Craig Downs

Patrick C. Emans is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Trusts and Estates. Patrick C., who practices law in Miami, Florida, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Patrick C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Christopher W. Boyett co-chairs Holland & Knight's National Private Wealth practice. Mr. Boyett advises domestic and international wealthy families throughout Florida on sophisticated estate planning strategies and options and counsels family businesses on succession planning and tax planning. Additionally, he advises both institutional and individual clients on estate and trust administration issues. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami School of Law, Graduate Program in...

Paul F. Penichet is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Paul F., who practices law in Miami, Florida, has been recognized since 2022. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Paul F. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Recognized as a leader in his field for decades, Richard Critchlow litigated complex commercial cases of all types in state and federal court, as well as in arbitration. Rick represented a host of clients in bet-the-company litigation for nearly 50 years. He prevailed in cases involving common law and statutory business torts, contract disputes, state and federal securities law violations, shareholder derivative claims, class actions, director and officer liability, lender liability, partners...

Juan counsels and assists financial institutions and FinTech companies on the development, implementation, and execution of sound, comprehensive risk management frameworks—including tailored consumer and financial crime compliance management systems (CMS)—that identify, manage and effectively mitigate the risks associated with the development, offering, and delivery of cutting-edge FinTech products and services, such as marketplace lending (MPL) and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), banki...

James A. Gale focuses his practice in the area of intellectual property counseling and litigation. He is a registered patent attorney with over 33 years of experience and Martindale AV Preeminent© rated, Board Certified in Intellectual Property by the Florida Bar, an AAA Arbitrator and the former inaugural chair of the IP Board Certification Committee. Jim has represented clients in hundreds of cases involving patents, trademarks, copyrights, unfair competition, covenants not to compete,...

Mark Hicks is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation. Mark, who practices law in Miami, Florida, has been recognized since 1989. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Mark is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Cassandra S. Nelson is a shareholder at Nelson & Nelson, P.A., a trusts and estates law firm in North Miami Beach, Florida. Cassandra specializes in estate planning, asset protection, tax law, special needs trusts, guardianships, and probate administration. She holds a B.A. from the University of Miami and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law. She is currently pursuing an Executive LLM in Taxation at New York University. Cassandra has been acknowledged as a future leader in the lega...

Janis Cheezem leases, buys, sells, and finances office buildings and mixed use, retail, residential, and industrial real estate for her clients, also providing counsel for property management issues and in workouts and restructurings of commercial real estate assets. A noted commercial real estate attorney, Janis represents landlords, tenants, lenders, sellers, and purchasers in both complex and bread and butter transactions. She has been primarily responsible for the leasing, sale, and purch...

Robert Friedman practices in the area of ERISA, employee benefits and executive compensation. Since 1996, he has been the head of the firm's national Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation and ERISA Practice Group. Mr. Friedman is also co-chair of the ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plans) Practice Group. His clients include private, non-profit and governmental employers. He is a frequent speaker on employee benefits, ERISA fiduciary matters and pension and tax planning. Mr. Friedman’...