Stephen C. Emmanuel

Bruce Wiener serves as managing partner of Akerman’s Tallahassee office. Board Certified by The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education in Real Estate Law, he focuses his practice on transactional real estate law, commercial lending, and land use. He represents buyers and sellers in the purchase and sale of commercial, office, multifamily, student housing, acreage, and timberland property. His lender representation includes: preparing loan documents for commercial mortga...

David C. Ashburn represents a diverse array of clients in their dealings with numerous state and federal regulatory agencies. David’s understanding of governmental regulatory processes has also enabled him to provide counsel to buyers and sellers of health care related businesses, and to lenders and private equity groups that finance those transactions. The many types of health care, managed care and insurance related clients David has represented include the following: Ambulatory surge...

Russell F. Van Sickle is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Employment Law - Management, Energy Regulatory Law, Labor Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Russell F., who practices law in Pensacola, Florida, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Russell F. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Halley B. "Hal" Lewis, III, is an 11th Generation Floridian who is Board Certified in Personal Injury Law. He has obtained more than 55 verdicts or settlements in excess of $1,000,000 for his clients over his career, and his wrongful death verdict of $75,000,000 in 1997 was the third highest in the United States for that year. He is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and has been regularly selected to Best Lawyers in America and SuperLawyers.

CARTER W. SCOTT is licensed to practice in both Florida and Georgia and has been admitted pro hac vice to handle cases in various states throughout the country. He maintains a practice focused on wrongful death and serious injury cases resulting from brain injury, spinal cord injury, burns and catastrophic orthopedic injuries. He has represented clients in all types of complex litigation, with a focus on large personal injury lawsuits, including trucking collisions, products liability, medica...

Felicia L. Nowels is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Administrative / Regulatory Law, FDA Law and International Trade and Finance Law. Felicia L., who practices law in Tallahassee, Florida, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Felicia L. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

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

Brian Barr is President and a shareholder at Levin Papantonio. He litigates pharmaceutical, environmental, mass tort and personal injury cases throughout the country. Mr. Barr has been appointed to leadership in many of the largest mass tort cases in the country. Mr. Barr is presently serving as co-liaison counsel and a member of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the 3M Combat Arms Earplugs Litigation (MDL 2885) presently pending in the Northern District of Florida before the Honor...

Jason E. Merritt is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Public Finance Law. Jason E., who practices law in Tallahassee, Florida, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jason E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Chris Barkas is a shareholder in Carr Allison’s Tallahassee (FL) office where his practice focuses primarily on the defense of commercial vehicle claims, products liability claims and retail/premises liability claims. An AV Preeminent® rated attorney through Martindale-Hubbell®, Chris has practiced law in the North Florida area for more than 20 years and has conducted jury trials in many of the counties in the area. In the early part of his career, Chris was an assistant state a...