Jason P. Stearns

Accomplishments Ms. Merlin has held several leadership positions in eminent domain during her career. These include: Chair of the ABA Condemnation, Zoning and Land Use Committee (1982 - 1985); Chair of the Florida Bar Eminent Domain Committee (1993 - 1994); Co-Chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association Eminent Domain Committee (1997-1998) and member of the Florida Bar Eminent Domain Practice and Procedure Steering Committee (1999 - present). Her proudest career accomplishment is institu...

David R. Singleton focuses his practice primarily upon the representation of lenders in real estate loan transactions. This representation includes construction loans and permanent loans and includes various types of properties such as retail centers, condominiums, affordable housing projects, office buildings and industrial buildings. His practice also includes the representation of lenders and borrowers in commercial loan transactions that are unsecured or are secured by personal property. ...

Mr. Lauro has an extensive national practice as a trial lawyer with over 30 years of experience. He is a native New Yorker, and his firm has offices in New York and Florida. Mr. Lauro graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was an editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He began his practice with the international law firm of Morgan, Lewis. Mr. Lauro was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where he prosecuted international narcotics and white co...

Jim Porter is board certified by the Florida Bar as an expert in City, County, and Local Government Law. He concentrates his practice on land use and zoning, as well as government relations, and also has experience with the wireless communications industry, including cellular tower zoning issues. Jim is also the current School Board Attorney for the Hillsborough County School Board, the 8th largest school district in the nation. Jim formerly served as the Chief Assistant County Attorney for t...

Scott C. Ilgenfritz is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Securities and Litigation - Trusts and Estates. Scott C., who practices law in Tampa, Florida, has been recognized since 2012. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Scott C. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Tom Hunt represents business owners in connection with all aspects of the purchase, sale, development, leasing and financing of real property. Tom’s experience spans from representing a publically-traded company in connection with a series of sale-leaseback transactions totaling nearly one billion dollars, to an individual purchasing a vacant parcel for recreational purposes, and almost everything in between. Tom devotes a large portion of his practice to assisting property owners and t...

Steven Richardson is a partner in the Tallahassee office of Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A. He has been with the firm since 2013 and has worked in both the Tampa and Tallahassee offices. Mr. Richardson has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® since 2024 for Insurance Law. Mr. Richardson's practice focuses in the areas of catastrophic and personal injury, general civil litigation, premises liability, trucking defense, security negligence, vehicle negligence, wrongful death, defectiv...

SCOTT A. ARTHUR is a partner with Diaco Law, a firm dedicated to the representation of individuals and families in catastrophic personal injury cases. Previously he was a shareholder at Gunn Law Group, P.A., where his practice focused on representing policyholders and the injured in claims against insurance companies, including cases involving insurance coverage, bad faith, and unfair claims settlement practices. Mr. Arthur has served as lead trial counsel in personal injury, coverage, produc...

Mike is an experienced transaction and bond counsel. He has represented numerous public and private companies, including HCA Healthcare Corporation, Eckerd Corp., Jim Walters Corp. and Tenet Healthcare Corp. (formerly National Medical Enterprises, Inc.), in acquisition and joint ventures. From 1997 to 1999 Mike served as assistant general counsel for Tenet Healthcare Corp. During that time he provided general legal services to 17 acute-care hospitals in the state of Florida, which included bo...

James E. Felman has concentrated his practice of law in the defense of complex criminal matters and related civil litigation for over 30 years. Mr. Felman represents clients in federal and state matters in every phase of the criminal process -- investigation, trial, sentencing, appeal, and post-conviction proceedings. He has represented clients in a wide range of matters, including allegations of bank fraud, health care fraud, mail and wire fraud, securities fraud, public corruption, environm...