MATTHEW D. BRIGGS has been named an insurance agent in the Oneida office of Gates-Cole Insurance. He has 15 years experience in insurance and is a licensed New York State property and casualty agent. He attended SUNY Oswego and Mohawk Valley Community College.

Barclay Damon, LLP announced the election of COURTNEY M. MERRIMAN to partner. She is in the firm’s Syracuse office and is a member of the Real Estate and Financial Institutions & Lending practice areas. Merriman has extensive experience representing parties in commercial lease negotiations and provides guidance on land-use matters for energy industry clients. She also has represented lenders in sophisticated financial transactions. Merriman received a bachelor’s degree from Le Moyne College and her law degree from the Albany Law School of Union University. Barclay Damon, LLP has promoted JOHN S. ZOLLO to partner. He is in the firm’s Syracuse office and is a member of the Labor & Employment practice area. Zollo’s practice includes all areas of employee-benefits law. He is a graduate of Columbia University and received a master’s degree in psychology from Ohio University and his law degree from the University of California, Davis School of Law. 

CAROLINE M. WESTOVER, a member of Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC’s Syracuse office, has been named chair of the firm’s immigration law practice. She has extensive experience in counseling and representing employers in all facets of employment-based immigration. Westover’s immigration practice focuses on representing employers in the preparation, filing, and adjudication of employment-based applications for temporary (non-immigrant) workers. She also assists employers in their efforts to obtain employment-based permanent residency and with employment-verification issues.