Michael W. Smith

Hugo de Beaubien is a Founding Partner of our firm. He was raised in Birmingham, Michigan, and Ormond Beach, Florida. After receiving an undergraduate degree in business from Florida State University in 1970, he was awarded his Juris Doctorate from Stetson University in 1973. At Stetson, Hugo served as Exchequer of Phi Delta Phi and as President of the senior class. Hugo has been active in the Orange County Bar Association through his service as Chairman of the Criminal Law Section and Legal ...

Michael Maher’s extensive experience as a trial lawyer has made him one of the nation’s outstanding client advocates with an impressive list of precedent-setting settlements and verdicts and a recognized leader in the legal profession. One of his most notable accomplishments was chairing the 11 legal firms making up the People’s Trial Advocates appointed by the state of Florida and resulting in the long-term recovery of more than $25 billion from the tobacco industry. Mr. Ma...

Phillip Joseph co-chairs Ball Janik LLP’s construction litigation practice, which is growing in national reach and prominence. He is a commercial litigator whose primary focus is construction and real estate litigation, including design and construction disputes, construction defect, general counsel for community associations, purchase/sale disputes, real estate disputes, commercial landlord/tenant, and collections. Mr. Joseph has received the AV® Preeminent™ Rating from Marti...

Kathryn W. Oberto is a partner in the Orlando office of Holland & Knight. Ms. Oberto has extensive experience representing landlords and tenants in the commercial leasing of shopping centers and outparcels, restaurants, high-rise office buildings, mixed-use projects, raw land and industrial/warehouse facilities. She also represents buyers, developers and sellers in the acquisition, development (including infrastructure development) and disposition of commercial properties; lenders and bor...

Shane T. Herbert is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Shane T., who practices law in Windermere, Florida, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Shane T. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Cindy Duque Bonilla focuses her practice in the areas of catastrophic injury, product liability matters, defense of healthcare insurers, construction law, and commercial litigation. She has extensive experience handling cases involving death and catastrophic injuries resulting from truck, automobile, and aircraft accidents. She defends manufacturers, suppliers, designers, and contractors against claims involving alleged manufacturing and design defects. She has across-the-board experience rep...

Dan O’Malley was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. While earning his Business Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was admitted to Beta Gamma Sigma, a national business school honor society. He received his Juris Doctor from George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia.

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

Tom McAleavey practices in the area of corporate and securities law. His practice includes mergers and acquisitions, public and private offerings of securities, corporate governance matters and securities regulation compliance. His experience includes the representation of public companies in connection with public and private offerings of debt and equity securities; SEC periodic reporting and proxy statements; and corporate acquisitions, dispositions, and reorganizations.

Scott practices in the areas of bankruptcy and creditors' rights with a long track record of advising corporate debtors, creditors, and distressed investors in all parts of the capital structure. Scott primarily represents chapter 11 debtors in bankruptcy cases, both corporate and individual. Scott is board certified in Business Bankruptcy. In addition to corporate chapter 11 work, Scott has also represented chapter 11 trustees in large fraud or Ponzi Scheme cases including Evergreen Security...