South Miami Maritime Lawyers

Florida Board Certified Admiralty & Maritime Attorney; "AV" Preeminent Rated with Martindale-Hubbell; Member of Multi-Million & Million Dollar Advocates Forum; Super Lawyer Member & Lecturer ... Southeastern Admiralty Law Committee; Member & Lecturer ... Ft. Lauderdale Mariner's Club; Three U.S. Coast Guard Marine Engineering Licenses (Inactive); Sailed seven (7) years aboard Offshore Drilling Platforms; Specialties: Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Resort-Vacation, Negligent Security, Sexual Assault, Premises Liability, Pool & Hot Tub Entrapment Drowning Claims. Admiralty & Maritime Lawyer licensed in Florida & Massachusetts.

Charles R. Lipcon has represented victims of cruise ship personal injury and cruise line sexual assault and claims for more than 50 years. His firm, Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A., has successfully handled more than 3,000 cases and recovered well over $300 million on behalf of their clients. Mr. Lipcon was named "Lawyer of the Year" in Admiralty & Maritime by US News & World Report (Miami) in 2020 and his firm is named to "Best Law Firms" by US News & World Report. Mr. Lipcon and his firm can assist with the following types of accidents and injuries: - Cruise...

Spencer Aronfeld, is a board-certified civil trial lawyer who has earned international recognition as being a “lawyer for the people.” Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Wichita, Kansas, Aronfeld graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1991. Upon graduation, he founded his own firm, Aronfeld Trial Lawyers, based in Coral Gables, Florida.

He has dedicated his life to representing individuals against corporate giants, such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Disney Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Holland America Cruise Lines, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Stryker, Target, Publix, Walmart, Mt....

David Pollack is an AV rated attorney who specializes in complex business litigation and appeals. His practice focuses on maritime, labor and employment, defamation, and construction litigation. In 2006, Mr. Pollack obtained the largest verdict in an internet defamation case in the United States, which was later affirmed on appeal. Mr. Pollack regularly represents businesses in cases involving defamation, employment discrimination, wage and overtime claims, and other commercial matters. He also represents passengers and crew members in cases involving maritime personal injuries. Mr. Pollack has written and argued more than 50 appeals before the Third District Court of Appeal, the...

Justin B. Shapiro is a partner at Leesfield & Partners, a renowned personal injury law firm located in Miami, Florida. Upon graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Miami School of Law, Mr. Shapiro joined the firm and immediately focused his practice on catastrophic injury cases and wrongful death cases. Upon being named Partner, Justin Shapiro obtained a record verdict of $36,960,000.00 in a wrongful death.

Jason Turchin, Esq. is an Attorney, Author, Media Correspondent, Producer and Entrepreneur who has handled more than 6,500 Personal Injury, Accident, Product Liability, Life Insurance, and Wrongful Death Claims. Jason has appeared throughout the national and international news on various legal topics, including car accidents, wrongful death, product liability, Takata airbag shrapnel claims, exploding pressure cooker claims, life insurance, personal injury and more. Several major media outlets have turned to Jason for legal opinions or stories on his cases, including CBS Evening News, Wall Street Journal, Miami Herald, Bloomberg News, CBS Miami, Orlando Sentinel, Sun Sentinel, Telemundo, The New...

Mitchell J. Panter is Board Certified as a Civil Trial Lawyer by the Florida Bar and National Board of Trial Advocacy, primarily practicing in the areas of Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Product Liability, Sexual Assault, Food Contamination and Premises Liability Cases. Mitchell Panter is also Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in Civil Trial Advocacy since 1996. At the age of 31, Mitchell Panter argued the case of American Aerial Lift v. Jose Perez in the Florida Supreme Court addressing the issue of Strict Liability and Product Liability. This precedent setting case involved the award of a...

Raul G. Delgado II is personal injury attorney who is a lifelong resident of Miami, Florida. Mr. Delgado’s practice focuses exclusively on the representation of injured passengers and crew members who were hurt on cruise ships around the world, in addition to those who are the victims of catastrophic injury or wrongful death involving auto, truck, motor vehicle accidents, recreational boating, negligent security, premises liability, and victims of crime. He is a member of the Florida Bar’s Admiralty Law Committee which is responsible for studying developments in this niche area of the law and informing members of the Bar of...

Curtis J. Mase is the Managing Shareholder and founder of Mase Mebane & Seitz. He is board certified in civil trial law by the Florida Bar and National Board of Trial Advocates (NBTA). Mr. Mase is also board certified in pretrial practice by the NBTA. His main area of practice is civil litigation with an emphasis on maritime and admiralty, personal injury and class actions. Mr. Mase has tried hundreds of jury and non-jury matters. Born in Coral Gables, Florida, Mr. Mase earned his B.A. with a dual major in English and Business from Florida State University in 1982. He graduated...

Holzberg Legal is a Maritime and Personal Injury Law Firm in Miami, Florida. We are uniquely positioned to represent passengers and crewmembers against all major cruise lines as the majority are headquartered in Miami, Florida, including Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, and Norwegian Cruise Line. Most Cruise Lines require that if you are injured, you must file suit in Federal Court in the Southern District of Florida. For over 30 years, we have been representing passengers and crew injured on cruises, on pleasure boats, yachts, jet skis. we specialize in medical malpractice by ships doctors and...

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...

Brandon Stein is a Florida based trial attorney born in Queens, New York, and was raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Being the son of an accountant that owns a large firm in New Jersey, owning and operating a business is something that was engrained within Brandon Stein from a very young age.

As owner and founder of SteinLaw, Brandon Stein focuses his practice on personal injury, wrongful death, car accident and slip and fall litigation, as well as a variety of other civil litigation areas. While SteinLaw is based out of Florida, Attorney Stein handles cases all around the country.

Being...

“Achieving substantial compensation for our seriously injured clients in a way that dramatically improves the quality of their lives is the most satisfying thing about the work that we do.” Robert B. Boyers

James Hannon is a native of Miami, Florida and a founding shareholder of the law firm, Hannon Legal Group. The firm began on Brickell Avenue in the heart of Miami's financial district and relocated to central downtown Dadeland. The Firm specializes in serious personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, negligent security, dialysis errors, pharmacy errors, premises liability, defective products, crime victim's rights, cruise line negligence and insurance claims.

Mr. Hannon holds an AV Preeminent Rating - the highest rating for legal skill and ethics - in the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory and has been repeatedly recognized as one of the "Best Lawyers...

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...

Widely respected for his courtroom skills and tenacity, Hector J. Lombana has devoted his career to protecting the rights of victims. After spending the first years of his legal career defending corporations, insurance companies, physicians and hospitals, Mr. Lombana has dedicated himself solely to helping individuals. The knowledge gained representing corporations and insurance companies are one of the many weapons he brings to bear in his relentless advocacy for our clients.

A native of Havana, Cuba, Mr. Lombana graduated with High Honors from Rutgers University where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He then excelled at Rutgers University Law School,...

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.

Manny Arce is a civil trial lawyer whose practice focuses on personal injury claims including medical malpractice, wrongful death, auto accidents, premise liability, and defective products. He prides himself in his aggressive negotiation skills and impassioned advocacy on behalf of his clients.

Manny is a second generation Cuban-American who received his undergraduate degree at the Florida International University where he majored in Political Science. While attending F.I.U., he was nominated to the Honor Society of Pi Sigma Alpha.

He received his law degree from the University Of Miami School Of Law. While attending U.M., Manny was an active participant in multiple organizations....

Eliana Aklepi is a litigation attorney handling passenger personal injury, sexual assault, and crewmember cases. Eliana prioritizes working closely with clients, ensuring their stories are heard. Eliana’s undergraduate degree from Drexel University allowed her to work with artists, helping them avoid exploitative contracts. This work sparked her desire to fight corporations with abusive labor practices. Eliana received her law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. In law school, she focused her studies on international law and labor. Her interest in maritime law stems from her work in Cardozo Law School’s Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic, the only...

Mr. Russell passed the Florida Bar in 2016, and began his career in Maritime Personal Injury Defense work. Mr. Russell joined the Law offices of Gillis, Mermell & Pacheco, P.A. in 2018. Mr. Russell handles his own case load and is closely supervised by Clifford Mermell and David Pacheco, who have over 46 years of combined experience in handling Defense Base Act and Longshore cases. Mr. Russell has also quickly accelerated his learning curve and is proficient in new client intakes, informal conferences, the discovery process, settlement evaluations, and demands, and general handling of all aspects of a DBA...

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...

Percy Martinez is a committed Miami personal injury lawyer with over 20 years experience. From medical malpractice, car accidents to wrongful death we cover pretty much every aspect of personal injury.

Alex Perez is an active litigator licensed to practice law in all Florida Federal and State Courts, including Appellate Courts. Mr. Perez also routinely handles International Arbitrations pending in countries all over the world. Mr. Perez has secured millions of dollars for his clients. Mr. Perez primarily represents passengers injured on cruise ships, crewmembers injured on cruise ships, cargo vessels, oil tankers and other commercial sea going vessels, and handles a variety of recreational marine cases involving yachts, pleasure boats and jet skis. Before starting his practice, Mr. Perez attended Tulane University Law School where he pursued a course of study in...

A native Miamian, Marc earned his undergraduate degree from American University in Washington D.C. graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. He attended law school at Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, FL. While in law school, Marc earned the William F. Blews Pro Bono Service Award and studied abroad at Nankai University located in Tianjin, China. The semester abroad allowed Marc to have a wider outlook on life and appreciate cultural differences which has come in handy when working with clients. After graduating from law school, Marc has practiced in state courts throughout Florida and...

Heather Smith is a seasoned litigation attorney who handles cruise ship passenger and crew member personal injury claims, as well as personal injury claims against hotels. Mrs. Smith has a wealth of litigation experience, as she worked as an attorney at the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office for over a decade. She has tried more than a dozen cases to verdict and has taken thousands of depositions. She also worked briefly at an insurance defense firm. Her lengthy experience gives us an advantage in all of our maritime cases as she is ready willing and able to take on the toughest cases...

Ashley E. Wentz is a litigation attorney handling passenger personal injury and crewmember cases. Ashley received her law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law. After graduating law school, Ashley practiced in the areas of family law and personal injury. Ashley handled numerous trials while practicing family law in Maryland ranging from custody, visitation, and child support disputes. After moving to Georgia, Ashley practiced in the field of personal injury, successfully resolving numerous personal injury cases. Upon relocating to Miami, Ashley found an interest in practicing Maritime law and has been practicing in this field for the past two...

Mr. Margulies is board certified by the Florida Bar as an expert in Admiralty and Maritime Law. To achieve this status, Mr. Margulies had to demonstrate a substantial background in handling maritime cases and maritime law continuing legal education. In addition, Mr. Margulies was rigorously evaluated by the board as to character, ethics, and reputation for professionalism and was required to pass a written examination on all areas of admiralty and maritime law.

Jack Hickey is the lead trial attorney at Hickey Law Firm, P.A. For the first 17 years of his practice he represented Cruise lines and insurance companies. For the last 17 years, he has been trying personal injury and wrongful death cases in the areas of cruise ship accidents, sexual assault and rapes on cruise ships, admiralty and maritime, medical malpractice, premises liability including inadequate security, car, truck and bus crashes, product liability, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other catastrophic, life changing injuries. Hickey is Board Certified in 2 areas, Civil...

Attorney Jason M. Melton, is a founding partner of Whittel & Melton. As a former state prosecutor, he continues fighting for victims bringing in some of the largest single event results in Central Florida. Jason is a lifetime member of the Multi-Million and Million Dollar Advocates Forum, AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and continues to be listed among SuperLawyers in Florida by Thomson Reuters. He is a Founding Member of the National Academy of Motorcycle Injury Lawyers, and in 2023 was named President. Attorney Melton is dedicated to providing clients with personalized, high-quality representation. We handle Auto Accidents, Slip and Fall, Injury, Nursing...