The Florida Bar awards certification to 178 lawyers
The Florida Bar awards certification to 178 lawyers
Almost 200 Florida lawyers in 2012 earned Florida Bar board certification, the Bar’s highest evaluation of attorneys’ competence and experience, in one of the 24 areas of law approved for certification by the Florida Supreme Court. Board certified attorneys are the only Florida lawyers allowed to identify themselves as “specialists” or “experts,” or to use the initials “B.C.S.” to indicate Board Certified Specialist. Board certification evaluates attorneys’ special knowledge, skills, and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice.
“The Florida Bar’s board certification program is one of the best in the country,” said Florida Bar President Gwynne Young of Carlton Fields in Tampa. “It assists the public in locating lawyers who have demonstrated their level of skill, excellence, and commitment to professionalism.”
Florida Bar President-elect Eugene Pettis, a board certified education lawyer who practices with Haliczer Pettis & Schwamm in Ft. Lauderdale, believes that board certification is becoming a standard of preference for an increasing number of clients.
“In an ever-crowded field of over 93,000 lawyers, the achievement of board certification is the only way of distinguishing yourself as an expert or a specialist,” said Pettis. “I highly encourage lawyers to demonstrate their competence and experience through seeking board certification in their professional areas.”
Board of Legal Specialization & Education Chair Timon V. Sullivan believes that board certification is a significant professional distinction that is invaluable to the public.
“Florida Bar board certification is a legal credential which signifies that a lawyer has been evaluated for experience, expertise, and professionalism,” said Sullivan, a board certified civil trial lawyer with Ogden & Sullivan P.A. in Tampa. “Informed legal consumers understand that board certification is as meaningful in hiring a lawyer as it is in selecting a doctor.”
The following lawyers, listed by specialty areas and cities, have attained board certification:
Admiralty and Maritime Law
Raul Julio Chacon, Jr., Miami
F. David Famulari, Miami
Adoption Law
Nicole Ward Moore, Orlando
Appellate Practice
Craig Dennis Feiser, Jacksonville
Shannon Patricia McKenna, Hollywood
Jamie Billotte Moses, Orlando
Michael Joseph Park, Clearwater
Rolando Antonio Soler, Hollywood
Business Litigation
Jarrett Evan Cooper, Ft. Lauderdale
Charles G. Geitner, Tampa
Hanklin Edwin Jackson, West Palm Beach
Kevin Francis Jursinski, Ft. Myers
Karen Judith Lane, Daytona Beach
Rachael Spring Loukonen, Naples
Kevin Markow, Ft. Lauderdale
Scott Alan McLaren, Tampa
Gary Michael Schaaf, Clearwater
Steven Edward Sellers, Tallahassee
John Joseph Shahady, Ft. Lauderdale
Leslie Dean Sheekley, Ft. Walton Beach
Natly Torres-Alvarado, Ft. Myers
City, County and
Local Government
Robert Milner Bradley, Jr., Orange Park
Natileene Wise Cassel, Key West
J. Giffin Chumley, Deland
Laura Jacobs Donaldson, Tampa
Jason Charles Ester, Clearwater
Jason Raphael Gabriel, Jacksonville
John F. Germany, Jr., Jacksonville
Christy Lyn Goddeau, West Palm Beach
Christine M. Limbert-Barrows, Key West
Frederick John Murphy Jr., Bartow
Chasity Hope O’Steen, Tallahassee
Dylan Todd Reingold, Jacksonville
Derek Patrick Rooney, Port Charlotte
Nicolle Marie Shalley, Gainesville
Glenn E. Thomas, Tallahassee
Suzanne Van Wyk, Tallahassee
John Michael Vericker, Tampa
James Eric White, Ft. Lauderdale
James George Whitehouse, St. Augustine
Civil Trial
William Turner Abel, West Palm Beach
Neil Phillip Anthony, West Palm Beach
Benjamin Lawrence Bedard, West Palm Beach
Cosmo Cromarty Bloom, Tampa
Thomas Edward Caldwell, Daytona Beach
William Andrew Dean, Aventura
Brian Robert Denney, West Palm Beach
Guy Scott DiMartino, Yalaha
David Corey Dismuke, Lakeland
Scott Jeffrey Frank, Tampa
Dennis Todd Fronrath, West Palm Beach
Tomas Lazaro Gacio, Tampa
Harry Thomas Hackney, Tavares
Deborah Ann Halvorsen, Jacksonville
Spencer Todd Kuvin, Delray Beach
Daniel Antonio Martinez, St. Petersburg
Jorge David Martinez-Esteve, Miami
Daniel Dwight Moody, Bartow
David Aaron Paul, Orlando
David Sampedro, Miami
Wayde Porter Seidensticker, Jr., Naples
Kristen Marie Van Der Linde, Jacksonville
Jeffrey Scott Weiss, Orlando
Christine Leona Welstead, Miami
William David Zoeller, West Palm Beach
Construction Law
Megan Ann Cantlebary, Maitland
Ryan F. Carpenter, Ft. Lauderdale
Jorge Luis Cruz, Coral Gables
David Joseph Darr, Maitland
Warren Donald Diener, Ft. Lauderdale
Bret Michael Feldman, Tampa
Kimberly Anne Gessner, Ft. Lauderdale
Leonard W. Klingen, Ft. Lauderdale
Christopher Ryan Maloney, Jacksonville
Amanda S. Parker, Jacksonville
Peter Benjamin Rowell, Miami
Michael Joseph Thomas, Miami
Jason Brandt Vrbensky, Orlando
Alexander J. Williams Jr. Ft. Lauderdale
J. Andrew Williams, Maitland
Diane J. Zelmer, Ft. Lauderdale
Criminal Appellate
Robert Ralph Berry, Viera
Criminal Trial
Philip Alan Bavington, Jacksonville
Scott G. Berry, West Palm Beach
Andrew Marshall Clark, Orlando
Travis T. Dunnington, West Palm Beach
Geogymon George, Tampa
Ilana Felice Marcus, West Palm Beach
Daniel Lucas Marshall, West Palm Beach
Nicholas Gianni Matassini, Tampa
Angela Meriah Park, Melbourne
Matthew D. Sandburg, Sarasota
Thomas Devlin Sommerville, Winter Park
Benjamin Ryan Stechschulte, Tampa
Education Law
Nathan Aldrich Adams IV, Tallahassee
Dennis John Alfonso, Dade City
Deborah C. Brown, Saint Leo
Isis Carbajal de Garcia, Miami
Youndy Christine Cook, Orlando
Laurie Ann Dart, Largo
Thomas Martin Gonzalez, Tampa
Melissa M. Gross-Arnold, Jacksonville
Gregory Alan Hearing, Tampa
Frank Charles Kruppenbacher, Orlando
Sheree Hiers Lancaster, Trenton
Melinda Louise McNichols, Miami
William John Mullowney, Orlando
Molly Lauren Rottinghaus, Ft. Pierce
Karen Jean Stone, Jacksonville
Heather Joan Wallace, Ft. Myers
Thomas L. Wittmer, Gainesville
Elder Law
Mary A. Byrski, Punta Gorda
Kristen Dabbs Drake, Fernandina Beach
Steven Ernest Hitchcock, Clearwater
James Edvin Johnson II, Bradenton
Amy Lynn McGarry, Cape Coral
Laurie Elizabeth Ohall, Brandon
Linda Joan Solash-Reed, Orlando
Amanda Duryea Wolf, Tampa
Health Law
Radha Vinod Bachman, Tampa
Charmaine Tsin Ming Chiu, Jacksonville
Adam Jarod Rogers, Miami
Kristina L. Schlieter, Norfolk, Va.
Susan K. Tuite, St. Petersburg
Immigration and Nationality
Gina Maria Polo, Miami
Jacob Lawrence Ratzan, Miami
Evan Justin Shane, Ft. Lauderdale
Intellectual Property Law
Benjamin M. Hanrahan, Miami
Jason Aaron LaCosse, Miami
Zachary David Messa, Clearwater
Matthew Scott Nelles, Ft. Lauderdale
Woodrow Heath Pollack, Tampa
Ryan Thomas Santurri, Orlando
Michael Eric Tschupp, Miami
Jaime Rich Vining, Coral Gables
International Law
Jennifer R. Diaz, Coral Gables
Robert James Downing, Houston, Texas
Penelope B. Perez-Kelly, Orlando
Labor and Employment Law
Kelly Victoria Parsons, Daytona Beach
Richard Michael Pierro, Jr., Tampa
James Warren Seegers, Orlando
Vicki Lynn Sproat, Ft. Myers
Kevin Eugene Vance, Miami
Matthew David Westerman, Bradenton
Marital and Family Law
Nancy Konter Brodzki, Coral Springs
Kendra Rumbough Davis, Tampa
Joshua Kyle Friedman, Boca Raton
Joseph David Hunt, Tampa
Ronald Harrison Kauffman, Miami
Robert Ray Kimmel, Pensacola
Shannon Leah Novey, Tallahassee
Karen Beth Weintraub, Ft. Lauderdale
Real Estate
Louis Paul Archambault, Miami
Georgia Helen Athan, Naples
Margaret Morgan Atkins, Doral
Robert Mason Blake, Melbourne
Kimberly Gail Bosshardt, Gainesville
Garvin Brooks Bowden, Tallahassee
Mary-Marjorie Earnest, Ft. Lauderdale
Troy Wallace Finnegan, Orlando
Andrew Marc Fisher, Orlando
Christa Lynn Folkers, Sarasota
Kenneth Robert Fountain, Navarre
Theresa Marie Kenney, Jacksonville
Richard Curtis Lawrence, Sarasota
Steven Elliot Wallace, Boynton Beach
Laura Minton Young, Viera
State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice
Regina Maria Keenan, Keystone Heights
Amy Wilmot Schrader, Tallahassee
Tax Law
John Robert Kancilia, Melbourne
Wills, Trusts and Estates
Rose-Anne Barnidge Frano, Sarasota
Anthony Peter Guettler, Vero Beach
George Daniel Karibjanian, Boca Raton
Rachel Albritton Lunsford, Tampa
Kristopher D. Robinson, Jacksonville
Workers’ Compensation
Daniel Oneil Gonzalez, Jr., Coral Gables
Michael Geoffrey Rabinowitz, Tampa
Russell Hurley Young, Sarasota