DBR Announces 2022 Florida Legal Awards Honorees

Spring is here, which means it’s time for the Daily Business Review’s annual Florida Legal Awards. A full list of honorees is below.

Among them are three prominent Florida lawyers in the running for the Attorney of the Year Award for their remarkable achievements in 2021.

Sean Coyle, a partner at Fox Rothschild, has been at the forefront of some of the nation’s largest acquisitions, including serving as U.S. counsel to Trulieve Cannabis Corp. in its $2.1 billion acquisition of Harvest Health & Recreation. That deal created the most profitable multistate cannabis operator in the U.S.

Paul J. Geller, a partner at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, resolved cases of national impact in 2021, negotiating a record-breaking $650 million settlement in a privacy class action over Facebook’s facial recognition system and playing a pivotal role in securing a $26 billion settlement over the nation’s opioid crisis.

Amanda McGovern, a partner at Rivero Mestre, led the team defending self-professed Bitcoin creator Dr. Craig Wright, also known as Satoshi Nakamoto, who prevailed on six of seven charges in a $600 billion dispute.

The Attorney of the Year winner will be announced at the DBR’s annual awards event, which will be held on May 19 at the Rusty Pelican in Miami.

Congratulations to the following honorees:

Attorney of the Year finalists

Sean Coyle

Paul J. Geller

Amanda McGovern

Best Mentors

Kimberly Boldt, Ratzan Weissman & Boldt

Alan Carroll “A.C.” Nash, Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin

Brigid Cech Samole, Greenberg Traurig

Gina Clausen Lozier, Berger Singerman

Lisa Colon, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

Danielle Garno, Reed Smith

Katherine E. Giddings, Akerman

Irwin R. Gilbert, Conrad & Scherer

Jacquin “Quin” Gilchrist, The Gilchrist Law Firm

Mark Raymond, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

Joseph Serota, Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman

John Uustal, Kelley | Uustal

John Yanchunis, Morgan & Morgan

Distinguished Leaders

Rebecca Faith Bratter, Greenspoon Marder

Zander Clem, Morgan & Morgan

Miami-Dade County Court Judge Myriam Lehr

Eric Ostroff, Meland Budwick

Stuart Ratzan, Ratzan Weissman & Boldt

Leslie B. Rothenberg, The Ferraro Law Firm

Tanaz Salehi, Salehi Boyer Lavigne Lombana

Hildy Sastre, Shook, Hardy & Bacon

Bill Shepherd, Holland & Knight

Jerry Sokol, McDermott Will & Emery

Julia Wyda, Brinkley Morgan

Hope Zelinger, Bressler, Amery & Ross

Diversity and Inclusion: Firm

Farah & Farah

Holland & Knight

Hunton Andrews Kurth

Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr

Diversity and Inclusion: Individual

Harsh Arora, Kelley Kronenberg

Don Hayden, Mark Migdal & Hayden

Kimberly Lopez Narbona, Akerman

Sabria McElroy, Boies Schiller Flexner

Akiesha Sainvil, Greenberg Traurig

General Counsel Impact

Brett Bauman, Broward Health

Linda Epstein, Broward Health

Richard D. Lara, Spanish Broadcasting System

Alex J. Tolston, Hemisphere Media Group Inc.

Innovators

Shawn W. Amuial, Holland & Knight

Jaret L. Davis, Greenberg Traurig

Laura Ganoza and Foley & Lardner’s NFT task force

David Silver, Silver Miller

Ellen Morris, Cozen O’Connor

Lifetime Achievement

Jules Cohen, Akerman

Joel Eaton, Podhurst Orseck

Ursula Ungaro, Boies Schiller Flexner

Litigation Departments of the Year

Lash & Goldberg

Levine Kellogg Schneider Lehman + Grossman

Podhurst Orseck

Rivero Mestre

Real Estate Transactions

Bilzin Sumberg

Greenberg Traurig

Daniel A. Kaskel, Sachs Sax Caplan

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman

On the Rise

Corey Berman, Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Lindsay Burrows, Wolfe Pincavage

Da’Morus A. Cohen, Holland & Knight

Indera DeMine, DeMine Immigration Law Firm

Craig Distel, McDonald Hopkins

Dana Dombey, McDermott Will & Emery

Hayley Harrison, Bast Amron

Jordan Isrow, Government Law Group

Donnie King, Akerman

Liz Moum, Greenberg Traurig

Joe Pack, Pack Law

Alan Rosenberg, Markowitz, Ringel, Trusty + Hartog

Cristina T. Sanchez, Duane Morris

Vanessa Tussey, Boies Schiller Flexner

Bryan Vega, Meland Budwick

Kimberly Wald, Kelley | Uustal

Erika Whyte, Jones Day

Victoria Wilson, Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman

Unsung Heroes

Gerald “Jerry” Del Amo, Broward Health

Mindy Jones, Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida

John J. Quick, Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman

Stephanie Reed Traband, Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman

Quinn Smith, GST

Randi Spallina, Bressler, Amery & Ross

Steven Wernick, Wernick & Co.

Social Impact

Christine A. Concepcion, Global Tax Law

Ken Cutler, Cutler Rader

Michael Haggard, The Haggard Law Firm

Matt Morgan, Morgan & Morgan

Victoria Sexton, Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida