James F. Johnston

Phillip Joseph co-chairs Ball Janik LLP’s construction litigation practice, which is growing in national reach and prominence. He is a commercial litigator whose primary focus is construction and real estate litigation, including design and construction disputes, construction defect, general counsel for community associations, purchase/sale disputes, real estate disputes, commercial landlord/tenant, and collections. Mr. Joseph has received the AV® Preeminent™ Rating from Marti...

Michael Maher’s extensive experience as a trial lawyer has made him one of the nation’s outstanding client advocates with an impressive list of precedent-setting settlements and verdicts and a recognized leader in the legal profession. One of his most notable accomplishments was chairing the 11 legal firms making up the People’s Trial Advocates appointed by the state of Florida and resulting in the long-term recovery of more than $25 billion from the tobacco industry. Mr. Ma...

Alicia M. Chiu is a principal and the office litigation manager of the Orlando, Florida, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She devotes the majority of her practice to employment litigation, defending employers in federal and state courts, as well as before the EEOC and other administrative agencies. Alicia also provides clients with day-to-day advice and counseling regarding employer policies and various workplace law issues as they arise. While attending law school, Alicia served as an associate ...

Christine A. Wasula is a partner in the firm’s Orlando office. She is an accomplished civil litigation attorney with over twenty-five years of experience. Her background includes tenures at several national law firms, and she also worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Economic Crimes Division of the Florida Attorney General’s Office. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Bob Graham in Washington, D.C., where she advised the S...

Carolyn Haslam represents owners and developers in all facets of real estate developments, including entitlements and concurrency. Her primary focus is in land use, including office, retail, industrial, mixed-use, and residential, as well as large planned community projects. This includes counseling clients on all aspects of the land planning, zoning, and development process, from performing a due diligence analysis prior to purchase, to obtaining necessary zoning and permitting approval from...

Steve Maher received his law degree from the University of Southern California. For more than 30 years, he has handled thousands of personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, dangerous drugs and medical devices, patent infringement, automobile negligence, antitrust, and class action lawsuits, helping countless individuals achieve justice after being wronged. Attorney Maher's commitment to success is evident in everything he does. In recognition of his outstanding advocacy and count...

Born in Vero Beach, Florida, Todd W. Fennell is the managing partner of our firm and a valued member of the Estate Planning & Tax Group. He focuses his practice on sophisticated estate and tax planning strategies for high net worth individuals and families. He is “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review rating system, the highest such rating available to any individual lawyer. Mr. Fennell’s areas of practice include tax planning strategies for high net worth ...

Ryan T. Santurri is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Copyright Law, Litigation - Intellectual Property, Litigation - Patent, Patent Law and Trademark Law. Ryan T., who practices law in Orlando, Florida, has been recognized since 2018. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ryan T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Dana Chaaban is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Construction Law and Litigation - Construction. Dana, who practices law in Maitland, Florida, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Dana is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

David Carter was born in Vero Beach, Florida, and has been a partner at Gould Cooksey Fennell since 1996. Mr. Carter founded and chairs the firm’s Personal Injury & Medical Negligence Group and serves on the firm’s Executive Committee. Mr. Carter graduated with honors from the University of Florida College of Law where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and Senior Symposium Editor for Law Review. Upon graduation, Mr. Carter accepted a position with the Tampa law firm of ...