Cutler Ridge Lawyers

Melissa Paniagua was born in New York City and raised in Miami, Florida. In 2015, She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Studies with a Minor in Philisophy at Florida Gulf Coast University. After college, she moved back home to Miami and went on to obtain her Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University School of Law where she graduated Cum Laude.

While in law school, Ms. Paniagua was a Moot Court board member, part time law clerk at a family law firm and a judicial intern for the Honorable Daryl Trawick, former Circuit Court Judge in the Family...

Lupe Lafont, is a founding member of the firm, practices in the areas of Family Immigration, Fiance Visas, Consular processing, Green cards, Adjustment of Status through marriage, Temporary protected Status (TPS), Naturalization, and Citizenship, Asylum petitions, and DACA. Lupe was born and raised in Venezuela. Lupe attended Universidad Santa Maria, School of Law, graduating with a Juris Doctor Degree in 1999. While in Law school, Lupe served a required judicial clerkship at a Criminal Circuit Court in Caracas, Venezuela. Lupe is a licensed and Bar admitted Attorney in Good Standing in the State of Louisiana. She is an active member of...

Stephanie Vega Graves is a trial attorney who handles personal injury cases. Mrs. Vega Graves has represented severely injured clients in cases involving injuries as a result of slip and falls at popular supermarkets and malls; severe injuries due to construction accidents; wrongful death claims; negligent security outside of nightclubs, bars, parking lots and apartment complexes including shootings and assaults; pool drownings; premises liability; car accidents; dram shop; liquor liability; brain injuries; medical malpractice and bad faith claims handling by insurance companies. Mrs. Vega Graves has obtained legal experience at prominent real estate and personal injury law...

Stephen Renick grew up in the South Florida area, and graduated from the University of Miami with an undergraduate degree in Business Administration in 1982. Mr. Renick continued his education at the University of Miami, School of Law, graduating with his law degree in 1986. He has been licensed to practice law in the State of Florida since 1987. Mr. Renick practices in the areas of Workers’ Compensation, Social Security Disability, Wage & Hour/Overtime, and Personal Injury.

Joseph Gurian is principal of the Gurian Group, a law firm that specializes in immigration, criminal law, estate planning and probate. He is a proud alumnus of Florida International University; where he received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology and then went on to receive his Doctorate of Law at St. Thomas University. Joseph was inspired to become an immigration attorney after visiting the Holocaust Museum in Miami Beach where he saw his great grandfather’s name, for whom he was named after, on the memorial wall. His family came to the US, fleeing persecution in Poland and a...

Eliot T. Brais is the sole and managing shareholder in his North Attleboro, Massachusetts office. He began his law career in 1988, joining his father, Ronald A. Brais, who had enjoyed a 40 year practice primarily concentrating on estate planning and small business law.

In his father’s footsteps, Eliot T. Brais’ areas of expertise include estate and business planning. Over the years, Eliot’s practice areas expanded to include real estate, real estate development and criminal law having handled in excess of 1,000 criminal cases and 50 trials.

Eliot T. Brais’ representation of clients’ interests goes well beyond the award of monetary sums...

William J. Kinnear, III is a Partner at Bloom & Kinnear. His practice is focused on Workers' Compensation and Insurance Claims matters. He has extensive litigation experience, including settlement conferences, depositions, and doctor's meetings. Additionally, he has an extensive background in appeals and legal analysis. Mr. Kinnear is committed to exceptional advocacy focused on maximizing your recovery as soon as possible.

Mr. Kinnear received his B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College. In 1985, he obtained his J.D. from Rutgers School of Law. Mr. Kinnear is a member of the Florida Bar Association and Florida Workers Advocates.

Founding Partner of the firm Bloom & Kinnear. Practicing exclusively in the fields of personal injury and workers' compensation since 1984. Mr. Bloom has represented more than 3,000 clients for accidents involving automobiles, bicycles, pedestrians, trucks, dangerous premises, defective products, animal attacks, wrongful death, brain damage, paralysis, loss of limbs, defective elevators, railroad intersection, construction site, workplace injuries, catastrophic injuries and more.

I was born and raised in Miami, Florida to a Nicaraguan mother and Dominican father. I graduated summa cum laude from Florida State University with a major in International Relations with a concentration in Political Science and minors in both Psychology and Economics. I then graduated from Fordham Law School in New York, where I represented clients detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba through Fordham's International Justice Clinic and served as secretary of the Latin American Law Student Association. Upon graduating from law school, I practiced law in New York for several years defending pharmaceutical and insurance companies. Although I found...

Henry P. Bell is an experienced criminal law and white collar defense attorney. Mr. Bell represents clients in a myriad of criminal matters: bank fraud, health care fraud, money laundering, public corruption, FCPA, wire fraud and other serious federal and state offenses. Mr. Bell also represents clients in civil lawsuits and government enforcement actions involving allegations of malfeasance, fraud and dishonesty.

Clayton D. Hackney is a junior partner with the law firm of DiBello, Lopez & Castillo, P.A. His practice is concentrated in the areas of general commercial litigation, real estate litigation, construction litigation, and appellate practice. He has represented clients in the state and federal courts of Florida on a wide range of matters, including contract disputes, business torts, commercial and residential landlord/tenant matters, and construction lien claims.

Family law, dependency law and termination of parental rights. Specializing in appeals.

Michelle has concentrated in the area of plaintiffs’ civil trial practice since the beginning of her legal career. Her experience includes land-based and admiralty/maritime personal injury, wrongful death, and class action litigation. Michelle works closely with her clients and will always take the time to address their concerns and provide an honest assessment of their cases.

Michelle was co-lead counsel in a jury trial in Broward County resulting in one of the top 100 personal injury verdicts in Florida in the year 2017. She is fluent in Spanish.

Isabel Yague is a business and franchise law attorney with extensive experience in both corporate counsel and law firm positions in the U.S. and Spain. Over her legal career, Ms. Yague acquired wide experience drafting and negotiating various types of complex contracts and agreements to advance business interests of her clients in Latin America, Europe, and the United States. In Spain, Isabel Yague was a corporate attorney at a multinational insurance company Mapfre Empresas. In the U.S., Isabel worked as a corporate counsel for two international franchisors – 100 Montaditos and Hair Club for Men. Also, she was first an...

At the Law Offices of Kirshner, Groff & Diaz, our entire practice is devoted to securing fair compensation for people hurt through no fault of their own. Our Miami attorneys understand the defenses and tactics employed by insurers and won’t let you be intimidated into accepting less than you deserve. For more than 30 years, we’ve guided clients through the litigation process so that they could obtain a measure of justice for the harm done to them.

I was born in Havana, Cuba and was raised in Miami, Florida. In 2005, I graduated from Florida International University with a major in Criminal Justice and a minor in Political Science. Thereafter, I had the privilege to work alongside two prominent attorneys who practice probate, maritime, and personal injury law. That experience inspired me to continue my studies and pursue my lifelong dream of becoming an attorney. In 2010, I entered the Corporate MBA program at Florida International University and graduated in the fall of 2011. I received my Juris Doctor Degree from Florida International University College of Law...

Jordan E. Bublick is a Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer with offices in Kendall & North Miami. Jordan E. Bublick has over 25 years of experience in practicing chapter 7 and 13 bankruptcy law.

Linda graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Florida and then entered the Management Training program at the First National Bank of Miami (Southeast Bank). She was elected an officer of the bank after three years. During her time at the bank, she took graduate courses in Finance from Florida International University. She returned to the University of Florida to earn a J.D. degree. After the J.D. program, she attended the postdoctoral LL.M. program at New York University where she earned an LL.M. in Taxation. This degree program is considered the top tax law program in...

Daniel is a third-generation attorney who joined the firm in 2014 after graduating with honors from St. Thomas University School of Law. Prior to attending St. Thomas, Daniel received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida and high school degree from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. Daniel focuses his practice primarily on probate and guardianship administration and litigation, estate planning, and civil litigation. He has successfully participated and argued several appeals in the Third District Court of Appeals. Daniel is also a title agent for Old Republic National Title Insurance Company and represents buyers and sellers in real estate transactions. Beyond the...

Mr. Mermell has been the senior partner for the past twenty years in a firm that specializes in the representation of injured workers; Mr. Mermell has handled the claims of over 2,000 injured workers during the past 27 years; Mr. Mermell has tried numerous cases before the Office of Administrative Law Judges and has successfully handled appeals to the Benefits Review Board and the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit; Mr. Mermell was trained by Donald D. Gillis, Esquire, who had over 35 years of experience in handling DBA/Longshoremen’s claims; Mr. Mermell has been Florida Bar Board...

Stefanie Black is a litigation attorney handling passengers’ personal injury claims and crewmember cases as well as non-maritime personal injury claims. She has experience in maritime personal injury litigation as well as cargo claims against ocean carriers in federal court. Ms. Black enjoys state and federal court practice with a history of countless successful trials. She is passionate about providing exceptional representation to the firm’s clients throughout all stages of the litigation process. Stefanie obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from Barry University School of Law and graduated in the top 18% of her class. While in law school, she received the...

Jacqueline Garcell is a senior partner and active trial attorney in maritime law for Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. She routinely handles passengers’ personal injury, sexual assault and wrongful death claims, as well as non-maritime personal injury claims. Ms. Garcell is the fastest attorney to ever make partner at the firm, having been promoted to the partner position after being with us for a decade. Ms. Garcell has helped settle hundreds of cases on behalf of both cruise ship passengers and crew members. She achieved one of the Top 50 Personal Injury Verdicts in Florida in 2017 — this rare and...

Elstein Legal is a boutique law firm in Miami, Florida specializing in personal injury, car accidents, wrongful death, medical and nursing home negligence, and complex commercial litigation. Our law firm has experience aggressively representing victims and their families in a variety of injury related matters. Brian Elstein’s personalized approach to the practice of law allows Elstein Legal to get the very best results for our clients.

Eric was born and raised in Miami, Florida. After graduating from the University of Florida, he went on to attend law school at St. Thomas University in Miami.

DAVID M. CARNRIGHT practices in the areas of Insurance Litigation, Foreclosure Defense, Labor and Employment Litigation, Receiverships and Security litigation, Bankruptcy and Creditor’s Rights, Complex Business Litigation and Commercial Litigation. Prior to founding CARNRIGHT VELASQUEZ PA, Mr. Carnight worked for Damian & Valori LLP, a prominent Miami-based law firm. Mr. Carnright is a current member of the The Florida Bar, Cuban American Bar Association, Dade County Bar Association and The Lawyers Section of the Belen Alumni Association. ? Mr. Carnright received his law degree from Fordham University School of Law (J.D., 2010) in New York City, where he served...

Mrs. Capote represents businesses with regulatory compliance issues and litigation. She focuses her practice on representing clients before regulatory agencies, such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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With over 25 years of experience litigating Personal Injury Cases, Jonathan Groff assumes primary responsibility for Kirshner, Groff & Diaz's major claims litigation and trial practice. From early on, Mr. Groff is involved in the investigation, development, settlement negotiation, and when necessary, litigation of catastrophic injury and death cases; as well as complex liability claims. He has successfully tried numerous cases to verdict and settled countless other injury claims for clients.

Mr. Groff is honored to have achieved Martindale-Hubbell® Law Directory's highest rating, "AV® , Preeminent", which is "...a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her...

Karen Grossman has over 35 years’ experience as a maritime attorney, and as a trial attorney handles cruise passengers’ and crewmembers’ personal injury claims, including shipboard medical malpractice, slip and falls, and serious injuries. She is particularly skilled at representing victims of sexual assault with sensitivity and discretion. Ms. Grossman worked for many years representing all major cruise lines and has a unique understanding of the challenges associated with living and vacationing on a cruise ship. She now focuses her career on representing persons injured on cruise ships and devotes her time to getting top results for passengers and crew...

Patrick B. North is originally from Tampa, Florida where he graduated from Tampa Jesuit High School. He graduated college from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida where he played on the 1988 National Championship Baseball Team. In 1992 he graduated from St. Thomas University School of Law. He began his career at Salomon, Kanner, Damian & Rodriguez after graduating law school where he worked on complex commercial transactions and litigation. He later joined the insurance defense firm of Ligman, Martin & Evans in Coral Gables, Florida. In 1999, he joined forces with Jack Woodard to form Woodard & North. Pat...

Elizabeth Irazabal is a litigation attorney handling cruise ship passenger personal injury claims and crewmember claims as well as non-maritime personal injury claims. She is dedicated to providing exceptional service and representation to the firm’s clients throughout all stages of the litigation process. “When clients call for our help, they seek answers and guidance. My driving passion is to be the voice for our clients to help them feel whole again.” Elizabeth was born and raised in Miami, Florida and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Central Florida earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Studies. While completing her...