The Hillsborough County Bar Association would like to recognize the following members for their recent accomplishments:
Ed Armstrong, shareholder at Hill Ward Henderson, was recently appointed by Governor Rick Scott to the Southwest Florida Water Management District. The appointment is for a term ending March 1, 2018, and is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate. The district encompasses roughly 10,000 square miles in 16 counties and serves a population of 4.7 million people. The mission is to manage water and related natural resources to ensure their continued availability while maximizing the benefits to the public.
Radha Bachman, a shareholder at Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, has been selected to serve on the American Health Lawyers Association Women’s Leadership Council for a one-year term. The council guides the activities of AHLA’s new Women’s Network. Bachman is in the firm’s national health care practice group.
Chris Brown of Trenam Kemker has been appointed to the Hillsborough Community College Foundation Board of Directors. Brown joined Trenam Kemker in October 2013 in the firm’s commercial litigation group.
Robert Chapman has joined Sivyer Barlow & Watson, P.A., as an associate. Chapman’s practice focuses on commercial litigation and real estate transactions.
Marina A. Choundas of Foley & Lardner LLP was elected to the board of directors of Seniors in Service Inc. Choundas is a member of the firm’s business law, tax and Latin-American practice groups.
Fentrice Driskell, a shareholder at Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, was elected president of the George Edgecomb Bar Association for a one-year term. As president, Driskell will be responsible for setting the strategic vision of the organization, which has more than 100 members, a 10-member board, and 10 standing committees. GEBA is a voluntary bar association in Hillsborough County that is dedicated to the advancement of African Americans in the legal profession. Driskell also was awarded GEBA’s President’s Award during the association’s annual scholarship banquet on April 28. This award is given to a Bar member who has gone above and beyond to carry out the association’s mission and who aids the president in leading the organization. Driskell has significant experience representing banks and other financial institutions in commercial business litigation and bankruptcy matters.
Nancy J. Faggianelli, chief diversity officer at Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, has been presented with the LGBT-Allies Leader Award by The Florida Diversity Council. Faggianelli received the award during the council’s LGBT-Allies Diversity Summit in Orlando. Faggianelli received the award based on her visibility in the LGBT community; ability to create awareness and increase communication and understanding of the LGBT community; ability to make significant contributions to the promotion of broadening civil adoption and/or acceptance of LGBT equality in the workplace and the community; support of the LGBT community in shaping a future where everyone can live authentically and completely; and reputation with colleagues and superiors.
T.J. Ferrante, an associate at Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, has been selected to serve on the American Health Lawyers Association Young Professionals Council for a one-year term. He also was selected into the Leadership Development Program of the AHLA’s Hospitals and Health Systems Practice Group for a one-year term. Ferrante is in the firm’s national health care practice group.
Michael L. Forte of the Tampa office of Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, P.A., recently presented “Strategies for Negotiating Legal Claims” to the Tampa Bay chapter of the Risk Insurance Management Society.
Michele Leo Hintson, partner in the Tampa office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, has been named vice-chair of The Florida Bar’s Thirteenth Circuit Grievance Committee (“B”). This local grievance committee is composed of lawyers and non-lawyers and is responsible for continuing the investigation of possible lawyer misconduct referred by Bar discipline attorneys. Hintson dedicates her practice to representing businesses, insurance companies, health care organizations, and individuals in all aspects of the dispute resolution process.
Lawrence P. Ingram, a partner with Phelps Dunbar, was presented with the Paul M. May Meritorious Service Award in June at The Florida Bar Annual Convention in Orlando. Stetson University College of Law Dean Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz presented the award, which recognized Ingram’s years of service in support of Florida’s first law school and its students. Since receiving his J.D. from Stetson University College of Law, Ingram has been engaged in a number of student and alumni-related events at the school. In the past several years, he has focused his efforts on encouraging planned giving to Stetson.
Jody Keeling and Michael Maguire have joined the law firm of Trenam Kemker. Maguire is an associate in the real estate and lending transactions practice group. His practice focuses on real estate lending, real property transactions and investments, asset-based lending, eminent domain, and property rights litigation. Keeling is an associate in the business transactions practice group. His practice focuses on corporate law, securities, mergers and acquisitions, and taxation.
Ken Mather has joined Gunster’s business litigation practice and will work out of the firm’s Tampa office. Mather joins the firm from Broad and Cassel in Tampa, where he was a member of the firm’s bankruptcy and creditors' rights, special assets and banking, and institutional lending practice groups.
Victoria McCloskey, a shareholder at Bush Ross, was recently sworn-in as president-elect of the Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers. Her term as president-elect began in May 2014 and will be followed by a yearlong term as president, to commence in May 2015. McCloskey also was recently awarded the 2014 HAWL President’s Award for outstanding service to the organization. The main objective of HAWL is to “promote and recognize the contributions of women in the legal profession and judiciary.” McCloskey’s practice focuses on health care defense litigation and general civil trial matters.
Erin M. McKenney, associate in the Tampa office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, has been elected to the Board of Trustees for Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, whose mission is to provide environmental education and volunteer opportunities that develop individual responsibility and environmental stewardship. McKenney primarily focuses her practice in health law.
Dennis A. Meyers has joined World Wide Medical Services Inc. in Tampa as corporate counsel. World Wide Medical Services is a provider of physician-prescribed home electrotherapy and orthotic devices for the effective treatment of non-narcotic pain management and rehabilitation.
Hal Mullis, president of Trenam Kemker, has been elected by the University of South Florida Board of Trustees as its chairman. The USF Board of Trustees is responsible for cost-effective policy decisions appropriate to the system mission and the implementation and maintenance of high-quality education programs within the laws and rules of the state. Mullis is a founding member of Trenam Kemker and is based in the firm’s Tampa office.
John Neukamm, a shareholder with the Mechanik Nuccio law firm, was recognized at The Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section 2014 Annual Convention for his contributions to Florida attorneys and the public in promoting the highest standards of ethics and professionalism with the William S. Belcher Lifetime Professionalism Award.
Kristin A. Norse has been named a shareholder of Kynes, Markman & Felman, P.A., and has been elected president-elect of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers. The mission of FAWL is to actively promote gender equality and the leadership roles of FAWL’s members in the legal profession, judiciary, and community at large. Norse has also been appointed the chair of the Criminal Practice Subcommittee for the Appellate Court Rules Committee of The Florida Bar. Norse concentrates her practice in the area of civil appeals and litigation support in state and federal courts.
W. Jan Pietruszka, partner in the Tampa office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, participated in a panel discussion at the Tampa Bay Executive Symposium on June 12 regarding “The Wacky World of Being an Employer – Who Knew? Labor Relations and How They Affect Your Company.” Pietruszka’s practice includes defending corporations and management from claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, Fair Labor Standards Act violations, workplace torts, breaches of employment contract, and unpaid wages.
Ronnell Robinzine was the first recipient of the George Edgecomb Bar Association Outstanding Young Lawyer’s Award. Robinzine was recognized for his outstanding work on behalf of GEBA, including his role in the formation of the Young Lawyers Committee and the acquisition of two key grants.
Hala Sandridge, co-managing shareholder of the Tampa office of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney | Fowler White Boggs, has been reappointed to a three-year term on the board of The Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable organization whose mission is to provide greater access to justice. Sandridge practices in the area of appellate law.
Tom Scarritt of the Scarritt Law Group has joined the board of directors of Southern Legal Counsel Inc., a statewide not-for-profit public-interest law firm based in Gainesville that focuses on complex, multiyear litigation involving education, housing, homelessness, and discrimination. SLC represents individuals and groups without access to the justice system whose cases may bring about systematic reform.
Murray B. Silverstein has been appointed chair of the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration Committee for a one-year term that commenced July 1.
Jacqueline Simms-Petredis has joined Burr & Forman LLP as a Tampa-based associate in the firm’s financial services litigation practice group. She was previously with Akerman LLP. Simms-Petredis’ practice includes advising financial institutions, mortgage loan originators, loan servicers, and investors in contested foreclosures, bankruptcy adversary proceedings, compliance issues, and direct filed lawsuits.
Kenneth A. Tinkler, a shareholder in Carlton Fields Jorden Burt’s Tampa office, received the Paul S. Buchman Award from the City, County and Local Government Law Section of The Florida Bar. This annual award recognizes Tinkler’s “outstanding contribution in the area of Legal Public Service.” Tinkler also was recognized for his service to the section and its executive council, including his service as chair of the section, and other contributions to The Florida Bar and the legal profession. Tinkler’s practice involves a wide variety of government law issues with a focus on land use, environmental and energy permitting, ethics regulation, and election law.
Thomas E. Toner has joined Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, as a partner. Toner focuses his practice on patent prosecution, copyright, trademark, trade secret, and related technology litigation.
Sylvia H. Walbolt, shareholder at Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, will serve as president of the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society. She was sworn in during The Florida Bar’s Annual Convention in June in Orlando. The historical society helps preserve the history of Florida’s judicial system and educates the public about the work of the courts in protecting personal rights and freedoms, as well as resolving the myriad disputes that arise within the state.
Brian C. Willis, an associate in the Tampa office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, has been appointed by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority to serve as its representative on the Citizen Advisory Committee for the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization. The MPO is responsible for establishing a continuing, cooperative, and comprehensive transportation planning process for Hillsborough County. Willis represents individuals and corporations involved in business, contract, and real estate disputes.
Gwynne A. Young, shareholder at Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, received the Rosemary Barkett Outstanding Achievement Award from the Florida Association for Women Lawyers during the Henry Latimer Diversity Luncheon at The Florida Bar Annual Meeting and Convention in June in Orlando. This award is given annually to a FAWL member who has demonstrated a commitment to the purpose and goals of FAWL; excelled to outstanding career achievement that charters new territory in our profession; helped to overcome traditional stereotypes associated with women by breaking barriers, molding a new reality and a new way of thinking about themselves, others and their place in the universe or has promoted the status of women within the profession; advanced the status of women in the state; and is an active member of FAWL.
Tampa Law Advocates has relocated to 620 E. Twiggs St., Suite 110, in Tampa. Attorneys Samantha L. Dammer and Daniel W. Hamilton practice in the areas of business and personal bankruptcy, foreclosure, family law/custody, civil litigation, and general business law.
