Marian McCulloch Has Become a Certified Member of The Lawyers of Distinction

The Lawyers of Distinction is pleased to announce that Marian P. McCulloch of Tampa, was nominated and has been certified as a member.

Membership is limited to the top 10% of attorneys in the United States. Members are accepted based upon objective evaluation of an attorney’s qualifications, license, reputation, experience, and disciplinary history.

Marian McCulloch is Board Certified in Marital and Family Law by the Florida Board of Legal Specialization and Education. She confines her practice exclusively to Marital & Family Law matters.

For more information see website www.lawyersofdistinction.com

Miriam E. Mason

Allen Dell, P. A. Announces New Shareholder Miriam E. Mason

Allen Dell announces Miriam E. Mason will be a shareholder in our firm, effective January 1, 2017. Miriam is Board Certified in Marital & Family Law, is listed in The Best Lawyers of America, and is rated AV by Martindale Hubbell.

Miriam has held numerous positions, including leadership positions, in the Florida Bar and national, state, and local professional legal associations.

Miriam served on the Marital & Family Law Board Certification and Marital & Family Law Rules Committee of the Florida Bar. While Chair of the Marital & Family Law Rules Committee, Miriam presented the initial rules to the Florida Supreme Court in oral arguments and, as a result, those rules were promulgated by the Florida Supreme Court. She additionally was a contributing author of the Amicus Curiae Brief on behalf of The Family Law Section to the Florida Supreme Court in the Canakaris v. Canakaris decision which created the concept of Equitable Distribution. In addition to being a Past Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, she has been a member of the Executive Council, was Chair of the Education Committee which was in charge of marital and family law seminars presented around the State and was Editor of The Family Law Commentator.

During her long-time fellowship in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), Miriam served a term as President, three terms as Vice President, and has been Secretary, Treasurer and a Member of the Board of Directors. Miriam is also a Past President of the Florida Chapter of the AAML.

Miriam is an Emeritus Diplomat of the American College of Family Trial Lawyers.

Locally, Miriam is a Past President of and presently an Emeritus Master in the J. Clifford Cheatwood Inn of Court.

Please join Allen Dell in welcoming Miriam E. Mason as a shareholder in our firm, effective January 1, 2017.

Best Lawyers®

Allen Dell, P.A. ranked in 2017 “Best Law Firms”

U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers, for the seventh consecutive year, announce the “Best Law Firms” rankings.

Allen Dell, P.A. has been ranked in the 2017 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” list regionally in 6 practice areas. The firm achieved a tier 1 listing in 3 practice areas: Family Law, Health Care Law and Trusts & Estates Law.

Firms included in the 2017 “Best Law Firms” list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.

The 2017 Edition of “Best Law Firms” includes rankings in 74 national practice areas and 122 metropolitan-based practice areas. One “Law Firm of the Year” is named in each of the 74 nationally ranked practice areas.

Ranked firms, presented in tiers, are listed on a national and/or metropolitan scale. Receiving a tier designation reflects the high level of respect a firm has earned among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism and their integrity.

Allen Dell, P.A. received the following rankings in the 2017 U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms”:

Metropolitan (Tampa) Tier 1

Family Law

Health Care Law

Trusts & Estates Law

Metropolitan (Tampa) Tier 2

Non-Profit/Charities Law

Metropolitan (Tampa) Tier 3

Commercial Litigation

Litigation – Construction

 

BEWARE – Do not use your work email for personal communications – a new case makes clear why

The lines between technology and our lives have become so blurred that, for many employees, work email addresses are indistinguishable to their personal ones. Three things you need to know before your hit “send” (1) Emails between you and your attorney on matters not involving the employer’s business (i.e, your divorce) are not protected by attorney client privilege to the extent they are sent, forwarded, or stored on your employer’s communication system, (2) You have no right of privacy on your employer’s email system and your employer can monitor your emails and check on websites that you visit, and (3) That email will always be there, waiting to be discovered.

Bingham v. Baycare Health Sys., 8:14-CV-73-T-23JSS, 2016 WL 3917513, at *1 (M.D. Fla. 2016)

Best Lawyers®

Nine Allen Dell, P.A. Attorneys Named to 2017 Best Lawyers® List

The Best Lawyers In America© recently announced their 2017 Best Lawyers® and named David D. Ferrentino, Tabatha A. Liebert, Donna L. Longhouse, Marian P. McCulloch, Cynthia A. Mikos, Frank J. Rief, III, Joseph W. N. Rugg, Gary Walker and Philip S. Wartenberg as recipients of this outstanding recognition.

For multiple years, Ferrentino, Liebert, Longhouse, McCulloch, Mikos, Rief, Rugg, Walker and Wartenberg have all received this designation. They are recognized in the following areas of law:

David D. Ferrentino, Commercial Litigation

Tabatha A. Liebert, Construction Litigation

Donna L. Longhouse, Trusts and Estates

Marian P. McCulloch, Family Law

Cynthia A. Mikos, Health Care Law

Frank J. Rief III, Non-Profit / Charities Law & Trusts and Estates

Joseph W. N. Rugg, Health Care Law

Gary Walker, Health Care Law

Philip S. Wartenberg, Family Law

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers® lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers® is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers® “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

The Allen Dell law firm, with 22 practicing attorneys, provides representation in over 30 areas of the law and serves the Tampa Bay area as well as clients throughout Florida.

Family law attorney, Michelle G. Hutt, featured in Florida Record article ‘Nothing in life is impossible’ as Rising Star in Super Lawyers

Family law attorney Michelle G. Hutt of Allen Dell, PA in Tampa was recently named to the 2016 list of Rising Stars by Super Lawyers. Ms. Hutt’s professional achievement was recently highlighted in an interview with Florida Record.

Here is a link to the full article on the Florida Record website:

http://flarecord.com/stories/510965879-family-law-attorney-rising-star-nothing-in-life-is-impossible

Cynthia A. Mikos Recognized as Florida Legal Elite

Cynthia A. Mikos was recently recognized in the 2016 edition of Florida Trend’s Florida Legal Elite™. Ms. Mikos has been recognized in the practice area of Health Law and is Board Certified in Health Law by The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education. She represents health care facilities and professionals in their dealings with federal and state regulators, Florida licensing agencies and in business transactions. Ms. Mikos is honored to be recognized by Florida Legal Elite repeatedly since 2012.

Actively practicing Florida attorneys were asked to name the attorneys that they hold in highest regard as professionals – lawyers with whom they have personally worked and would recommend to others. Florida Bar President William J. Schifino, Jr. notes, “My goal is to engage and utilize the incredible resources of legal leaders throughout the state. For the public and our profession, Florida Legal Elite offers a guide to outstanding attorneys recommended by their peers.”

The Allen Dell law firm, with 23 practicing attorneys, provides representation in over 30 areas of the law and serves clients throughout Florida.

The entire Legal Elite report can be viewed at www.FloridaTrend.com/Legal-Elite.

Eight Attorneys Named to the 2016 Florida Super Lawyers

Eight attorneys from the Allen Dell law firm have been named to the 2016 Florida Super Lawyers list. One attorney was named to the 2016 Florida Rising Star list. The attorneys receiving these honors are:

Super Lawyers

David D. Ferrentino, Business Litigation

Donna L. Longhouse, Estate Planning and Probate

Marian P. McCulloch, Family law

Cynthia A. Mikos, Health Care

Joseph W. N. Rugg, Health Care

Amy D. Singer, Family Law

Gary Walker, Health Care

Philip S. Wartenberg, Family Law

Rising Star

Michelle G. Hutt, Family Law

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys (Superlawyers.com).

Homeowner Insurance Rates Are On The Rise

Homeowner Insurance Rates are on the rise….but not because of hurricanes! Water Intrusion Claims are also on the rise…but not because of hurricanes! What are the causes of these increases? Learn how you can better protect yourself from these increases!

Learn the latest regarding:

  • the national flood insurance program and efforts to create a private market in Florida, and
  • legislative efforts to limit the post-loss assignment of insurance benefits under homeowner property insurance policies

The Florida Bar is hosting a 1 hour CLE on Upcoming Legislation for Flood Insurance and Assignment of Insurance Benefits Reform Friday, June 3, at 3pm. For our friends and clients you may all attend the FREE CLE from the comfort of your office or home. Call in and find out what legislative changes to flood insurance are being considered before the NFIP expires in September of 2017. The call-in number and passcode are 1-888-376-5050 Pin: 842 548 4201# (# sign is required)

About the Speakers:

Lisa Miller, CPM, has served as Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief of Staff for the Florida Department of Financial Services, and as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Lobbyist for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Ms. Miller was also the Office of Insurance Regulation’s Board Liaison to many quasi-governmental entities including Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, The Florida Automobile Joint Underwriting Association, The Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association, the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association and the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association. She is currently the owner of her own firm Lisa Miller & Associates, based out of Tallahassee, Florida. She also regularly serves as an expert witness on a variety of insurance and regulatory matters.

Paul Handerhan is board member, FL Association of Public Insurance Adjusters (FAPIA) and policy director for the FL Association for Insurance Reform (FAIR) which is the consumer group who was the lead advocate for Assignment of Benefits legislative reform.

Frederick R. “Fred” Dudley is a partner with Dudley, Sellers, Healy & Heath, P.L. in Tallahassee, Florida. He is a Board Certified Construction Lawyer with over 46 years of experience in real estate and construction law. He is a member of the Executive Councils of both the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and the Administrative Law Section, and practices statewide from Tallahassee, Florida, where he located in 1998 after 16 years of legislative service in both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate, where he served as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Trey Goldman is Legislative Counsel for the Florida Realtors®. He participates in all of their legislative and regulatory efforts, and represents Realtors® before the Florida Legislature, state regulatory agencies, the Governor’s office, and the Cabinet.

5th Annual Tampa Bay Entrepreneurship Gala -Attorney Josef Rosen Will Be Master Of Ceremonies

On Friday, May 20, 2016, the USF Alumni Association will host their 5th Annual Tampa Bay Entrepreneurship Gala benefitting the Michael W. Fountain Scholarship Fund with 2016 Entrepreneur of Year Recipient and Keynote Speaker, Richard Gonzmart. Attorney Josef Rosen will be the Master of Ceremonies for this distinctive event taking place at The Centre Club beginning at 7pm. Attendance, sponsorship and donations have a direct impact on Tampa Bay’s future business leaders as the next scholarship recipient will be announced and previous award winners will be recounted. Please visit the link below for ticket sales, event details and sponsorship information to this special celebration of entrepreneurship and recognition of some of Tampa Bay’s finest business leaders.

5th Annual Tampa Bay Entrepreneurship Gala – Ticket Sales, Event Details and Sponsorship