Bruce Jay "Bruce" Colan

Dale Hightower was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida, a town between Tampa and Orlando. He grew up loving adventures on the water, paddling a canoe and fishing alone in nearby lakes. His leadership skills became apparent in his youth as he was an Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts, Senior Class President at Lakeland High School, and Student Body President at Florida Southern College. He also was elected Student Body President at Cumberland Law School in Alabama. After law school, he began worki...

Christina Russo is a Partner, and serves as the co-chair of Akerman’s Capital Markets Practice. With extensive experience representing public and private companies, Christina routinely works with shell companies, special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), and foreign private issuers, in M&A and securities transactions. Public companies value Christina’s knowledge of public offerings, secondary offerings, PIPE financing, ’34 Act reporting requirements, and regulatory ...

Luis Llamas is a partner in the Maritime Practice Group. He concentrates his practice on complex commercial litigation, admiralty disputes, trade secret and non-compete disputes, and international law. Luis co-leads the firm's Latin America working group and is the head of the firm’s Miami office. Luis is a highly respected litigator. Luis has handled cases across the United States involving marine casualties, trade secret and non-compete agreements, breach of contract, unfair trade pra...

Dennis A. Kerbel is chair of Akerman’s Florida Land Use and Entitlements Practice. Dennis has extensive experience in the full range of local government law issues, with a particular legal concentration in land use law. He focuses his practice on helping clients achieve optimal results from governmental approval processes and, where appropriate, litigation. Dennis has experience in federal and state courts at both the trial and appellate levels. He handles a broad variety of cases, incl...

Practice description Stewart Kasner is a Private Wealth Services attorney in Holland & Knight's Miami office, where he focuses primarily in the areas of international taxation, trusts and estates. Mr. Kasner routinely advises foreign and domestic clients on U.S. federal income, gift and estate tax matters associated with their cross-border investments, including U.S. real estate investments and business activities, as well as pre-immigration tax planning. His practice also includes formin...

Cary Aronovitz is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation. Cary, who practices law in Miami, Florida, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Cary is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Aaron Reed is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management. Aaron, who practices law in Miami, Florida, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Aaron is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Rafael A. Aguilar is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Real Estate Law. Rafael A., who practices law in Miami, Florida, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Rafael A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Stephen focuses on complex litigation and appeals. He has tried cases to verdict in state and federal courts and has argued more than 50 appeals. His practice spans class actions, personal injury, aviation accidents, complex commercial disputes, defamation, professional malpractice, and whistleblower claims. His abilities have been recognized in numerous publications. Benchmark Appellate observed that Stephen “possesses the rare skill set allowing him to excel at both trial and appellat...

Ira Coleman is the chairman of McDermott Will & Emery. Since Ira took on this role in 2017, the Firm has embraced a new strategic direction focused on being indispensable to clients, enhancing performance and nurturing a happy, fun culture. Under his leadership, McDermott has adopted the unofficial mantra of #AlwaysBetter, representing the Firm’s commitment for constant improvement with the goal of delivering ever-greater value for our clients, people and communities. With this as a...