Jay M. Howanitz

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

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...

Robert Schrader is a shareholder in the firm and has over 25 years of state and federal litigation experience. He concentrates his practice in the areas of general litigation and trial advocacy. He serves a diverse client base and maintains an active caseload throughout Florida in matters involving premises liability, general liability, automobile personal injury defense, trucking liability, negligent security, wrongful death, and products liability. Mr. Schrader has tried numerous jury and n...

Emily F. Magee is a member of Butler Snow’s Public Finance, Tax Incentives and Credit Markets group. Emily focuses her practice on public finance, health care finance and structured lending matters. Emily’s experience in public and healthcare finance includes serving as bond counsel, underwriter’s or purchaser’s counsel, disclosure counsel and borrower’s counsel and trustee’s counsel. Emily often represents national and regional financial institutions and n...

Joseph T. Kissane is a partner in the Jacksonville office. He handles an active litigation practice in the areas of personal injury, insurance bad faith, negligent security, insurance coverage, professional malpractice trucking accident defense and fraud claims. He has experience handling Errors and Omissions claims, including those brought against insurance brokers and agents. Mr. Kissane has exclusively represented the interests of insurance carriers and their insureds throughout his entire...

Jennifer P. Lawson’s practice is devoted to defending insurers in all aspects of insurance law in state and federal courts throughout Florida. She primarily represents insurers and their insureds in cases involving automobile accidents, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, property damage disputes, and automobile diminished value. Additionally, Jennifer provides counsel to insurers regarding insurance policies, civil remedy notices, and attorneys’ fee issues. Jennifer also en...

Kathryn M. Oughton is a shareholder and Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Property Damage Claims practice area. Kathryn’s practice focuses on civil litigation with an emphasis on the defense of cases involving first party property claims. Other practice areas include automobile liability, premises liability, wrongful death, and bad faith and coverage issues. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Oughton worked for a state-wide defense firm where she served as head of the civil litigati...

Katherine Loper is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs. Katherine, who practices law in Jacksonville, Florida, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Katherine is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Mr. Samuels concentrates his practice on workers’ compensation disputes in Florida state courts. He also regularly defends claims brought under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act throughout the southeastern United States. Mr. Samuels’ breadth of experience in the employer liability arena allows him to provide practical, in-depth knowledge of the law when counseling employers, manufacturers, insurers, servicing agents, and self-insured entities on a di...

Recognized in Florida Super Lawyers Recognized in the publication, Best Lawyers In America Successfully defended cases in all areas of labor and employment law, including, but not limited to: claims of unlawful discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliatory discharge, equal pay violations, wage and hour violations, employment-related freedom of speech, due process and equal protection claims arising under both the federal and state constitutions Successfully defended cases involving claims of...