Shutts & Bowen Attorneys Named to Best Lawyers in America
Sep 18, 2008
Twenty-three attorneys were selected by their peers for inclusion in 2009 Best Lawyers in America®, a guide to the nation’s top legal talent. The firm is ranked #1 in Miami in Banking Law; #1 in Orlando for Construction Law; #1 in West Palm Beach for Health Care and Real Estate Law.
BOWMAN BROWN chairs the Financial Services Group and represents major domestic and foreign institutions, brokerage houses and insurance companies. He is listed in five practice areas: Banking Law, Insurance Law, International Trade and Finance Law, Corporate and Mergers and Acquisitions.
ANDREW M. BRUMBY leads the firm’s Creditors’ Rights Practice Group. His practice encompasses commercial finance, bankruptcy, insolvency and creditors’ rights litigation
GARY J. COHEN's principal areas of practice include general corporate, business and tax planning, with emphasis on representation of real estate and affordable housing clients and state and local taxation.
KEVIN D. COWAN co-chairs the firm’s Real Estate Department. He is involved in corporate and commercial real estate practice, including development, financing, sale, acquisition foreclosure, work-outs and leases.
JOHN H. DANNECKER, Board Certified in Construction Law, chairs the firm’s Construction Litigation Group. He practices in the field of commercial litigation, with particular emphasis construction litigation, contract negotiation and defect and delay litigation, including mold and mildew-related disputes.
LUIS A. DE ARMAS was recognized in the areas of Corporate, International Trade and Finance, and Mergers and Acquisitions and Securities Law and was named this year in Tax Law. He structures and negotiates mergers and acquisitions, including international transactions.
MARSHALL J. EMAS handles real estate, corporate, partnership and limited liability company law and related matters, including acquisition, development, operation, leasing and sales of residential, commercial, retail and office properties.
JAMES A. FARRELL, Florida Bar Board Certified in Health Law, is a member of the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education. He concentrates his practice in health law, particularly in the area of managed care and joint venture development, counseling hospitals, physicians, HMOs and a wide range of health care providers.
CHARLES ROBINSON FAWSETT, co-chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment Group,represents management in labor and employment matters of all types. He has conducted trials of more than 100 cases in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies.
MICHAEL J. “MICKY” GRINDSTAFF practices in the area of real estate transactions, land use and development, including the acquisition, zoning, permitting, development and sale of retail shopping centers, mixed-use developments, residential subdivisions, multi-family apartment complexes, and office buildings.
R. ALAN HIGBEE is Managing Partner of the Tampa office. He represents public and private companies and entrepreneurs in general business, corporate and securities matters, including public and private equity and debt offerings, mergers and acquisitions, business contracts, business transactions, joint ventures, corporate governance, and franchise matters.
MARY RUTH HOUSTON is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group. She defends employers and management in a broad range of labor and employment issues, involving employee discharge and discrimination cases, including age, sex, race, national origin, religion and disability claims, as well as cases involving restrictive covenants and wage-hour matters.
ROD JONES is a partner in the Financial Services Practice Group. He concentrates on bank regulatory matters, including de novo bank formations, conversions, mergers and acquisitions, and bank holding company formations, with a particular emphasis on issues affecting community banks.
ALFRED A. LaSORTE, Florida Bar Board Certified in civil trial law and business litigation, offers clients a combination of skills and experience. His experience ranges from broad commercial disputes, to a niche practice in title insurance litigation. Mr. LaSorte is Chair of the Business Law Litigation Certification Committee.
WILLIAM G. McCULLOUGH practices banking law, including regulatory and transactional matters for domestic and foreign banks, broker-dealers, investment advisors, and other financial services firms. He assists domestic and international clients with general corporate and contractual matters, mergers and acquisitions transactions and securitizations and other complex financial transactions.
JOHN E. MEAGHER is the Chairman of the Insurance Practice Group and Lateral Hiring Partner for the firm’s South Florida offices. He is a seasoned trial lawyer and litigates cases throughout Florida and the United States. While he has tried cases in industries such as real estate and banking, he now focuses on defending insurers in trial and appellate actions.
ARTHUR J. MENOR, Managing Partner of the West Palm Beach office, is Florida Bar Board Certified in Real Estate law. He assists landlords and commercial tenants with all aspects of the leasing process and represents developers, investors, and lenders. After practicing commercial leasing for many years, Mr. Menor devised his own techniques for building and customizing lease agreements.
LOUIS NOSTRO is Managing Partner of the Miami office and is certified by The Florida Bar in Taxation and Wills and Trusts and Estates. His principal area of practice involves family wealth planning, which includes estate planning, estate and trust administration, charitable planning, executive compensation and taxation.
DANIEL T. O’KEEFE is a partner and co-chairman of the firm’s Real Estate Department and Lateral Hiring Partner for the firm’s Central and West Florida offices. He practices in the area of commercial real estate law, with an emphasis on representation of developers of master planned communities, subdivisions and apartment projects.
JOHN H. ROONEY, JR. was named in the areas of Alternative Dispute Resolution and International Arbitration. He sits on an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes panel, and chairs an Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Commission panel. He has more than twenty years of experience advising clients on international business matters and speaks Spanish and Portuguese.
PAUL L. SanGIOVANNI is Board Certified in Construction Law. His commercial litigation experience includes construction law, contract preparation and negotiation, lien foreclosures, delay claims, and design/construction defect and mold claims.
J. DONALD “DON” WASIL is Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Real Estate law. He represents owners, lenders and developers in commercial real estate developments and financings, including acquisitions, sales, workouts, and large multi-state transactions.
JAMES G. WILLARD, Managing Partner of the Orlando office, represents developers and property owners, focusing his practice on development, land use and growth management issues. His transactional work includes lending agreements, conveyancing of income and vacant property, commercial leasing, subdivision development, and condemnation.
The Best Lawyers in America guide is compiled through an exhaustive peer-review survey in which thousands of the top lawyers in the U.S. confidentially evaluate the skills of their professional peers in their locale and area of concentration.
