Municipal Judges Association. During her tenure as a judge, she presided over a drug court docket for over twelve years helping many people to recover from drug and alcohol addiction. At the request of the Ohio Supreme Court, she served as a mentor to newly elected municipal judges. 

Elizabeth has been an active member of her community, currently serving on the Miami County YMCA Board of Trustees, as a Miami County Park District Commissioner, and as a Trustee of Edison State Community College. Other memberships include Brukner Nature Center, Columbian Club, Bike Miami Valley, the Dayton Cycling Club, and the Miami County YWCA. 

She has been married to Attorney Michael Gutmann for 35 years. They are the proud parents of Claire, in-house counsel for Rising Star Casino, and William, an associate attorney at Porter, Wright in Columbus