I run marathons. Marathon runners have a saying: Respect the Distance. Its meaning is fairly obvious — 26.2 miles is a tremendous distance. Respecting the distance requires four things: preparation, commitment, adjustments and finishing.

The same is true in my practice. I am a strategist and partner to the lawyers with whom I work. Success requires stamina and the ability to finish strong — from discovery through appeal if necessary.

How do I do this? I work with smart dedicated aggressive trial lawyers. When engaged in contentious litigation, trial lawyers often partner with me to provide litigation strategy and support services. I bring a fresh perspective.

There are two aspects to that perspective. The first is the perspective that I have gained through over 25 years of practicing law at its highest level in the State of Florida. The other aspect of perspective is the “view from 30,000 feet.” Trial lawyers know that they can depend on me to apply my experience and perspective to help them achieve optimal results.

Examples:

I teamed up with a Miami commercial litigator to represent a business owner owed millions of dollars by the U.S. Virgin Islands. Despite clear evidence of a substantial debt owed, the U.S.V.I. was unwilling to pay. Together trial counsel and I maneuvered through vexatious Virgin Islands Superior Court proceedings, and successfully obtained a Writ of Mandamus forcing the Government to pay approximately $4 million to our client.

I partnered with personal injury trial attorneys to obtain a $5 million judgment in a wrongful death drowning action against a property owner in Dade County. A local ordinance required the retaining pond on the premises to be surrounded by fencing during construction. The trial counsel had purchased a spool of orange plastic safety fencing (which is not particularly sturdy) and intended to use it at trial. In addition to defeating a summary judgment motion and winning critical motions in limine, I pointed out the ordinance also indicated “storm fencing” could have been used. Storm fencing is solid wood fencing approximately six feet in height (taller than trial counsel). Trial counsel utilized a section of storm fencing in closing argument by standing behind the solid wood fencing, rather than the orange plastic safety fencing, demonstrating to the jury that the storm fencing would have saved the child’s life.

I teamed up with an experienced trial attorney to successfully prosecute an action arising out of a construction accident during the building of a bridge across the intracoastal waterway in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Their clients were laborers who slept ashore and had never previously been involved in any kind of maritime employment. Nevertheless, I helped to establish their status as seamen, in order to allow them to sue their employer in a Jones Act negligence action, rather than be confined to either a Florida worker’s compensation remedy or a federal Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act claim. The matter settled for approximately$5 million.

I teamed up with Broward County trial attorneysto defeat the workers comp statute and obtain a verdict of $1.7 million on behalf of an employee who was operating a punch press. This verdict was obtained even though the case arose after the 2003 amendment to the worker’s compensation immunity exception which made it more difficult to sue one’s employer.