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FLORIDA BAR CERTIFIES 132 ATTORNEYS AS SPECIALISTS IN 19 AREAS OF LAW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 14, 2006
CONTACT:
Lisa Garcia,
The Florida Bar
TELEPHONE:
850/561-5769


TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Bar recently certified 132 Florida lawyers as specialists in 19 areas of legal practice. Board certification recognizes attorneys’ special knowledge, skills and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice.

“Board certification is synonymous with the terms ‘specialist’ and ‘expert’ for good reason," said Florida Bar President Henry M. Coxe, III. "The program maintains high standards for experience and integrity to help the public identify lawyers who strive for professional excellence.”

Certified attorneys are the only Florida lawyers allowed to identify or advertise themselves as "Florida Bar Board Certified," as specialists or as experts. Certification is the highest level of recognition by The Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys in the areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida. The newly certified lawyers are listed below.

A lawyer who is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar and who meets the standards prescribed by the state's Supreme Court may become board certified in one or more of 22 certification fields. Approximately 4,200 Florida lawyers are board certified. Minimum requirements for certification are listed below; each area of certification may contain higher or additional standards.

- A minimum of five years in law practice
- A satisfactory showing of substantial involvement in the field of law for which certification is sought
- A passing grade on the examination required of all applicants
- Satisfactory peer review assessment of competence in the specialty field as well as character, ethics and professionalism in the practice of law
- Satisfaction of the certification area’s continuing legal education requirements

Board certification is valid for five years, during which time the attorney must continue to practice law and attend Florida Bar-approved continuing legal education courses. To be recertified, lawyers must meet requirements similar to those for initial certification. Not all qualified lawyers are certified, but those who are board certified have taken the extra step to have their competence and experience recognized.

For more information, please visit The Florida Bar Web site at www.floridabar.org/certification or contact The Florida Bar’s Legal Specialization & Education Department at 850/561-5842.

Lawyers newly certified by The Florida Bar listed by specialty areas:

ADMIRALTY & MARITIME
Jennifer Quildon Miller, Miami
Joanne Mary Foster, Stuart

ANTITRUST AND TRADE REGULATION
Edward Davis Eliasberg Jr., Washington, D.C.
William Jay Blechman, Miami
Jerome Wayne Hoffman, Tallahassee
Lizabeth Ann Leeds, Tallahassee
Robert Louis Ciotti, Tampa
David Thomas Knight, Tampa
Sylvia H. Walbolt, Tampa
Robert Scott Palmer, West Palm Beach

APPELLATE PRACTICE LAW
Caryn Lynn Bellus, Miami
Regine Marie Monestime, Miami
Paul Morris, Miami
Nicholas Ari Shannin, Orlando
Gwendolyn Powell Braswell, Sarasota
Christopher Vincent Carlyle, The Villages

BUSINESS LITIGATION
Mark R. Osherow, Boca Raton
Bernard Harold Gentry Jr., Lakeland
Mark Nelson Miller, Lakeland
Scott Randall Rost, Orlando
George Donovan Conwell Jr., Tampa
William Francis Hamilton, Tampa
Ryon Michael McCabe, West Plam Beach

CITY, COUNTY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Tammi E. Bach, Clearwater
Tura Schnebly, Deland
Robert Livingston IV, Gainesville
Elizabeth Ann Waratuke, Gainesvillle
Melissa M. Gross-Arnold, Jacksonville
Susan M. Grimsley, Key West
Bradley W. Biggs, Lantana
Clifford B. Shepard, Maitland
Diego Rodriguez, Orlando
Patrick F. McCormack, St. Augustine
Jody Lamar Finklea, Tallahassee

CIVIL TRIAL
Marcia Davis, Alachua
John Francis Lakin, Bradenton
Robert W. Kelley, Fort Lauderdale
John Joseph Uustal, Fort Lauderdale
William Paul Galione, Gainesville
Raymond Scott Costantino, Jacksonville
Gregory David Prysock, Jacksonville
Joesph Anthony Zarzaur Jr., Pensacola
James Beckett Thompson Jr., Saint Petersburg
Kathy J. Maus, Tallahassee
Fredric S. Zinober, Tampa
Richard Kendall Slinkman, West Palm Beach
Kevin Austin Ashley, Winter Haven

CONSTRUCTION LAW
Michael John Kurzman, Coral Gables
Raymond L. Robinson, Coral Gables
Gary Louis Brown, Fort Lauderdale
William Jack Cea, Fort Lauderdale
Alejandro Espino, Fort Lauderdale
Jordana Lee Goldstein, Fort Lauderdale
Giselle Leonardo, Fort Lauderdale
Neil Howard Levinson, Fort Lauderdale
Michael Albert Piscitelli, Fort Lauderdale
Herbert O. Brock Jr., Fort Myers
Sanjay Kurian, Fort Myers
J. Jeffrey Rice, Fort Myers
Michael F. Blakey, Gainesville
Reese John Henderson Jr., Jacksonville
Belinda A. Bacon, Key Biscayne
Daniel Litton Moody, Largo
Stephen William Pickert, Maitland
William Howard Cantwell II, Melbourne
Michael R. Riemenschneider, Melbourne
Stacy Elizabeth Bercun, Miami
Sara Joanne Linley, Miami
Daniel Rodrigo Vega, Miami
Andrew Lowell Chapin, Orlando
Christi Leigh Underwood, Orlando
David Charles Willis, Orlando
David Eric Gurley, Sarasota
Alan E. Tannenbaum, Sarasota
Charles Bryan Hernicz, Wellington
Bruce E. Loren, West Palm Beach
Jason Christopher Maier, West Palm Beach

CRIMINAL APPELLATE
Michael Robert Ufferman, Tallahassee
Richard Chambers Valuntas, West Palm Beach

CRIMINAL TRIAL
Stephen James Nelson, Clearwater
Mauricio Lopez-Aldazabal, Coral Gables
Dawn Melissa Moore, Daytona Beach
Matthew Dean Phillips, Daytona Beach
James Matthew Colaw, Gainesville
Bennett Asbury Hutson, Gainesville
Shawn Alan Arnold, Jacksonville
Mark Timothy Conan, Orlando
Michael James Foley, Orlando
Melissa E. Vickers, Orlando
Andrew Barrett Shein, Tampa
John Eric Romano, West Palm Beach

ELDER LAW
John Sanders Clardy III, Crystal River
Beth A. Prather, Fort Myers
Rebecca Coulter Bell, Port Richey
Jennifer Racquel Howell, Punta Gorda

HEALTH LAW
Jeanette Carpenter Schreiber, Durham, CT
Michael L. Smith, Altamonte Springs
Vanessa Anne Reynolds, Fort Lauderdale
Elizabeth Daley Shaw, Ponte Vedra Beach
Karen Lynn Davila, Rockledge

IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY LAW
Roger A. Bernstein, North Miami

INTERNATIONAL LAW
John Lloyd Murphy, Miami

LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
David Alan Chonin, Coral Gables
Michael Anthony Pancier, Fort Lauderdale
Scott Allen Fisher, Saint Petersburg
Erin G. Jackson, Tampa

MARITAL AND FAMILY LAW
Caryn Margo Green, Orlando
Rachel Anne Gorenflo, Sanford
Doreen Turner Inkeles, Tamarac

REAL ESTATE LAW
Lloyd Granet, Boca Raton
David Harris Rosenberg, Bradenton
Joshua Jonathan Pope, Daytona Beach
Mr. Brendan Aloysius Barry, Fort Lauderdale
Christian Noel Folland, Miami Beach
Kristin M. Conroy, Naples
Gregory Allen Hass, Orlando
Leonard T. Lincoln, Orlando
Christopher Walter Brewer, Tampa

TAX LAW
John Charles Bovay, Gainesville
Marvin Cuthrell Kloeppel, Jacksonville


WILLS, TRUSTS AND ESTATES
Tasha K. Dickinson, Boca Raton
Monica Vondruska Lothrop, Bonita Springs
John Charles Bovay, Gainesville
Brad A. Galbraith, Naples
Blake Wilson Kirkpatrick, Naples
Susan Beth Kubar, Naples
Matthew John Ahearn, Orlando
Clint Stephen Malone, Vero Beach


WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW
Douglass Edward Myers Jr., Jacksonville
Debrah Lee Zeitler, Orlando
Tracey J. Hyde, Panama City
Matthew W. Bennett, Winter Park


EDITORS: Please note The Florida Bar is not an association and "Association" is not part of our name. Proper reference is "The Florida Bar." Local bar organizations are properly termed "associations."

[Revised: 09-20-2007 ]