About Christopher Michael
Christopher Michael Buell trained first as a journalist and then as a lawyer. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Pennsylvania State University in 2003 and completed his Juris Doctor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2006. Those two strands — reporting and law — inform the way he approaches cases and client work.
His legal career began immediately after law school when he joined Babst, Calland, Clements & Zomnir, P.C. as an associate in 2006. He spent the early years of his practice developing litigation skills and learning the mechanics of firm practice. In 2013 he moved to Bonya Gazza & DeGory, LLP as an associate and four years later was elevated to partner at that firm. In 2020 Buell became a member of Haberl, Buell & Rice, PLLC, where he continues to practice.
Buell is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He has been active locally as well; he holds membership in the Indiana County Bar Association, where his involvement dates from 2013 to the present. That local bar work has kept him connected to the everyday legal concerns of his region and to other practitioners in the area.
Colleagues describe his approach as straightforward. He draws on his background in journalism to ask precise questions and to shape written work so it reads clearly. He favors direct, practical solutions. In meetings he tends to lay out options plainly and to parse complex material into discrete issues clients can act on.
Over time Buell has covered a variety of matters common to regional firms. His record reflects steady movement through typical firm roles: associate, then partner, and now member at a new firm. That path has exposed him to different firm cultures and business models. It has also given him repeated experience supervising junior lawyers and coordinating work across practice teams.
Clients and other lawyers encounter him as someone who balances attention to detail with an interest in resolving matters efficiently. He handles filings, courtroom preparation and client counseling in cases that arise in the two states where he is licensed. He practices at Haberl, Buell & Rice, PLLC and concentrates his practice on matters arising in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
