221 Lawyers Maintain Board Certification, For 30 Years.

TALLAHASSEE, March 18 – The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization & Education is proud to announce that 221 of The Florida Bar members who earned legal board certification in civil trial or tax law in 1983 have maintained their board certification status for 30 years, including eight who hold emeritus specialist status.

In Florida, only board certified lawyers may use the terms “specialist,” “expert” or “B.C.S.” for Board Certified Specialist when referring to their legal credentials. Members who hold emeritus specialist status no longer practice law, but are recognized for their past and continuing contribution in the advancement of the specialty area through other career activities. 
"Maintaining board certification for 30 continuous years is a significant professional accomplishment," said Florida Bar President Gwynne A. Young of Carlton Fields in Tampa. "These individuals are leaders by example in Florida's legal profession and we salute their commitment to excellence and professionalism in the practice of law." 
Board certification evaluates attorneys’ special knowledge, skills and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice. About 4,600 of Florida’s 93,000 lawyers have earned board certification. Florida offers 24 specialty areas for board certification, more than any other state. 
Background. Board certification is The Florida Bar's highest evaluation of attorneys' competence and experience in one or more of the 24 areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida. Florida Bar board certified lawyers must demonstrate ability and experience in their fields and professionalism within the legal community. 
A lawyer who is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar and who meets the standards prescribed by the state's Supreme Court may become board certified in one or more of the 24 certification fields. 
Minimum requirements for certification are listed below; each area of certification may contain higher or additional standards. 
To become a board certified specialist, a lawyer must: 
 

  • be an active member in good standing of The Florida Bar. 
  • practice law for a minimum of five years. 
  • complete approved legal education programs. 
  • demonstrate substantial experience in the specialty area. 
  • be favorably evaluated by judges and other lawyers as to competency and professionalism in the specialty field.
  • pass a comprehensive written examination in the specialty area or satisfy strict criteria to exempt the exam.

Board certification is valid for five years. During that time, the attorney must continue to practice law and attend Florida Bar-approved continuing legal education courses. 
Recertification requirements are similar to those for initial certification. Not all qualified lawyers are certified, but those who are board certified have voluntarily taken the extra step to have their competence and experience evaluated. 
For more information, please visit The Florida Bar Web site at Floridabar.org/certification or contact The Florida Bar’s Legal Specialization & Education Department at (850) 561-5842. 
The lawyers grouped below by judicial circuit, cities and specialty areas this year are celebrating 30 years of Florida Bar board certification in civil trial or tax law. 
1st Circuit (All from Pensacola)
 
Civil Trial
Thomas Larry Hill
Danny L. Kepner
Fredric Gerson Levin
Tax Law
Robert D. Hart Jr.
William V. Linne
Wright Moulton
2nd Circuit
Monticello
Jon D. Caminez, Civil Trial

Tallahassee
S. William Fuller Jr., Civil Trial
Robert Stephen Hightower, Tax Law
James P. Judkins, Civil Trial
E.C. Deeno Kitchen, Civil Trial
3rd Circuit (Both Civil Trial)
Richard Bradford Davis Jr., Jasper
Bruce Wayne Robinson, Lake City

4th Circuit (All from Jacksonville)
Civil Trial
Charles Wayne Alford
The Honorable Tyrie William Boyer
Thomas R. Brown
William C. Gentry
John Wayne Hogan
Charles C. Howell III
Rutledge Richardson Liles
James Curtis Rinaman Jr.
Robert F. Spohrer
James T. Terrell
Dianne Jay Weaver
Edward Alfred White
Tax Law
Thomas M. Donahoo 
Michael N. Schneider
Frederick R. Short Jr.
5th Circuit (Ocala)
Randy Robert Briggs, Civil Trial
6th Circuit
Belleair Bluffs
Hugh Nilsen Smith, Civil Trial
Clearwater
Civil Trial
Stephen Overstreet Cole
John M. Elias 
Jeffrey Stuart O'Brien

Tax Law
John Marvin Guthrie
Julian Paul Raymond
Saint Petersburg
Civil Trial
William F. Blews
David L. Bresler 
Kenneth C. Deacon Jr.
Larry David Goldstein 
William C. Kaleel Jr.
Thomas D. Masterson 
Peter N. Meros 
Howard P. Ross 
Walter E. Smith 
James Beckett Thompson 
Richard Edward Wolverton
Tax Law
Joel D. Bronstein
7th Circuit (All Civil Trial)
Daytona Beach
William M. Chanfrau
Brian Donovan Hill
Daniel Steven Wallace
Ormond Beach
Paul A. Bernardini
James Lester Kaney
Saint Augustine
Richard Gary Rumrell
8th Circuit (All Civil Trial, All from Gainesville)
Neil Chonin 
Ellsworth William Hoppe Jr.
Leonard E Ireland Jr.

9th Circuit
Orlando
Civil Trial
John W. Bussey III
Craig Cameron
James Nolan Carter
David B. King
William Lee Kirk Jr.
Karl O. Koepke
Sidney Howard Parrish
William Berry Wilson
Council Wooten Jr.
Tax Law
Thomas R. Allen
William A. Boyles
Michael James Canan
Charles Henry Egerton
Donald Frank Jacobs
Richard Monroe Robinson
 
Winter Park

Civil Trial
Elizabeth Hawthorne Faiella, Winter Park
Dan Hudson Honeywell, Winter Park
Holmes Russell Troutman, Winter Park
 
Tax Law
William Parker Battaglia (Emeritus Specialist)
10th Circuit (All Civil Trial)
Ralph Scott Bunn, Winter Haven
Sidney Malcolm Crawford, Lakeland
John Wesley Frost II, Bartow
Robert L. Trohn, Lakeland
Louis James Williams, Lakeland
11th Circuit
Civil Trial
Aventura
Thomas Patrick Ford Jr. (Emeritus Specialist)
Coral Gables
James Curtis Blecke
Carl H. Hoffman Jr.
Steven Michael Siegfried
Miami
Edward Robert Blumberg
Gregory M. Cesarano
Jeffrey Michael Cohen
Steven K. Deutsch
Gary Devenow Fox
Alan Graham Greer
Robert Alfred Lazenby (Emeritus Specialist)
Mark Alan Leibowitz
Harry A. Payton
Burt Edward Redlus
Stephen Frederick Rossman
Melville Stephen Smith III
Larry Scott Stewart
Joel Richard Wolpe
Stephen Neal Zack
Tax Law
Aventura
Lynn Warren Fromberg
Bay Harbor Islands
A. Jeffrey Barash
Coral Gables
Karl Lawrence Gragg
Martin Joel Nash
Sydney S. Traum
Miami
Kenneth Marc Bloom
Nicholas Manuel Daniels
Howard Wayne Gordon
Fredric Alan Hoffman
Melvin J. Jacobowitz
Jeffrey A. Kern
Donna Carol Litman
Robert E. Panoff
Henry Howard Raattama Jr.
Charles Louis Ruffner
Herbert A. Shore
Samuel Charles Ullman
Andrew H. Weinstein
12th Circuit
Civil Trial
Sarasota
Daniel Allison Carlton
George Robert McLain
William Eddins Partridge
Steven George Schember
L. Norman Vaughan-Birch
Venice
Robert C. Widman

Tax Law
Englewood
Harry S. Colburn Jr.

Sarasota
James Oliver Fergeson Jr.
Wayne Franklin Seitl
Venice
Michael D Horlick
13th Circuit
Lutz
Daniel N. Burton, Civil Trial (Emeritus Specialist)
Tampa
Civil Trial
Michael C. Addison
Timothy Gordon Anderson
Honorable Charles Edgar Bergmann
James Richard Caldwell Jr.
William Donald Cox
Patrick Hal Dekle
Dennis Gus Diecidue
Gasper James Ficarrotta
Thomas Michael Foster
Thomas F. Granahan II
Mac A. Greco Jr.
Donald G. Greiwe
Benjamin H. Hill III
A. Woodson Isom Jr.
John Joseph McLaughlin
John Michael Murray
Thomas John Roehn
Clifford L. Somers
William J. Terry
Roger A. Vaughan Jr.
Bill Wagner
Charles Steven Yerrid
Tax Law
Bernard Alan Barton Jr.
Joseph D. Edwards 
Merritt Ames Gardner
William Kalish
15th Circuit
Boca Raton
Lawrence Burton Friedman, Civil Trial
Thomas V. Siciliano, Tax Law
Jupiter
Stephen Gary Fischer, Civil Trial (Emeritus Specialist)
North Palm Beach
Patrick Charles Massa, Civil Trial
West Palm Beach
Civil Trial
Theodore Babbitt
Forrest Gregory Barnhart 
Robert Thomas Bergin Jr.
John Michael Burman 
Charles Henry Damsel Jr.
Earl Lauder Denney Jr.
Thomas Goldstein 
Lake Lytal Jr.
Alexander Myers (Emeritus Specialist)
Joseph John Reiter 
Gerald Frederick Richman 
John Scarola 
Christian Dietrich Searcy 
Louis Marc Silber 
Sidney A. Stubbs Jr.
Thomas Edward Warner
Tax Law
Thornton Montagu Henry
Martin Victor Katz
17th Circuit
Hallandale
Stanley H. Beck, Tax Law

Fort Lauderdale
Civil Trial
Walter Gordon Campbell Jr.
Gordon James III 
Jon E. Krupnick 
Robert Dewitt McIntosh 
Charles M. Prince 
Terrence Joseph Russell 
Tax Law
Larry V. Bishins
James Bevington Davis 
Gene Kenneth Glasser 
Stephen Fred Goldenberg 
Martin R. Press 
Joseph Glenn Young
Hollywood
Marvin Tevie Bornstein, Tax Law

Lighthouse Point
Donald A. Wich Jr., Civil Trial
Weston
Harry M. Rosen, Civil Trial 
18th Circuit
Longwood
James B. Byrne Jr., Civil Trial
Melbourne
S. Sammy Cacciatore Jr., Civil Trial
Dale Allen Dettmer, Tax Law
Gary Brennan Frese, Tax Law
James Homer Nance, Civil Trial
Charles Rickman Stack, Civil Trial
Merritt Island
Joe Teague Caruso, Civil Trial
Rockledge
Jon Eric Johnson, Civil Trial

19th Circuit
Fort Pierce
Chester B. Griffin, Tax Law
Stuart
Walter Jay Hunston Jr., Civil Trial (Emeritus Specialist)
Vero Beach
Eugene J O'Neill, Civil Trial
Edward Steven Lauer, Tax Law
Charles Edgar Garris, Tax Law
20th Circuit
Bonita Springs
William N. Horowitz, Tax Law
Fort Myers
Michael Joseph Corso, Civil Trial
Kim Patrick Hart, Civil Trial
J. Jeffrey Rice, Civil Trial
T. Rankin Terry Jr., Civil Trial
Naples
Joe Bruce Cox, Tax Law
William Douglas Keith, Civil Trial
The Honorable Daniel Robert Monaco, Civil Trial
Out of State
Civil Trial
The Honorable Newman Dempsey Brock, Dothan, Ala. (Emeritus Specialist)

Tax Law
Marshal David Gibson, New Haven, Conn.
Michael Alan Hyett, Atlantic City, N.J.
Richard A. Shapack, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Jeffry L, Weiler, Highland Heights, Ohio