Mark K. Somerstein

With a background in healthcare finance and as in-house counsel to a hospital system, Marcy Hahn-Saperstein now serves as outside general counsel to hospitals and other healthcare providers. In this capacity, she structures, drafts, negotiates, and performs regulatory analyses for, corporate transactions, including equity and asset purchases, mergers, restructurings, and joint venture arrangements. On behalf of healthcare providers, Marcy drafts and negotiates physician practice acquisitions,...

Jim Polkinghorn is a partner in the Fort Lauderdale office and heads the litigation practice there. He is an experienced trial attorney, having tried more than thirty cases to juries in state and federal courts throughout the state of Florida and elsewhere in the United States. Jim has extensive experience litigating cases of all levels of complexity, from single-plaintiff discrimination claims to multi-party class and collective actions arising under state and federal labor and employment la...

Attorney John Uustal is a founding partner at the Fort Lauderdale law firm, Kelley/Uustal. John specializes in protecting the rights of catastrophically injured victims. Mr. Uustal holds an impressive record of success, including many multi-million dollar verdicts and a $51 million car accident verdict—one of the largest verdicts ever awarded for an individual. As a result of his continued success, Mr. Uustal has been named one of the Best lawyers in America and has been included in mul...

BOARD CERTIFIED CIVIL TRIAL - FLORIDA BAR (EFFECTIVE 2020) BOARD CERTIFIED IN MEDICAL MALPRACTICE BY THE ABPLA - RECOGNIZED BY THE FLORIDA BAR (EFFECTIVE 2020) Many of my clients describe me as a “fearless and effective advocate for people with personal injury and professional malpractice cases, including those involving complex instances of medical malpractice.” 2021 has proved challenging trying a 3 week medical malpractice trial, in person, in the height of COVID. I am a Decemb...

Mr. Katz’s diverse practice covers federal and state income tax, estate and gift tax planning, and state corporate, limited liability company and partnership law. This experience provides him with the ability to structure transactions to meet the tax and business needs of the Firm’s clients. This representation includes the typical structuring necessary for partnership, joint venture and corporate transactions, as well as, structuring litigation settlements and pleadings (with particular emph...

Joel D. Maser focuses his practice on structuring and negotiating complex real estate joint ventures and investments and general corporate transactions. He regularly represents developers and investors in real estate joint ventures. Joel also advises on Florida state and local tax matters. Joel is an active member and current Chair of the Florida Bar Tax Section. Joel has lectured extensively and prepared educational programs on tax issues including: issues related to Florida Sales Tax, feder...

Ryan Roman is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Mergers and Acquisitions and Litigation - Securities. Ryan, who practices law in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Ryan is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

David K. Blattner is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Real Estate Law. David K., who practices law in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which David K. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jennifer Kramer is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group and a member of the firm’s Hospitality Sector Team. Jennifer works with clients in all facets of commercial real estate transactions, with a strong concentration in the representation of clients in the hospitality sector, including owners, operators, lenders, and developers of hotels, resorts, condominiums, fractional ownership regimes, and mixed-use community developments throughout the United States and abroad. She handles...

Eric Rapkin serves as chair of Akerman’s Real Estate Practice Group, one of the nation’s top-ranked real estate legal teams representing developers, investors, and other real estate end users in complex transactions, development and redevelopment projects, public-private initiatives, loan origination and recoveries, and litigation matters across the United States and Latin America. A consummate dealmaker, Eric’s practice focuses on sophisticated commercial real estate transa...