Sherilee J. Samuel

Rachel May Zysk is an accomplished lawyer and nationally published author with a wealth of experience in complex criminal and civil litigation. Ms. Zysk has represented defendants in several high profile criminal trials and civil matters. She has defended her clients against qui tam “whistleblower” suits and alleged False Claims Act violations; criminal fraud charges and other white collar crimes; and a gamut of traditional crimes including murder, sex, drug, terrorism, firearms, ...

As a former banker and trained credit analyst, George Guerra has a well developed sense of how business works and how business professionals think. As a practicing lawyer for nearly 20 years, those skills have been critical in helping resolve countless disputes on an individual and industry-wide basis. He has represented clients in all forms of litigation in court and in arbitration with more than 40 arbitration awards and numerous court decisions to his credit. Some of the matters he has han...

Krysta Torok is a partner with the firm’s Tampa office. Her practice areas include premises liability, defense of claims against condominium, homeowner and community associations and their officers and directors, SIU insurance fraud, fraud litigation, actions for breach of vendor contracts, as well as personal injury and general civil litigation. Ms. Torok attended Gannon University, in Erie, Pennsylvania, where she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science....

Lee Bentley’s practice includes the defense of False Claims Act and qui tam cases, internal investigations, and white collar criminal matters. He specializes in telemedicine/telehealth, compound pharmacy, and urine toxicology cases, among other alleged fraud schemes. His experience also includes complex civil litigation involving government entities. Lee has handled trials and appeals in numerous federal and state courts, and has served as sole or lead counsel in almost 40 civil and cri...

Karen M. Morinelli is a Shareholder in the Tampa office. As former General Counsel and Vice President of Human Resources, she brings a strong business perspective to both client relations and in her approach to manage client issues. Ms. Morinelli has managed a corporate legal department and a variety of employment related issues in corporate mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, national class action litigation and managed a successful appeal to the United States Supreme Court. She is a fre...

Joseph P. Covelli is a Tampa, Florida real estate attorney at Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns LLP whose practice focuses on complex real estate, corporate, and finance transactions. He represents developers, investors, lenders, builders, and business owners in matters involving acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, entitlements, due diligence, development, leasing, financing, and regulatory compliance. His practice also includes advising clients on the establishment, management...

A. Brian Albritton concentrates his practice on “white collar” criminal defense; False Claims Act and Qui Tam litigation; defending regulatory enforcement actions brought by government agencies, including unfair/deception trade practice actions brought by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general; regulatory compliance; and complex commercial litigation, including the prosecution and defense of claims relating to trade secret theft, non-competition agreements and ot...

Joseph F. Diaco, Jr. is committed to helping injury victims in personal injury claims. Mr. Diaco began building a reputation as an aggressive advocate while litigating complex insurance cases early in his legal career beginning in 1995. For nearly 2 decades, Mr. Diaco has managed thousands of injury claims, deposed hundreds of experts (including doctors), and successfully handled dozens of jury trials Mr. Diaco grew up in St. Petersburg, and he graduated from Northeast High School in 1988. He...

Ed Carlstedt serves as the office managing partner for FordHarrison's Tampa office. His practice focuses on trade secret, non-compete and restrictive covenant disputes as well as representing management in employment law matters, including defending employers against harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims. Ed has extensive experience in matters involving trade secret, non-compete and restrictive covenant related issues, and has handled dozens of evidentiary hearings in federal and ...

With more than 20 years of experience as a trial attorney, Russell Buhite focuses his practice on life, health and disability insurance coverage litigation, as well as myriad ERISA matters. He is also experienced in defending employers in employment law matters before the EEOC and in state and federal courts. Russell also represents a wide range of professionals including agents, brokers, attorneys, appraisers, engineers and others in all manner of alleged malpractice and errors and omissions...