Best Lawyers in Florida, United States for Mediation
Before joining the firm in 2013, Joel H. Brown was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chief Judge for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida in 2009. Joel was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1971 and had been practicing personal injury law as a civil trial lawyer prior to his appointment by former Governor Bob Martinez to the County Court in 1990. Following his appointment, Joel served as Associate Administrative Judge of the County Court, Criminal Traffic Division, and then served as Adminis...
Jeff Warren's practice focuses on Chapter 11 reorganization cases. Mr. Warren was lead bankruptcy counsel to the debtor, Celotex Corporation, in one of the largest Chapter 11 cases ever filed. He successfully argued Celotex v. Edwards before the United States Supreme Court, establishing national precedent regarding the jurisdiction of bankruptcy judges.
A well-rounded complex commercial litigator, Bryan West handles matters emanating from Latin American business transactions and has litigated and arbitrated, in both English and Spanish, numerous multi-million dollar disputes involving Argentina, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras, Ecuador, and Venezuela. His matters often require the application of complex federal laws, including the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Further deepening Bryan’s pract...
Bill serves on the firm’s board of directors. He is a board certified specialist in the area of business litigation. His practice focuses on business litigation and trial practice, including securities litigation and arbitration, professional malpractice litigation, director and officer litigation, employment litigation, restrictive covenant litigation and intellectual property litigation. Bill served as President of the Florida Bar for the 2016-2017 term. He is also a member of the boa...
Karl Brandes practices in the areas of civil trial and commercial litigation. His practice includes petroleum marketing litigation; franchise and other trade regulation litigation; class action litigation; environmental litigation; construction litigation for engineer, architect, contractor and developer clients; condominium litigation; professional liability litigation for lawyer and engineer clients; computer litigation; personal injury litigation, including insurance and self-insured defen...
Luis A. Perez is the co-chair of Akerman’s Latin America and the Caribbean Practice, an internationally recognized team providing legal counsel across multiple disciplines. He handles commercial litigation and arbitration across the United States, and Latin America for clients in various sectors, including manufacturing, defense contracting, energy, technology, financial services, and medical device. Ranked by Chambers Global , which notes his “deep understanding of legal systems ...
Michael Nachwalter was a leading lawyer in business litigation with a long, stellar career. He prevailed for clients in numerous antitrust, complex business, and corporate matters and has achieved winning results through arbitration, mediation, and negotiated settlements. Michael is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the preeminent organization of trial lawyers in North America, the American Board of Trial Advocates, which is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of civi...
Seth Schimmel practices in the areas of construction and commercial litigation. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in design and construction disputes and complex commercial litigation throughout the state of Florida. In his construction practice, Mr. Schimmel represents engineers, architects, commercial and residential developers, owners, and general contractors in a wide range of litigation matters which include construction defect and delay claims, professional liability and erro...
Adolfo E. Jimenez practices in litigation with emphasis in international disputes. He is the practice group leader for Holland & Knight's South Florida Litigation Group and the team leader for the firm's International Arbitration and Litigation Team. He also practices in the areas of media law, maritime and transportation with extensive litigation and trial experience. In addition to his civil litigation practice, Mr. Jimenez has represented clients in arbitrations administered by the Int...
Throughout his career, Harley E. Riedel has represented debtors in possession and other significant constituencies in numerous large Chapter 11 cases filed in Florida. He has also been appointed by the United States District Court to serve as Special Master in complex litigation involving extensive farming operations in Florida and Michigan. In addition, Mr. Riedel maintains an active mediation practice in bankruptcy, state, and federal court matters, assisting parties in resolving disputes e...
Gustavo J. Membiela is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Arbitration, Commercial Litigation, International Arbitration - Commercial and Litigation - Real Estate. Gustavo J. practices law in Miami, Florida Best Lawyers has recognized Gustavo J. Membiela since 2017. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Gustavo J. Membiela...
Tracy L. Gerber is a Shareholder in the firm's Palm Beach County offices where she is a member of the firm's National Securities Litigation practice group as well as the National Labor & Employment Practice. Tracy represents major broker-dealers in FINRA arbitrations, regulatory proceedings, and state and federal courts. As lead counsel in the defense of financial services firms, she has litigated numerous sales practice and employment cases involving millions of dollars in controversy. T...
Charles “Chuck” Buford is a dual Board-Certified civil trial and business litigation attorney and a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator with more than forty years of experience handling complex disputes throughout Florida. Based in Clearwater, Florida, Chuck represents businesses, individuals, insurers, and professionals in matters involving Commercial Litigation and Mediation. As a partner with Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns LLP, he focuses on helping...
David Ackerman defends law firms in professional malpractice and legal ethics actions. A Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, clients value his litigation experience and strategic insight in resolving disputes through trial and appeals, negotiation, or arbitration. Ranked by Chambers USA , where he is described as “an even-keeled, thoughtful and smart attorney,” he is repeatedly recognized by Florida Trend’s Legal Elite and included in The Best Lawyers in America...
Kenneth A. Tomchin has over 30 years of litigation experience. Upon graduating law school, Ken joined the law firm of Mahoney, Adams & Criser, where he represented a wide variety of businesses of various sizes with their commercial litigation needs. After making shareholder, Ken continued his practice before founding Tomchin & Odom, P.A. in the spring of 1997. Ken joined Taylor, Day, Grimm & Boyd in the fall of 2019. He now focuses his practice on complex litigation matters. Ken i...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.
