Hy Shapiro

Mendy Halberstam is a principal and office litigation manager of the Miami, Florida, office of Jackson Lewis P.C and a Florida Bar Board certified specialist in Labor and Employment Law. Working closely with his clients across a wide range of industries, Mendy has experience representing parties before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and related state and local agencies, and has handled cases involving claims of race, age, disability and sex discrimination, as well as sexua...

Steven D. Lear, a Partner in the Corporate & Securities Group, offers more than 25 years of complex legal, tax and business experience representing top national companies in the areas of mergers & acquisitions and joint ventures. As a licensed CPA with a masters degree (LLM) in tax law, combined with work experience as chief in-house counsel of two major mulit-faceted companies, Steve offers an extraordinary range of skills for structuring, negotiating, documenting and closing sophist...

Having tried construction cases throughout Florida, David is a trial lawyer, who also provides consultation on transactional matters. Approaching 20 years of experience, David is a Board Certified Specialist in Construction Law, and a fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America (CLSA), an invitation only organization with fewer than 100 members in the State. David devotes his practice to a broad array of construction-related matters, representing developers, contractors, and subcont...

Frederic (Fred) L. Levenson is the co-head of the Firm’s Private Equity Practice Group. He provides legal counsel to clients on a broad range of corporate counseling and sophisticated domestic and international transactions. He focuses primarily on private equity (leveraged buyouts), domestic and international mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, venture capital investments and financings, private and public offerings of equity and debt securities, restructurings, joint ventures, str...

Gary Guzzi serves as chair of Akerman’s Insurance Litigation Practice, a national team of 45 lawyers representing leading domestic and foreign carriers, self-insured corporations, municipalities, and related entities in insurance coverage and bad faith litigation. He protects the interests of national and international insurance carriers in bad faith disputes, coverage claims, rescissions and ERISA-governed policies. With comprehensive experience in insurance disputes, Gary litigates li...

John Patrick Pratt is a Partner with Kurzban, Kurzban, Weinger & Tetzeli, P.A. Mr. Pratt received his Bachelors of Arts from Florida State University with honors in 1994. He graduated from Tulane University School of Law, receiving his juris doctor degree in 1997. Mr. Pratt also studied abroad at the University of Paris, and is fluent in Spanish. Mr. Pratt is admitted to the bar of the State of Florida, District of Columbia, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florid...

Veteran dealmaker Steve Roddenberry advises clients in corporate compliance and governance issues, public and private securities transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity investments. Described as a “masterful strategist” by Chambers USA , he has built longstanding relationships with Huizenga Holdings, the Miami Dolphins, Sheridan Healthcare, and The GEO Group, among others. Steve has served as lead counsel in hundreds of M&A transactions, spin-offs, and restr...

Omari Sealy is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Corporate Law. Omari, 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 Omari is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Neisen Kasdin serves as managing partner of Akerman's Miami office. A former mayor of Miami Beach and leader in the revitalization of South Beach, he brings extensive civic experience to his work on urban revitalization and the development of complex, large-scale, multi-use projects. Respected as a leader in urban development, he serves as vice chair of the board of directors for the Miami Downtown Development Authority and was responsible for leading the creation of Miami’s Downtown Ma...

Samuel focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation and transactional matters involving computer, technology, and Internet-related issues. He has represented a wide variety of clients including motion picture companies, photographers, internet and computer-related companies, health care providers, and various other corporations seeking to secure rights, protect their intellectual property and defend their rights on the internet. He has also served as outside general counsel to a v...