Firm Brochure

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O R L A N D O | TA M PA | S E B A S T I A N | F O R T L A U D E R DA L E

Innovative. Assertive. Distinguished.

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RECOGNIZED in U.S. News & World Report as one of the Best Law Firms in America.

“We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

- ARISTOTLE

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RISSMAN.COM

Founded in 1972, Rissman, Barrett, Hurt, Donahue, McLain & Mangan, P.A. has attracted a loyal and growing clientele by providing superior legal services. The firm has grown from a one-person law office into one of Florida’s most substantial firms. The firm provides legal services thoughout the state with offices in Orlando, Tampa, Sebastian and Fort Lauderdale.

The firm is very proud of its history but is likewise dedicated to its future. The firm continues to meet the challenges of the increasingly complex needs of its expanding client base and remains committed to providing its clients with the highest quality of legal and client services. The firm recognizes that every client has unique needs and goals and has taken an innovative approach to tailoring its representation to those specific needs.

The firm has an AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell, a rating which signifies its commitment to excellence. The firm has also been recognized for its success, including selection as one of “Florida’s Top Ranked Law Firms” by The Wall Street Journal in conjunction with Lexis Nexis/Martindale-Hubbell.

The firm’s philosophy is to represent its clients in a team-like approach in order to properly facilitate the client’s wishes. If the client is interested in resolving the matter, the firm will see that the case gets economically settled. If the client desires that the case be tried, the firm is prepared to aggressively represent that client in court. The firm’s goal is to provide top quality legal services at a reasonable cost.

Offices in Orlando, Tampa, Sebastian and Fort Lauderdale.

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AREAS OF LAW

Workers’ Compensation Defense The law firm is widely considered as one of the premier workers’ compensation firms in the state of Florida.

Its members are regularly involved in defending the most complex of cases at the mediation, trial and appellate level. Attorneys experienced in litigating occupational injuries advise and educate employers on risk mitigation strategies and, upon request, will create an informative and entertaining instructional seminar for employers and their employees.

Senior partner, Steve Rissman, has been Program Chair of the Workers' Compensation Educational Conference for over 30 years. It is the premier educational conference and largest gathering of Workers' Compensation professionals in the country. The firm and its lawyers take a leadership role in educating their clients as well as the industry as a whole.

Commercial and Business Practices The firm handles all types of transactional and dispute-related issues for individuals and business entities, as well as construction, commercial and environmental matters. The firm also defends employers against Equal Employment Opportunity charges and litigation at the federal, state and local levels, in addition to employment-at-will and contractual claims in federal and state courts.

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RISSMAN.COM

OUR FIRM HAS TRIED OVER 1,500 JURY TRIALS TO VERDICT.

Liability Defense The firm is extensively involved in the defense of civil litigation matters in state and federal courts at both the trial and appellate levels. It represents corporations, self-insured employers, liability insurance carriers and their insureds in all types of personal injury, wrongful death and tort cases. The firm prides itself on the significant trial experience of its attorneys. The firm’s attorneys have tried over 1,500 jury trials to conclusion and are widely recognized for their success in the courtroom. This experience provides two demonstrable benefits to its clients. First, the opposition knows that the firm will take cases to trial and win. Second, the fact that the opposition knows the firm will try cases often impacts the ability to achieve pretrial resolution on better terms for the firm’s clients.

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EQUALITY IN IN ACHIEVEMENT

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The firm is committed to being a leader in diversity and is dedicated to the education, retention and advancement of all professionals that is inclusive of all ages, races, genders and lifestyles.

This dedication is evident in the accomplishments of its women attorneys.

Over 55% of the firm’s associates are women and within the partnership, over 89% of the women lawyers were elevated to partner (and successfully maintain that role) while balancing work with motherhood. Women lawyers within the firm have made significant achievements within the industry including creating and managing a regional office; being selected as Lawyer of the Year by Orlando Workers' Compensation Defendants and Best Lawyers in America; being named amongst Orlando's Top Lawyers; and acting as lead trial counsel in high exposure cases successfully tried to verdict.

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WE ARE PROUD TO REPRESENT THESE CLIENTS

RISSMAN.COM

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OUR TEAM of Experienced Attorneys Includes Litigators who are Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar and those who have been Recognized Amongst The Best Lawyers in America®.

meet our partners R. Clifton Acord, II ATTORNEY AT LAW clifton.acord@rissman.com

David K. Beach ATTORNEY AT LAW david.beach@rissman.com

R. Clifton Acord II works in the Tampa office.

His practice concentrates on Medical Malpractice and General Liability Defense.

David K. Beach works in the Tampa office.

His practice area includes Workers’ Compensation, Insurance Defense and Appellate matters.

Robert C. Barrett ATTORNEY AT LAW robert.barrett@rissman.com

Howard L. Citron ATTORNEY AT LAW howard.citron@rissman.com

Robert C. Barrett works in the Orlando Office. His practice focuses on complex Workers’ Compensation matters.

Howard L. Citron works in the Fort Lauderdale office. His practice concentrates on Medical Malpractice, Vehicular Negligence and General Liability Insurance Defense.

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THE FIRM EMPLOYS OVER 70 LAWYERS OF DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND VARYING EXPERIENCE LEVELS.

Edward M. Copeland IV ATTORNEY AT LAW edward.copeland@rissman.com Edward M. Copeland IV works in the Tampa office. His practice concentrates on Insurance Defense and Medical Malpractice claims.

Robert A. Donahue ATTORNEY AT LAW robert.donahue@rissman.com

John P. Daly ATTORNEY AT LAW john.daly@rissman.com

Robert A. Donahue is the managing partner of the Sebastian Office. His practice concentrates on Workers’ Compensation Defense.

John P. Daly works in the Orlando office. His practice concentrates on Employers’ Liability, Premises Liability, First and Third Party Auto Claims, Commercial and Construction Litigation, Legal Malpractice, Insurance Coverage, Product and Professional Liability and Insurance and Workers’ Compensation Defense.

Sean M. Crocker ATTORNEY AT LAW sean.crocker@rissman.com

Christopher E. Dennis ATTORNEY AT LAW christopher.dennis@rissman.com

Sean M. Crocker works in the Orlando office. His practice concentrates on Workers’ Compensation, Insurance Defense and Employers’ Liability.

Christopher E. Dennis works in the Orlando office. His practice area concentrates on Workers’ Compensation, Subrogation and Insurance Defense.

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Jannine Galvez ATTORNEY AT LAW jannine.galvez@rissman.com

Christopher A. Hanson ATTORNEY AT LAW christopher.hanson@rissman.com

Jannine Galvez works in the Orlando office. Her practice area concentrates on Workers’ Compensation Defense.

Christopher A. Hanson works in the Tampa office. He practices exclusively in the area of Workers’ Compensation Defense.

Gregory Giannuzzi ATTORNEY AT LAW greg.giannuzzi@rissman.com

F. Dean Hewitt ATTORNEY AT LAW dean.hewitt@rissman.com

Gregory Giannuzzi works in the Tampa office. He is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediator as well as Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer. Mr. Giannuzzi’s practice areas are Civil Litigation and Liability Insurance Defense.

F. Dean Hewitt works in the Orlando office.

His practice concentrates on Personal Injury, Commercial Litigation, Insurance Coverage Disputes, and Environmental Litigation. Mr. Hewitt is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer by the Florida Board of Legal Specialization and Education.

Theodore N. Goldstein ATTORNEY AT LAW theodore.goldstein@rissman.com

Jennings L. Hurt III ATTORNEY AT LAW bucky.hurt@rissman.com

Theodore N. Goldstein works in the Orlando office. His practice concentrates on Workers’ Compensation Defense.

Jennings L. “Bucky” Hurt III is managing partner of the firm and works in the Orlando office. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer and a Board Certified Civil Pretrial Practice Lawyer by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Stacie B. Greene ATTORNEY AT LAW stacie.greene@rissman.com Stacie B. Greene works in the Orlando office. Her practice concentrates on Workers’ Compensation Defense.

ALL OF THE FIRM'S PARTNERS ARE AV RATED BY MARTINDALE-HUBBELL.

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Daniel T. Jaffe ATTORNEY AT LAW dan.jaffe@rissman.com

Raymond A. Lopez ATTORNEY AT LAW raymond.lopez@rissman.com

Dan Jaffe works in the Tampa office. He practices exclusively in the area of Workers Compensation Defense.

Raymond A. Lopez works in the Orlando office. His practice concentrates on Workers’ Compensation Defense.

Henry (Skip) W. Jewett II ATTORNEY AT LAW henry.jewett@rissman.com

Richard B. Mangan, Jr ATTORNEY AT LAW richard.mangan@Rissman.com

Henry W. (Skip) Jewett II works in the Orlando office. His practice is devoted to defending Medical Malpractice and general liability lawsuits.

Richard Mangan is the managing partner of the Tampa office. He is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer by the Florida Board of Legal Specialization & Education as well as a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. His practice concentrates on Medical Malpractice and Insurance Defense.

Beatriz E. Justin ATTORNEY AT LAW betty.justin@rissman.com

John E. McLain III ATTORNEY AT LAW john.mclain@rissman.com

Beatriz E. Justin works in the Tampa office. Her practice concentrates on Workers’ Compensation, Insurance Defense and General Liability Defense.

John E. McLain III works in the Orlando office. His practice is devoted to workers’ compensation insurance defense.

David R. Kuhn ATTORNEY AT LAW david.kuhn@rissman.com

Eric F. Ochotorena ATTORNEY AT LAW eric.ochotorena@rissman.com

David R. Kuhn works in the Orlando office. His practice concentrates on Insurance Defense, Medical Malpractice Defense, Nursing Home Defense and Premises Liability.

Eric F. Ochotorena works in the Tampa office. His practice concentrates on Medical Malpractice, Premises Liability, Nursing Home Litigation, Auto/Trucking Litigation and employment related cases.

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Karissa L. Owens ATTORNEY AT LAW karissa.owens@rissman.com

Steven A. Rissman ATTORNEY AT LAW steve.rissman@rissman.com

Karissa L. Owens is the managing partner of the Fort Lauderdale office. Her practice concentrates on Medical Malpractice, Product Liability, Employer Liability, Premises Liability, Auto/Trucking Liability and business/commercial litigation.

Steven A. Rissman works in the Orlando office and concentrates his practice on Workers’ Compensation Insurance Defense. He is also the recipient of the W.L. “Bud” Award for Excellence in the Workers’ Compensation Field.

Jeremy T. Palma ATTORNEY AT LAW jeremy.palma@rissman.com Jeremy T. Palma works in the Orlando office. His practice concentrates on Medical Malpractice and Auto Liability.

Elise G. Phillips ATTORNEY AT LAW elise.phillips@rissman.com Elise G. Philips works in the Orlando office.

Her practice concentrates on Workers’ Compensation Defense.

Daniel M. Pollack ATTORNEY AT LAW daniel.pollack@rissman.com Daniel M. Pollack works in the Sebastian office. His practice concentrates on Workers’ Compensation Defense.

Juan A. Ruiz ATTORNEY AT LAW juan.ruiz@rissman.com Juan A. Ruiz works in the Orlando office.

His practice concentrates on Medical Malpractice and he is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar.

Isaac R. Ruiz-Carus ATTORNEY AT LAW isaac.ruiz@rissman.com Isaac R. Ruiz-Carus works in the Tampa office. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, New York and New Mexico and has represented clients in state and federal courts throughout the United States. His practice is devoted to complex business litigation spanning a wide variety of practice areas including health care litigation, bet-thecompany litigation, intellectual property, product liability, constitutional law, tax and bankruptcy.

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Nicole D. Ruocco ATTORNEY AT LAW nicole.ruocco@rissman.com

Richard S. Womble ATTORNEY AT LAW richard.womble@rissman.com

Nicole D. Ruocco works in the Orlando office with a practice area concentrating on Insurance Defense.

Richard S. Womble works in the Orlando office His practice concentrates on Civil Litigation and Liability Insurance Defense and he is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer.

Jill M. Spears ATTORNEY AT LAW jill.spears@rissman.com

Art C. Young ATTORNEY AT LAW art.young@rissman.com

Jill M. Spears works in the Orlando office.

Her practice area concentrates on Workers’ Compensation and Insurance Defense.

Art C. Young works in the Orlando office His practice concentrates on Insurance Defense, Medical Malpractice, Products Liability, Personal Injury and Construction Litigation.

Meredith M. Stephens ATTORNEY AT LAW meredith.stephens@rissman.com

Christine V. Zharova ATTORNEY AT LAW christine.zharova@rissman.com

Meredith M. Stephens works in the Orlando office. Her practice concentrates on Insurance Defense and Medical Malpractice.

Christine V. Zharova works in the Orlando office. Her practice concentrates on Insurance Defense, Medical Malpractice and Insurance Coverage with a special focus on Medicare Compliance.

UPON REQUEST, OUR LAWYERS WILL CREATE A COMPLIMENTARY LEGAL EDUCATION SEMINAR DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUR COMPANY.

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OUR POLICY

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“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”

- VINCE LOMBARDI

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WE will . . .

Deliver legal opinions that can be relied upon.

Work with clients and adjusters to develop case disposition strategies within the ďŹ rst 20 days of the assignment.

Strive to provide all reports timely per the client/insurer’s guidelines.

Provide detailed budgets through trial.

Provide detailed evaluations with the necessary information to analyze exposure.

Identify early which cases should be settled and those that should be tried.

Timely return phone calls.

Timely respond to emails.

Not surprise clients/adjusters with the late disclosure of facts, witnesses or other information that should have been known earlier.

Not handle a case for months/years as "defensible" then insist it be settled just before trial with information that should have been known earlier.

Obtain authority with updated budgets if additional work is required.

Provide quality work with a strong customer service work ethic. We respect and honor the client's choice of attorney and any request to utilize associates and paralegals for efficient case handling.

Not engage in unnecessary discovery and will do all that we can to minimize expense.

Consistently win the vast majority of trials with our experienced and dedicated attorneys.

Understand that you deserve superior service and we will make every effort to provide this service.

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ORLANDO

TAMPA

SEBASTIAN

FORT LAUDERDALE

201 E. Pine Street 15th Floor Orlando, FL 32801

One North Dale Mabry Hwy. 11th Floor Tampa, FL 33609

709 Sebastian Boulevard Suite B Sebastian, FL 32958

6451 N. Federal Hwy Suite 400 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308

T. 407-839-0120 F. 407-841-9726

T. 813-221-3114 F. 813-221-3033

T. 772-228-3228 F. 772-228-3229

T. 954-526-5480 F. 954-745-7258

Bucky Hurt bucky.hurt@rissman.com

Richard Mangan richard.mangan@Rissman.com

Bob Donahue robert.donahue@rissman.com

Karissa L. Owens karissa.owens@rissman.com