Charlotte County Lawyers

I am commercial litigator who understands the benefits and risks of litigation for each of my clients. I emphasize a practical assessment of disputes and provide innovative strategies. Whether advancing or defending claims, I am relentless in pursuing my client’s objectives.

Attorney Bryan D. Caulfield is a partner with Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers. Bryan has handled over 3000 cases in his exceptional 32-year career; he practices exclusively personal injury and wrongful death law. Bryan has experience working with car accidents, workplace accidents, motorcycle accident, and pedestrian accident cases, to name but a few. Bryan has received numerous accolades and has many exceptional achievements as part of his legal career. Attorney Bryan Caulfield has achieved Board Certification as a Civil Trial Lawyer from the Florida Bar. Less than 2% of attorneys in the State of Florida have received this...

Stacey Hendrix McNelis - Experienced Legal Support From A Polk County Native

Stacey H. McNelis is dedicated to the practice of law and helping those in need. She focuses primarily in Criminal, Dependency and Family Law, and Social Security in Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties. She is an experienced trial attorney, having handled numerous cases in the county court as well as at the circuit court level. Over the course of her career, she has argued hundreds of motions and has tried over 30 jury trials.

Prior to founding McNelis Law, Ms. McNelis joined Colón & McNelis, P.A., in 2005 and practiced...

Attorney Barker has been handling personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout the Tampa Bay area for 34 years. He has handled thousands of cases; many of which resulted in substantial jury verdicts or settlements.

You should put Attorney Barker's vast experience to work for you. He and his dedicated staff will guide you through each step of what can be a complex and intimidating process; all while giving you the personal service and attention you deserve. No case is too small, and no case is too big.

The consultation is free. All you...

Mr. Curry is a civil trial lawyer and has had his own firm for most of his career. He has been recognized by Judges and his colleagues as one of the preeminent lawyers in his field receiving an “AV’ rating from Martindale Hubbell. He has an active Civil Trial Practice participating in civil trials involving Commercial, Personal Injury, Family Issues and General Business Litigation. In addition to his successful Law Practice he served as a Founding Director and General Counsel of Platinum Bank from 1997 through 2012.

Mr. Curry has served as President of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce. He was...

Kaitlyn Statile attended the University of Georgia where she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Sociology. She then went on to earn her juris doctorate from Florida State University, College of Law. While in Tallahassee, she interned at the State Attorney’s Office, beginning her passion for trial law. After graduation she began working at the State Attorney’s Office in Pinellas County where she conducted over 50 trials and obtained a murder indictment from a grand jury. She then went on to practice civil litigation prior to moving to Costa Rica where she...

John is the managing member of Anthony & Partners, LLC, Tampa, Florida’s premier bankruptcy and creditors’ rights firm. He covers the statewide needs of his clients from Pensacola to Key West and his practice includes areas of chapter 11 reorganizations, complex chapter 7 liquidations, assignments for the benefit of creditors, loan restructures, state court loan enforcement litigation, and lender liability defense in state and federal courts. From 2001-2009, John chaired a statewide 22-lawyer creditors’ rights department of a large law firm. In the aftermath of the economic crisis that began in 2008, he has positioned Anthony & Partners, LLC to...

Mark H. Wright is the senior trial attorney with the Mark Wright law group. Faced with a wealth of options after finishing law school, Mr. Wright chose to dedicate his professional life to helping those in need. For almost thirty years, Mark has focused his practice in the areas of serious injury and wrongful death cases, premises liability, products liability, negligent security, insurance disputes, automobile crashes, truck crashes and motorcycle collisions.

Mr. Wright tailors his practice to the individual needs of his clients. Unlike larger law firms that provide a cookie-cutter approach to client representation, Mr. Wright prides himself on tailoring...

We are O’Brien Hatfield, PA, a criminal defense law firm with offices in Tampa, Orlando, and Miami. I am a partner. My law firm consists of five lawyers, four legal assistants, two private investigators, one mitigation specialist, and numerous third party experts. We have three divisions in our firm: federal criminal defense, state criminal defense, and appellate criminal defense. I am in charge of the appellate division. A good criminal appellate attorney should possess a combination of legal knowledge, research and writing skills, attention to detail, oral advocacy abilities, persistence, dedication, strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, preparation and deadline management, teamwork,...

Attorney Catherine M. Rinaldo, founding partner of Rinaldo Law Group,
has secured millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for her clients.
For over 30 years, she has represented hundreds of clients in personal
injury and wrongful death cases arising from automobile negligence,
motorcycle and bicycle crashes, medical malpractice, abuse, defective
products and hotel and apartment inadequate security. She has
co-counseled and partnered with law firms from around the country to
achieve the best results for her clients.

Ms. Rinaldo prides herself in a taking a personal approach to the
representation of her clients. “When a client engages our firm, I want
them to know that their needs and concerns...

I have recently decided to concentrate solely on County and Circuit Court civil mediations and arbitrations. I would future referrals for my services in these areas. The reason for my decision to concentrate solely upon mediation and arbitration is due to the desire to help parties reach settlement without having a Judge or Court impose a Judgment upon them. I believe self-determination is far superior to formal litigation in Court. ...

Thomas P. Gill, Jr. completed his J.D. from Stetson College of Law and has been practicing law since 1988. He began his legal career at various reputable law firms before opening his own practice in 1991. His goal is to provide a full-service law firm that focuses on providing clients with personal and compassionate services. Every phone call will be returned personally by Attorney Gill. He has extensive experience in many legal areas, including family law, bankruptcy, personal injury, foreclosure defense, wills & estate planning, probate, and criminal defense. Outside of the law, he is very active in community organizations....

Mr. Golden earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Maine and his Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Upon moving to Florida, he began his career working for a small law firm in the Brandon area and focused on representing debtors in consumer bankruptcy cases under both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. He also represented clients in front of the Social Security Administration in Disability cases. Next, he accepted a position as the chief litigation associate with the law firm of Feinberg, Isaak and Smith, d/b/a Debt Relief Legal Centers. In this position he...

Thomas C. Saunders is one of only a small handful of lawyers in Polk County, Florida that hold themselves out as double Board Certified. Tom is certified by the Florida Bar as a specialist in both Civil Trial and Business Litigation.

William Gearhart has extensive experience representing a wide range of clients in nearly all aspects of immigration law. His practice focuses on assisting employers and employees with nonimmigrant and immigrant visa petitions, labor certifications, and I-9 compliance issues. William also assists individuals in obtaining nonimmigrant status, asylum, waivers, permanent legal residency, citizenship, and petitions for family members. William has been repeatedly selected by Super Lawyers® as a Rising Star in the field of immigration law. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and is licensed to practice law in the State of Indiana, and the United States District...

A true Florida native, Jonathon Douglas graduated from Northeast High School in St. Petersburg before attending the University of Florida where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees, both with honors. From there, Mr. Douglas attended Stetson University College of Law where he learned and practiced the art of trial advocacy. Before graduating, Jonathon clerked for the Honorable Shawn Crane and interned at the State Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office. After graduation, he began his work as an Assistant Public Defender for the Sixth Judicial Circuit and then moved on to defending the rights of...

Stephen J. Wein is a founding shareholder of the firm. He was previously the Chairman of the Litigation Department of a prominent local firm where he was also a member of its Executive Committee. He is a 1976 graduate of Stetson University College of Law. Steve’s extensive litigation experience is diverse, ranging from Complex Commercial to White Collar Criminal matters on behalf of and against public and private companies, financial institutions, insurance companies and professionals. The representations have dealt with a wide gamut of legal issues involving securities, antitrust, class actions, computers and software, intellectual property, healthcare fraud...

Deborah Moss is a former Pittsburgh native and long time Florida resident who attended Boca Ciega High School in St. Petersburg, Florida. She is a University of South Florida and a Stetson alumni. Debbie has dedicated her career for over two decades to the practice of Criminal Defense.

Patrick W. Harland, Jr. is a seasoned litigator and personal injury attorney having tried cases in both Florida State and Federal Court.

Upon graduating from Stetson University College of Law in 1999, Mr. Harland focused his law practice on defending insurance companies as well as some of the nation’s largest nursing home chains in liability suits relating to patient care. Mr. Harland also defended physicians in correctional healthcare cases brought by inmates alleging civil rights violations due to inadequate healthcare.

Today, Mr. Harland uses that defense background to the advantage of St. Petersburg clients who have been injured by the negligence of...

Prior to joining Whittel & Melton, Mr. Sheslow served as an Assistant Public Defender in Manatee County, Florida. Mr. Sheslow accumulated an impressive trial record while with the Public Defender’s Office. He was quickly promoted from a Misdemeanor to Felony case load in less than 10 months. Mr. Sheslow has tried over 20 cases ranging from DUIs and Domestic Batteries to life felonies. He has earned acquittals in serious cases such as firearms offenses and sex offenses. Additionally, Mr. Sheslow completed the National Criminal Defense Lawyers College held at Mercer College of Law in Macon, Georgia, where he learned from...

Mr. Gallagher graduated from Stetson University College of Law. After graduation he began practice with a large Tampa firm focusing on insurance litigation. Additionally, Mr. Gallagher served as a Federal Judicial Intern for Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich of the U.S. Middle District of Florida. Mr. Gallagher has experience in both litigation and transactional matters. His current practice focuses on insurance litigation, foreclosure defense, real estate litigation, business law and consumer law.

While at Stetson, Mr. Gallagher was the Director of the Legal Writing Clinic, President of the Christian Legal Society, a Teaching Fellow for Legal Research and Writing classes, a...

Ginger L. Dugan practices Family Law Litigation including: Adoption, Divorce, Child Custody, Time-sharing, Parental Responsibility, Child Support Modifications, Custody Modifications, Contempt, and all other aspects of family law.

Ms. Dugan earned her Bachelor's Degree in English Literature at Florida State University in 2003. In college she received numerous honors including Student of the Year, Literature Award, Campus Leadership Award, Student Government Award, STRIKE Award, and Who's Who Among American College Students.

Ms. Dugan received her Law Degree from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In law school, Ms. Dugan participated in the Summer Study Abroad program where she studied International...

Daviana Marie Braniff was born in Clearwater, Florida, but primarily grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. After receiving a scholarship for women’s soccer, Daviana attended Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Georgia where she received her degree in Psychology. Daviana then attended the University of Georgia School of Law where she interned with the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney. After graduating, Daviana moved to the sunny state of Florida to be with family and worked as an Assistant State Attorney in the Sixth Judicial Circuit prior to joining the firm. Daviana and her husband Daniel have a lovable dog...

Edward D. Carlson was born in New Jersey. He founded the firm with Paul Meissner in 1971. He has served as a municipal judge for the cities of Belleair and Safety Harbor, Florida. Ed has been married for more than 40 years and has four grown children and five grandchildren.

A native of Florida, Ryan T. Cox graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in criminology before going on to get a master’s degree in criminal justice from UCF and a law degree from UF’s Frederick G. Levin College of law. Following graduation, Ryan represented clients in civil litigation and business transactions before finding his niche defending people against criminal charges.

Now, having returned home after 4 years working in Colorado, Ryan has decided to apply his skills to representing the people of the gulf coast. He joins Carlson Meissner with extensive experience handling all manner of...

Andrew Pardun, LL.M. is an Associate with the firm specializing in the areas of Real Estate Law, Title Insurance, Commercial and Residential Real Estate Closings, Commercial Lending and Borrowing, Foreclosure Matters, Business Law, and Tax Law.

Andrew joined the firm in January of 2016 after completing his Juris Doctorate Degree from Stetson University College of Law and his MBA Degree, with Honors, from Stetson University. Andrew completed his MBA degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA and was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honors society. During his first year at the firm, Andrew completed his Master of Laws Degree in...

Betty Marion Whitman resides in Ocala, Marion County, Florida where she began practicing law in Marion County in 1987. Betty started her legal career as a secretary to her father, a general practitioner in Melbourne, Florida. She continued to work as a legal secretary in various cities in Florida and briefly in New York City. She obtained her A.A. degree from Brevard Community College, then went on to the University of Central Florida to obtain her B.A. degree, and then to Law School at the University of Florida. Betty has achieved an “AV Preeminent” rating by Martindale & Hubbell,...

Hi, and thank you for visiting my Justia profile. My name is Glenn Gold and together with my partner John Rizvi we founded "The Idea Attorneys", a leading Patent and Trademark Legal Practice. Did you know that approximately 75% of American publicly traded companies worth lays in intangible assets. Intellectual Property accounts for a massive $5 Trillion, larger than any other economy in the world. It is the fastest way to wealth that exists today. It is also one of the mainstays of the American Dream and it is even mentioned in Article 1 of the constitution: "To promote the progress of...

Omar Abdelghany is a criminal defense attorney practicing in Tampa Bay, Florida and the surrounding area. He graduated cum laude from California Western School of Law in San Diego, California. He is licensed with the Florida Bar and is also licensed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. Omar's experience includes having completed a judicial externship with Justice Terry O'Rourke at the California Fourth District Court of Appeals and his having worked as a trial attorney at the Palm Beach Public Defender's Office....

Mr. Haas was raised in Lakeland, Polk County, Florida. He attended Florida Southern College and graduated with a BS degree. He then attended the University of Florida Law School where he was distinguished as a member of the award-winning Moot Court Team, receiving the William C. Gaither Recognition for Best Oral Argument in the Moot Court Competition. He was also honored with seven book awards during his law school career, which recognize the highest course grade in the class. Prior to completion of his law school studies, Mr. Haas was commissioned as an Army Infantry Officer and rose to the...

Sarah T. McCain is a senior associate at Plog & Stein P.C. who has devoted most of her legal career to the practice of family law. As a compassionate Denver divorce attorney, she believes that cementing a solid attorney-client relationship is essential in order to obtain the judgments and orders her clients need to move on with their lives. She derives great satisfaction from being able to help her clients transition into the next chapter or their lives after divorce with the tools and resources they need to be better prepared. She has handled family law matters of varying complexity,...

Michael C. Minardi is the Senior Partner at Minardi Law. For over 16 years, Michael has dedicated his practice to fighting for clients charged with cannabis crimes and advocating for cannabis law reform. His passion has driven him to learning and understanding medical cannabis laws in the State of Florida and throughout the country.

Michael’s practice represents clients in corporate cannabis consulting, application preparation, lobbying, forfeiture matters, and criminal matters. He has won many medical cannabis cases, including several landmark high-profile cases in Florida. He won the first and second jury trials in Florida presenting the medical necessity...

Deborah Carroll grew up in central Florida, raised her family in central Florida and committed her practice to her hometown area. She graduated in 1999 from University of South Florida with a B.A. in Business Management. In 2002, Ms. Carroll graduated from Stetson University with her MBA and Stetson University College of Law with her JD. Following law school, Ms. Carroll worked as an Assistant Public Defender with the 10th Judicial Circuit in Bartow, Florida, with both felony and misdemeanor cases. In 2005, Ms. Carroll went into private practice with a well known law firm in Lakeland, FL...

Patent attorney concentrating in patent, trademark, and copyright litigation, including Trademark Trial and Appeal Board proceedings and domain name disputes. Nathan is board certified in intellectual property law by the Florida Bar. He has met the Florida Bar’s highest standards for special knowledge, skills, and proficiency in intellectual property law and professionalism and ethics in the practice of law.

As a practicing attorney in Polk County, Florida, for over ten years, I'm proud to offer my clients advice and representation in the areas of family law, criminal defense, and elder law. My vision is to bring a personal feel and approach to each of my client's legal concerns. It is my goal to give each client effective advice and craft personal solutions for difficult legal matters. I'm privileged to be part of the Polk County community, and proud to know that when the good people of this community need my guidance and experience, I'll be here for them.

Amy Ruiz received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Marketing and International Economics from the University of Florida in 2000. She received her Juris Doctorate from the Florida State College of Law in 2004. While at Florida State, Ms. Ruiz was a member of the Journal of Transnational Law & Policy. She also participated in the Institute on World Legal Problems where she studied Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Innsbruck, in Austria, with Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Antonin Scalia.

Upon graduating law school, Ms. Ruiz, a Tampa native, returned to Tampa and commenced...

I am a Board Certified workers' compensation attorney who has been representing injured workers for over 20 years. I have tried hundreds of cases through trial to secure the benefits to which my clients are legally entitled. I am a member of Florida Workers' Advocates and the William Wieland Inn of Court.

I have been dedicated to the practice of Criminal Law for over 30 years, with more than 100 jury trials to my credit. I have extensive experience in representing individuals charged or under investigation for State and Federal criminal charges as well as appeals. I am also admitted to practice in the State of Massachusetts in both the State and Federal Courts as well as the 11th and 1st Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States. I am a Certified Circuit Court and Federal Court Mediator. My practice areas include the Middle District...