James Addison Martin, Jr.

Ryan is a partner in the firm’s St. Petersburg office. He is a state and federal trial lawyer as well as a certified civil court mediator. His litigation practice includes complex business disputes; construction law; corporate/partnership disputes; employment related litigation; hospitality law; probate litigation; appellate practice; and real estate law. His real estate matters encompass contract disputes, ad valorem tax challenges, commercial landlord/tenant matters and land use/zonin...

Ben Diamond serves as the managing partner at The Diamond Law Firm PA, situated in St. Petersburg, Florida. He focuses his legal practice on estate planning, estate and trust administration, and fiduciary litigation. Clients recognize Ben for his meticulous attention to detail, thorough preparation, and adeptness in addressing complex challenges. Ben is well-versed in all areas of fiduciary litigation and has been involved in numerous cases, defending against will contests and breach of fiduc...

Rachael comes to Johnson Pope with diverse experience in employment law and trial litigation. While a student at Stetson College of Law, Rachael was a member of Stetson’s nationally recognized trial team and a member of the Stetson Law Review. Since being admitted to the Florida Bar in 2008, Rachael has represented clients in federal, state, and appellate courts on a variety of employment related matters. Rachael is an active member of the St. Petersburg Bar Association where she co-cha...

Joseph W. "Jay" Fleece, III, is a native Floridian having been born and raised in St. Petersburg. Mr. Fleece started practicing law in 1980 with the firm of Belcher & Fleece, P.A., and subsequently joined Holland & Knight, where he was a partner heading up the litigation department of the St. Petersburg office. In 2004, Mr. Fleece joined with Hamden H. Baskin, III, and founded the law firm of BaskinFleece, located in Clearwater, Florida. In 2017 Mr. Fleece moved his practice back to S...

Over 30 years of estate and gift tax planning, and asset protection planning, mostly for high net worth individuals and estates. Consultation, planning and preparation of revocable and irrevocable trusts, grantor trusts, family limited partnerships, S corporations, LLCs, LLPs; shareholder and other business continuation agreements, life insurance trusts; planned charitable giving; post-death tax planning for estates, trusts and the decedent’s family; complex probates.

Raleigh "Billy" Greene IV is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law and Trusts and Estates. Raleigh "Billy", who practices law in St. Petersburg, Florida, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Raleigh "Billy" is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Before joining Johnson Pope, Mary Jo Carney was a founding partner of a boutique law firm in St. Petersburg, Florida which enjoyed 34 years of providing legal services to many local and out-of-state clients. Mary Jo is a real estate transactional attorney specializing in commercial retail projects. Throughout her 40-year career, Mary Jo has represented clients in the acquisition, financing, leasing, development, re-development and sale of numerous grocery-anchored, build-to-suit and mixed use...

Will handles a broad range of complex commercial real estate and corporate issues for his clients throughout Florida and the entire Southeast. His clients include developers, investors institutional private equity funds, EB-5 developers and funds, as well as high net worth individuals and their associated family offices. He also regularly counsels clients on corporate securities and financing related matters. Representative engagements include serving as lead counsel on the development of a 1...

Jodi Leisure is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Jodi, who practices law in Clearwater, Florida, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jodi is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

William D. Bonezzi is a Shareholder as well as one of the founders of the firm. He has been a practicing attorney since 1973 and his legal career has been devoted to trial work. His competitive nature, developed in college athletics and honed in the U.S. Marine Corps where he served his country from 1965 to 1968, is ideally suited for confidently litigating the most difficult cases. Mr. Bonezzi is admitted to both the Florida and Ohio bar and currently possesses licenses to practice law in bo...