Financing Your Business

Chris Farmakis focuses his legal practice on mergers and acquisitions, private company equity investments, recapitalizations and joint ventures, startup company formation and general representation, commercial transactions, corporate governance, and real estate matters.  His practical legal approach has earned him a regional and national client base with recent deals in the manufacturing, retail, services, wireless infrastructure, IP, utility, emerging technology and food industries.  He is also national acquisition counsel for numerous public and private companies and private equity-owned portfolio companies. Like his clients, Chris is an entrepreneur, having founded three businesses including Solvaire, a company leveraging AI technology to undertake large-scale due diligence and contract management projects.

A talented banker with more than 25 years in the industry, Julie Hughes serves Northwest as the region president managing the bank’s Pittsburgh market. In her role, Julie leads a team to advance Northwest throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania by overseeing business development, commercial lending and retail banking. A graduate of Boston University, Julie received her bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance.  Julie serves on the sustainability committee and board of directors of Imani Christian Academy and Southwest PA United Way United for Children Leadership team. She previously served on the United Way of Allegheny County’s Impact Cabinet and Tocqueville Committee, was a member of the Pennsylvania Economy League of Greater Pittsburgh’s board of directors and served on Allies for Children’s board of directors and executive committee, as well as Family House’s board of directors and strategic planning committee.

Michael J. Lewis founded Quick Med Claims, a leader in emergency transportation billing and reimbursement consulting, in 1992. As CEO, he has built the organization from two employees to 350. In 2015, he led the company through a recapitalization with private equity and did so again in 2018. He has presented at a number of conferences and founded Cures for KIDS Foundation, where he serves as its president.

An energy related holding company, Croton owns all of the companies Ritton has founded or acquired since 1994. Today Countywide Petroleum is one of the largest independent retail gasoline suppliers in the United States, and Par Mar Oil Company was ranked as the 76th largest convenience store chain in the U.S. in 2018 by CSP Daily News having over 1,000 employees and operations in four separate U.S. states.