ANDREW K. WARD, ESQ.

Drew began The Ward Law Firm in 2007, after gaining a decade of experience as an estate planning attorney with other area firms. Drew has focused his practice exclusively on Estate and Medicaid Planning for 25 years. Our practice is client-based, so Drew meets with all clients directly, personally handling the Estate and Trust plans, from the first meeting through to completion. In February 2017, Drew partnered with Michael A. Arcuri to form the Ward Arcuri Law Firm, diversifying services for the more varied legal needs of our clients.

Drew is the current President of the Board at Upstate Cerebral Palsy and serves as a Board Member for the Utica Zoo. He has also served as President of the New Hartford Central School Board, as a Board Member for the SUNY Poly Foundation, and has volunteered as a board member on several local charities, including the Sunset Neighborhood Center, the Red Cross, and the ARC Guardianship Committee. Drew has participated in the Ride for Missing Children for over 20 years.

Drew is a graduate of Union College and Dayton School of Law. He resides in New Hartford with his wife, Jennifer, and their two sons and daughter, Sam, Eli, and Annie. In his spare time, Drew enjoys attending his children’s activities, skiing, biking, and traveling.

AKW@WARDARCURI.COM

MICHAEL A. ARCURI, ESQ.

Michael has over 20 years of experience practicing law in the Central New York area. Just prior to partnering with Drew Ward, Michael focused his own practice on Real Estate, Labor and Employment, and Business Law for the last several years. Michael meets with all clients in these law areas directly, and personally will handle all real estate, business startups, business contracts, labor and employment law matters from the first meeting through to completion.

Michael is very involved in the community and currently serves as an Administrative Law Judge and as a member of the board for the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals, the Kelberman Center and the Utica Schools of Excellence Foundation. Michael also serves as adjunct instructor at Utica College, is the plan administer for the Oneida County Assigned Counsel Program, and was a founding member of the Cannae Policy Group.

After earning his Bachelor of Arts in History at the University at Albany and later receiving his Juris Doctor certification at New York Law School, Michael began his career as an Attorney at Law practicing in Utica, NY from 1985 to 1993. As Michael’s career progressed, he became District Attorney for Oneida County from 1994 to 2006.

Michael then pursued a career in politics, for which he is most well-known in the Central New York area, serving as a member of Congress with the United States House of Representatives in Washington D.C. from 2007-2011. Following his term in public office, he worked as an attorney in both the Syracuse, NY and Utica, NY areas.

Michael Arcuri has been proud to serve the citizens here in Central New York for the entirety of his career in law and looks forward to continuing to do so under his new partnership with Drew Ward at the Ward Arcuri Law Firm. He currently resides in New Hartford, NY with his wife, Sabrina. He has four children; Carmen Joseph, Dominique, Nicholas and Sophia Rose.

MIKE@WARDARCURI.COM

TIMOTHY FOLEY, ESQ.

Tim Foley’s most recent practice was the Foley Law Firm, LLC, in Old Forge. He lived and worked in Old Forge for the last 35 years, having practiced with several other partnerships over the years.  For more than 25 years, he was in partnership with the Foley & Frye Law Firm of Utica and Old Forge, and more than 20 years in partnership with Dick Frye.

His late father, William J. Foley, who founded the Foley & Frye Law Firm in Utica, also maintained an office in Old Forge.  In 1985, Tim joined his fa­ther’s practice after he was ad­mitted to the New York State Bar.

Tim’s practice represented large and small businesses, families and individuals, in areas ranging from estate plans, real estate transfers, con­tracts and disputes.

Now, as a partner with Ward Arcuri Foley & Dwyer, Tim brings his years of experience to a new team, while maintaining his areas of practice and his presence in Old Forge.

TFOLEY@WARDARCURI.COM

KEVIN J. DWYER, ESQ.

Kevin joined the Firm in 2018. Kevin’s primary practice includes litigation, estate and trust administration, family law, and criminal defense. Kevin previously worked in the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office and has extensive experience in prosecuting white collar crime and felony offenses. He has also worked at Citigroup as a compliance attorney focusing on insider-trading. Kevin is most at home in a courtroom and strives to make the court process as stress-free for clients as possible.

Kevin is a third-generation attorney carrying on the trusted Dwyer name in the Utica area legal community that has been present since the late 40’s. He is a graduate of St. John Fisher College and SUNY Buffalo Law School and is an adjunct professor at Utica College. Kevin is from, and lives, in New Hartford with his wife and two daughters.

KEVIN@WARDARCURI.COM

DOMINIQUE ARCURI, ESQ.

Dominique joined the Ward Arcuri Law Firm in 2019. Dom is a life-long resident of Central New York and a graduate of Utica College, where she received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology – Child Life. Dominique then went on to earn a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law. Through her previous work at both Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES and Kids Oneida, she applied her educational experience to assist people with special needs, including children and adolescents with disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders. This made for an easy transition to her estate planning role at the Ward Arcuri Law Firm, where she works with people who have recently lost a loved one. Dominique resides in Utica where she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and pets.

DOMINIQUE@WARDARCURI.COM

DEANNA M. CUCHARALE, ESQ.

Deanna joined the Ward Arcuri Foley & Dwyer Law Firm in 2024. Deanna concentrates her practice in Real Estate, providing legal services to institutional and individual clients across the Mohawk Valley and Central New York. With extensive real estate experience, Deanna has represented lenders, entities, and individuals for the purchase and sale of residential and commercial real estate.

A native of the area, Deanna graduated magna cum laude from the University at Albany and received her law degree from Albany Law School in 2016, graduating cum laude. Deanna is a member of the Oneida County Bar and New York State Bar Associations.

DEANNA@WARDARCURI.COM

ROBERT J. MALPEZZI

Robert J. Malpezzi is the Director of Medicaid Planning at the firm. Robert joined the Ward Law Firm in 2011, bringing his unsurpassed and hands-on experience as an integral part of our team. Robert served as the Director of the Medicaid Recovery Unit for the County of Oneida for over 16 years. Robert also served as a member of the Elder Abuse Coalition for several years, and served on that Board. He also coached in the North Utica Little League for eight years.

He resides in Barneveld with his wife, Jennifer, and their four children, Olivia, Giovanni, Talia and Dylan. In his spare time, Robert enjoys preparing food for his family and friends, fishing, golfing, working in his yard, and watching the Cubs play baseball. He is also an avid hockey fan, particularly of the Boston Bruins.

BOB@WARDARCURI.COM