Best Lawyers Near You in Jacksonville, Florida

Sami R. Achem, Jr. practices in the area of general defense litigation, with an emphasis upon complex litigation involving premises liability, automobile negligence, products liability, trucking/transportation, indemnification disputes, insurance disputes, Lemon Law litigation, landlord/tenant litigation, and negligent security. Mr. Achem has been recognized by Best Lawyers of America since 2023. He was also elected to Florida Super Lawyers as a Rising Star for 2017-2021. He is as an AV Preem...

Brian J. Aull is a partner in the Jacksonville office. He practices in all phases of civil litigation, including personal injury litigation, construction litigation, employment and labor, insurance coverage and carrier representation, trucking/transportation and professional liability litigation. Prior to joining Cole, Scott & Kissane, Mr. Aull practiced as an Assistant State Attorney, in the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida, where he was a member of the Homicide/Major Crimes Division a...

There’s a reason for the row of hard hats hanging on the wall in Chip Bachara’s office. The founding partner of Bachara Construction Law group has spent his entire life in and around the construction industry. Following in the footsteps of his father, a WWII veteran who returned from the Pacific and became a homebuilder in Jacksonville, Chip literally learned the business from the ground up. He worked as a laborer for his father’s company while in high school, then earned a ...

Jennifer Baker is a shareholder in Carr Allison’s Jacksonville (FL) office. Her practice focuses on defending matters involving commercial motor vehicle liability and governmental liability, as well as Medicare Secondary Payer issues. Jennifer is admitted to practice in Alabama and Florida and before the US District Court for the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida. Jennifer graduated from the University of Georgia, earning her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. She earned h...

Jill F. Bechtold practices in the area of civil litigation, where she focuses on medical and professional liability defense, employment disputes, product liability defense, business litigation, trucking litigation, and insurance defense. Jill’s clients include drug and medical device companies, business owners, physicians, hospitals, trucking carriers, and insurers. She represents clients in state and federal court actions as well as arbitrates matters under the Florida Arbitration Code...

Mr. Breuer focuses on real estate and finance law. He has experience in a broad range of commercial real estate matters and specializes in real estate finance as he represents national, regional and local lending institutions in a wide variety of secured lending transactions. Mr. Breuer also has extensive experience representing clients in the workout of distressed credits.

Steve is chairman of the firm and head of its Litigation Department. Steve is a trial lawyer, with his practice centered on complex commercial litigation and insolvency matters. Steve has a successful record in extended jury trials in major business disputes. Steve represents plaintiffs and defendants in contract, business torts and corporate governance disputes. His insolvency experience includes lead representation of debtors and creditors in chapter 11 reorganizations of publicly held comp...

Rachel Chewning is a partner in the Jacksonville office. She practices in the areas of Product Liability, Catastrophic and Personal Injury, Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Litigation, Consumer Law, Commercial Litigation, Liquor Liability Defense, Trucking Accident Defense, Class Action, Vehicle Negligence, Premises Liability and General Civil Litigation. Her practice focuses on providing aggressive representation to clients on both a local and national level and participating as local couns...

Charmaine is a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and is chair of the firm’s integrated Healthcare Practice Team. She is one of only 129 attorneys certified by The Florida Bar in healthcare law, and has maintained this certification since 2012. Charmaine represents health systems and hospitals, academic medical centers, clinically integrated networks, physician group practices, and other healthcare providers in complex transactions and regulatory matters. Charmaine assists ph...

Ivan A. Colao practices in the area of corporate and securities laws, as well as in mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments and loan transactions. Mr. Colao has represented public and private companies, businesses and individuals in various types of financings and commercial transactions. His experience includes securities offerings, corporate acquisitions, dispositions, mergers, reorganizations, syndication and finance, asset acquisitions and dispositions, venture capital inves...

For more than 25 years, Patrick has represented clients in complex litigation and appellate matters in both federal and state courts. He has extensive litigation and trial experience with cases involving fiduciary litigation, estates and trust litigation, non-compete agreements, contract disputes, business valuations, business dissolution, employment disputes, business torts, intellectual property, products liability, real estate litigation, professional malpractice and other business dispute...

Angie is a seasoned transactional lawyer whose practice focuses on complex healthcare matters and navigating mergers and acquisitions . She has advised and represented a wide variety of clients in financing transactions, healthcare regulatory matters, joint ventures, commercial contracts, clinical trials, corporate governance and more with the knowledge and insight only 25 years of experience can provide. Prior to joining Smith Hulsey & Busey, Angie was a partner at a global AmLaw 100 fir...

E.K. Cottrell practices in the area of complex commercial litigation. Some of his representative areas of practice include defense of class actions on behalf of insurers, business entities, and management for alleged improper market conduct or business practices, and fiduciary obligations; representation of insurers and reinsurers in coverage and regulatory compliance matters; and other general business litigation. E.K. has litigated class actions and other complex commercial litigation matte...

Melissa A. Dearing is a Partner in the firm’s Immigration Practice Group, where she assists employers in seeking non-immigrant and immigrant status. Melissa has extensive experience with H-1Bs and the PERM-based green card process, particularly with respect to information technology professionals, engineers and pharmacists, among other professionals. She also represents foreign nationals regarding family immigration matters and assists employers with I-9 and other immigration compliance...

Michael is a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and focuses his practice on complex business litigation and insolvency matters. He has many years of trial experience in cases involving business torts, bankruptcy proceedings, corporate governance issues, employment disputes, and litigation concerning contracts, secured transactions, fraudulent transfers, financial workouts, lender liability, banking relationships, and commercial paper. For 12 years, Michael was a senior executive wi...

Mr. Diebenow is a partner at the firm. His primary focus is real estate, land use, zoning, and government law. As a registered lobbyist across a wide range of issues, Mr. Diebenow represents individuals, corporations, landowners and developers to secure business and development incentives as well as entitlements including land use, zoning, concurrency and mobility fee approvals. He also provides legal counsel in real estate transactions including the acquisition, entitlement, financing, and d...

Chris is a shareholder in the firm’s Business Department. He counsels individuals and families regarding estates, trusts and tax issues involving the accumulation and preservation of wealth. As both an attorney and Certified Public Accountant, he has developed in-depth experience in the administration of complicated estates and trusts, including litigating disputes involving trustees, personal representatives and other individuals acting as fiduciaries. Chris also has extensive experien...

Practicing law for over 20 years, founding partner Ray Driver focuses on corporate law (including mergers and acquisitions), business, contracts, venture capital and securities law. He represents clients in business acquisitions, dispositions and mergers, as well as providing ongoing counseling regarding business formation, corporate governance, contract law and ancillary legal issues. He also counsels clients in obtaining capital through private placements, venture capital investments and ot...

David is a transactional lawyer in the firm’s Business Department. His practice includes mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, contract preparation and negotiation, entity structuring, joint ventures and the provision of general business and governance advice. David represents public and private companies in a variety of business transactions. His clients include logistics companies, motor vehicle dealers, banks, agricultural businesses, private equity funds and other i...

Mr. Eckels devotes his practice to the defense of employers and insurance carriers in workers’ compensation and Longshore claims. He practices throughout Florida and Georgia in the workers’ compensation context, while his longshore and Defense Base Act practice extends nationwide. He handles all facets of workers’ compensation and longshore claims from the initial reporting of an accident and its investigation, including site visits, through the discovery process to trial, a...

Thomas S. Edwards, Jr. is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, the highest specialty recognition given by The Florida Bar for attorneys who handle litigation of civil litigation. His honors include:Best Lawyers in America – 2012 Jacksonville Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year“AV” by Martindale Hubbell Million Dollar Advocate’s Forum Florida Trend Magazine’s Legal Elite Florida’s Super Lawyers Florida Bar Award, Top Legal Writing Best Lawyers 2012 &...

David, a shareholder at Taylor Day, leads the automobile insurance team in defending first and third-party insurance claims. This includes work in the areas of personal injury protection (PIP), Bodily Injury (BI), Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist and Coverage issues. In addition to advocating for his clients, David has also served as an expert witness for several national insurance companies and is a Florida state-certified continuing education instructor. When it is time to take a break f...

Christian George serves as managing partner of Akerman’s Jacksonville office. Christian has a statewide practice focusing on commercial litigation and creditors’ rights in all courts, including bankruptcy court. Christian routinely represents financial institutions and other lenders, shareholders, members and partners in professional corporations, LLCs and partnerships, as well as all types of businesses, individuals and families in all areas of commercial litigation. Additionally...

Charles L. Gibbs II is a partner at DMHD. Mr. Gibbs focuses on real estate law, with particular emphasis on retail leasing and commercial real estate transactions. He counsels both landlords and tenants in all aspects of retail leasing and various other commercial real estate transactions. Mr. Gibbs previously clerked for the Honorable David H. Adams, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He previously worked for McGuireWoods LLP (Jacksonville, Florida) and Papp...

For more than 30 years, clients have relied on Earl’s pragmatic approach and strategic counsel to help them navigate their most complex legal matters. As a trial lawyer in the firm’s healthcare and litigation groups, he focuses his practice on medical malpractice defense and has handled numerous actions involving wrongful death, institutional medical negligence, and profound brain, spinal cord and other central nervous system injuries. In addition, Earl defends clients in business...

Mike has more than 30 years of experience in representing insurance companies, corporations, business entities, and individuals in a wide variety of litigation. Mike believes that the interests and goals of his clients are paramount. He has learned that the best way to achieve those goals is through a proactive approach that involves developing an early case assessment through focused discovery, targeted motion practice, and timely dispute resolution, and if the case can not be resolved favor...

Reed has been practicing law in the state of Florida for over 30 years. Taylor Day is honored to have his knowledge and experience in law as not only a valuable member of our team, but also by serving as a shareholder of the firm. Reed is Board Certified in Construction Law by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education, which deems him an expert in construction law and litigation matters, but that isn’t the only reason clients request to work with him. Reed prides himse...

Peter P. Hargitai is a trial lawyer, focusing on real estate and complex commercial litigation. Mr. Hargitai has extensive trial experience in both traditional and alternative dispute resolution tribunals, and has handled complex matters involving real estate disputes, business torts, restrictive covenants, trade secrets and anti-competitive practices. Mr. Hargitai also has developed a banking operations practice and currently represents many national and regional banks. Prior to entering pri...

Jennifer Hart is a partner in the Jacksonville Office. She practices in Bad Faith and Extra-contractual Liability, Vehicle Negligence, Premises Liability/Security Negligence, Insurance Coverage and Carrier Representation, General Civil Litigation, Catastrophic and Personal Injury, Legal Malpractice and Federal Practice . Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Hart clerked for the Honorable Judge Durwood Conque of the Fifteenth Judicial District Court of Louisiana. She also practiced at a defense firm...

Richard W. Hawthorne is a partner at DMHD, where he focuses on real estate and banking law. He represents buyers and sellers in commercial and residential real estate transactions, landlords and tenants in commercial leasing and developers of multifamily housing and retail buildings. He also has significant experience representing buyers and sellers of debt obligations.Mr. Hawthorne previously worked for Arthur Anderson & Co. (Jacksonville, Florida) as a tax accountant, Foley & Lardne...

Meg is an experienced advisor and litigator working in the firm’s healthcare, labor and employment, and litigation practice areas. For more than a decade, she has supported clients in managing a broad range of complex legal issues in employment and healthcare matters. A key focus of Meg’s practice includes counseling firm clients and businesses of all sizes in navigating personnel management issues like employee contracting, discipline and termination; employer best practices, pol...

Jeanne is a member of the firm’s Health Care Practice Team. She has experience representing health care industry professionals and entities before regulatory bodies and in structuring commercial relationships that meet complex regulatory requirements. Over the course of her career, she has represented a wide range of health care providers in a variety of matters. Jeanne focuses on transactional, compliance and regulatory health law matters, including private equity investment-owned enti...

Claudia Hinrichsen represents healthcare providers and suppliers – including hospitals, physician groups, accountable care organizations (“ACOs”), physician/hospital organizations (“PHOs”), independent practice associations (“IPAs”), and diagnostic and treatment centers – in connection with fraud and abuse, corporate compliance, transactional arrangements, and patient-related legal issues, as well as compliance matters under the federal Health I...

Tom Ingram works with landowners, developers, and governments to allow for the development and sale of real estate in Jacksonville, St. Johns County (St. Augustine), Clay County, and surrounding areas in northeast Florida. Such efforts have included the development and redevelopment of sites into retail power centers, single family and multifamily developments, Developments of Regional Impact, and industrial centers. Tom’s efforts routinely involve negotiation of project-specific agreem...

Matthew R. Kachergus has devoted his career to representing a wide array of clients ranging from the criminally accused, those whose constitutional rights have been violated, to numerous others needing counsel for civil litigation. As a result of Mr. Kachergus’ tireless efforts in advocating for the interest of his clients, he is listed in Best Lawyers in America, in the fields of white collar and non-white collar criminal defense law, as well as Super Lawyers. Mr. Kachergus is a member...

For nearly 40 years, Preston has been representing clients in a variety of complex commercial real estate matters. The breadth of his practice includes sales, acquisitions, leases, development, utilities, financing and loan restructuring. He regularly counsels healthcare clients across the region in major land acquisitions and development projects, including sites for hospitals, medical office buildings, ambulatory centers and more. Preston’s experience includes two decades of represent...