Jay D. "JD" Patel

PRACTICE AREAS Real property law Estate planning Probate General commercial law Corporate law Commercial loans Real estate DISTINCTIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS Admitted to The Florida Bar – Admitted 1973 St. Petersburg Bar Association 1973, Florida, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida and U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit The Best Lawyers in America® for Real Estate Law, Since 2009 EDUCATION Stetson University, J.D. Harvard University, A.B. BIOGRAPHY Member, Editorial Board, S...

Thomas B. Smith is a part of the Johnson Pope Health Care Team, and has been involved with the health care industry for more than thirty-five years. Tom is Board Certified in Health Law by The Florida Bar. After receiving his Master in Business Administration specializing in hospital administration, he served in senior administrative positions with several hospitals in Florida for seven years, including serving as Assistant Director for a major 600 bed teaching hospital. He then received his ...

Dillon ADR & Law PA is dedicated to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), with a focus on Construction Law and a broad range of business and commercial disputes in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mr. Dillon is available to serve as a mediator, arbitrator, dispute review board member, and early neutral evaluator for parties seeking practical and efficient dispute resolution services. With more than 30 years of experience handling construction law, construction litigation, business law, and commer...

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...

Hamden was born in Clearwater, Florida, and is a third-generation lawyer. Hamden attended Florida State University, where he obtained his Bachelors of Science degree in 1976, followed by his Master’s Degree in Criminology in 1979. Hamden attended Oklahoma City University Law School, and graduated with Honors, in 1983, and after serving as a staff attorney, to the Honorable Patricia Robinson, First District Court of Appeal, he attended the University of Florida, where he obtained his Mas...

Caitlin M. Powell joined the Trust & Estates team of Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, LLP, as a probate, trust, and guardianship litigator in July 2019. Caitlin represents individuals and entities across Florida in a range of matters related to probate, trust and guardianship administration and disputes. Caitlin has focused her career on probate, trust and guardianship law since law school, when she volunteered at the North Florida Office of Public Guardian, Inc., and worked with...

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...

Zachary D. Messa is a Board Certified Intellectual Property attorney. He has lived in Pinellas County since 1998 and joined Johnson Pope in the fall of 2001 after graduating from Stetson University College of Law. He is a member of the International Trademark Association and has served as an editor of The Trademark Report, The Law Journal of the International Trademark Association. Since joining the firm, Zachary has gradually focused his practice to all facets of intellectual property law, s...

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