S. Elise Batsel

Mark Bernet litigates complex commercial and business disputes, class action defense, bankruptcy, creditors’ rights/foreclosures, and appellate matters in state and federal court. Experienced across a range of sectors, including finance, banking, real estate, aviation finance, and hospitality, his clients include local, regional, and national banks and financial institutions, manufacturers, and venture capitalists. Frequently recommended by the federal agencies and Attorneys General fro...

Brad Kimbro , executive partner of Holland & Knight's Tampa Bay region, is a trial lawyer whose practice emphasizes commercial litigation, including actions involving contract disputes, fraud, shareholder disputes, dissenters' rights, directors' and officers' liability, securities, real estate, business torts, non-competition agreements, petroleum marketing, creditors' rights, construction disputes, and environmental litigation. Mr. Kimbro is a certified public accountant licensed in the ...

Larry is a trial lawyer who has handled many types of cases in state and federal courts, including partner disputes, securities litigation, receiverships, breach-of-contract, non-competes, construction law, white-collar fraud, product liability, and intellectual property matters. Larry joined Johnson Pope in 2023. He is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named to Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation. Before going to law school, Larry worked as a daily newspape...

Catriana Messina practices in the area of insurance. She has exclusively represented insurers and their agents since she joined Phelps Dunbar in 2014. Her practice is focused on complex first-party insurance coverage matters arising under homeowners, commercial property, builders risk, catastrophe and other property insurance policies, including but not limited to hurricane claims, sinkhole claims, and claims involving suspected arson, fire, fraud, vandalism, theft, collapse, business interru...

ABOUT Fritz Gray, of counsel, has been a practicing attorney in Tampa for more than 30 years. He is AV-rated by Martindale Hubbell with extensive experience in complex civil trials focusing on medical malpractice, general negligence, wrongful death, automobile accidents and premises liability. Mr. Gray has been a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer since 1989 by the Florida Bar and is also certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 1986. In addition, Mr. ...

Kristin A. Norse practices exclusively in the areas of appellate practice and civil litigation support. She has over 30 years of legal experience, including more than 20 years representing clients in trial and appellate courts and ten years working as a senior staff attorney for the Honorable Chris W. Altenbernd at the Second District Court of Appeal. She has successfully represented individuals and businesses in well over 100 involving various areas of law including complex commercial cases,...

Jeffrey Gad focuses his practice on representing individuals, with an emphasis on estate planning, probate and trust administration, probate litigation and business planning. His practice integrates the personal and estate tax planning concerns of individuals with tax and business planning for their closely held businesses. As part of his corporate practice, Jeffrey assists businesses with choice-of-entity planning, the formation of business entities, business contracts, such as the preparati...

Tim is a Shareholder in the firm’s Construction and Design Group. As a Board Certified Construction lawyer by The Florida Bar, he has experience representing owners, developers, contractors, construction managers, design professionals and subcontractors in all phases of the construction process, with an emphasis on complex construction litigation. Tim also serves on the firm's recruiting committee as the firm's hiring shareholder. Active in both professional and Bar-related activities, ...

Steve Bernstein is managing partner of the firm's Tampa office. He also serves as a Chair of the firm’s Associate Development and Retention Committee. Steve maintains a traditional labor practice in which he represents employers throughout the United States in both state and federal courts, as well as before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and other state and federal agencies. In the proce...

Richard D. Eckhard is the head of the Tampa office real estate group. Mr Eckhard's practice focuses on office and retail real estate development, leasing, acquisition and disposition. He represents national and regional landlords and tenants in connection with office buildings, shopping centers and mixed–use properties. He also handles synthetic and leveraged leases. Mr. Eckhard is the incoming chair of The Florida Bar Real Property Leasing Committee. Since 2007, he has served as a memb...