Speaker Bios
Lorna R. Simms is Assistant General Counsel, Securities and Transactions of Office Depot, Inc. In this role, Simms has responsibility for the company’s securities and compliance matters, including SEC periodic reports, Section 16 filings, annual proxy statements, annual reports, earnings releases/calls, investor presentations, and compliance with the Nasdaq requirements. She assists with matters related to meetings of the Board of Directors and its committees, including the preparation of meeting materials, resolutions and minutes. She advises on Regulation S-K, Regulation FD, non-GAAP measures disclosures, insider trading programs and policies, related party transactions matters, and governance matters, including Delaware corporate law questions. She also assists other Legal team members and internal business owners in connection with M&A and other strategic transactions, structuring, drafting, reviewing and negotiating a variety of commercial agreements, and providing timely and practical commercial legal guidance on a broad range of business topics. Prior to her current position, Simms served as Vice President, Chief Securities Counsel and Corporate Secretary of The ADT Corporation, Senior Counsel and Assistant Secretary of The Williams Companies, Inc., Senior Corporate Counsel of UST, Inc., Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Blyth, Inc., as well as an associate for several New York City law firms. She is a member of Corporate Counsel Women of Color, the National Bar Association and the Society of Corporate Governance. Simms received her B.A. from Boston University, cum laude, and her J.D. from the New York University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in the state of New York, the District of Columbia and authorized in-house counsel in Florida.
Joshua Forman is General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer for GlobeNet. Mr. Forman joined GlobeNet bringing multiple years of experience representing clients in significant merger, joint venture and commercial transactions involving the United States, Canada and Latin America. He has represented several financial technology and telecommunication companies in commercial, corporate and regulatory matters and is now responsible for the legal, regulatory and compliance departments at GlobeNet.
Mr. Forman was most recently Legal Director & Senior Counsel at GlobeNet where he was responsible for legal and regulatory issues along with managing the company’s legal department.
Mr. Forman holds a Bachelor degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the George Washington University and a Juris Doctorate from the St. Thomas University School of Law.
Chantel is an experienced trial attorney, skilled in Trial Practice, Pleadings, Legal Writing, Corporate Law, and Compliance. Chantel obtained her Bachelor degree in Philosophy from Stetson University in 2007, studied as a registered visiting student at Magdalen College, University of Oxford in England, and obtained her Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law in 2010. She has been a member of, and is the past President of, the Florida Creditors Bar Association, since 2011, and is has been a member of, and is a board member and past Treasurer of, the Rotary Club of Pinellas Park since 2015, and is a member of the Florida Small Claims Rules Committee and the Tampa Bay Inns of Court. She is barred in the state of Florida and the Northern, Middle, and Southern districts in Florida.
Lauren Brunswick serves as Corporate Counsel for The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals® (ASPCA®), where she provides legal support to multidisciplinary teams across the organization. She joined the ASPCA after spending nearly 15 years in private practice in Boston and Miami with an international law firm and a boutique law firm. She is a former Director of the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers (MDFAWL), and currently serves on the Board of the MDFAWL Foundation and as Co-Chair of MDFAWL’s Mentoring Committee. She received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University (A.B., 2001), and her law degree from University of Pennsylvania (J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, 2004) where she was Senior Editor of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.
Shelly Northover is the Vice President, Risk and Compliance, Risk and Compliance Officer and Privacy Officer for Orlando based Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated (formerly Orange Lake Resorts), a fast-growing hospitality company in the timeshare space. She oversees their corporate Ethics, Risk and Compliance and Privacy programs and is responsible for restructuring and embedding the Enterprise Risk Management Program into the culture of the organization. She is the Chair of the Risk Committee and works closely with the Executive team and business units to establish best practice standards, set up effective and efficient controls and processes, develop policy, facilitate mitigation and remediation of risk and compliance issues related to both legal and regulatory matters, while driving organizational change and supporting the compliant culture within the organization.
Before Joining Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated in 2018, Shelly spent over 24 years in the Insurance industry working in various roles. For over 12 years Shelly has brought her depth of experience and knowledge in risk and compliance to companies like Nationwide Insurance, Kemper Property & Casualty, both in Texas, and Esurance, located in California, before moving to Florida.
Shelly has an undergraduate degree from Rice University and obtained her JD from South Texas College of Law, both in Houston Texas. She was as a Prosecutor with the City of Houston in Texas and is a former NCAA Collegiate track and field athlete.
Danielle Kirby currently serves as in-house Legal Counsel for all mergers and acquisitions, business development, and project finance for Sonnedix USA Services Limited which, together with its affiliates, forms part of the Sonnedix Group. The Sonnedix Group is an Independent Solar Power Producer in the global solar PV industry with a significant combination of energy production in operation and under construction, development, and/or documentation in eight countries. Prior to Sonnedix, Danielle spent her career at Holland & Knight in New York practicing in the International and Cross Border Group, with primary focus on domestic and cross-border mergers, asset acquisitions, private equity and joint venture transactions in Latin America, Europe and China across a wide range of industries. Danielle previously served as a coordinator of Holland & Knight’s Women’s Initiative in the New York Office; an executive member of the New York Bar Association Corporate Law Committee; and associate editor of the Hofstra Law Review. Prior to joining Sonnedix Danielle also briefly spent time as Senior Legal Counsel with the Dufry Group in Miami advising on all legal matters relating to the group’s operations in Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia.
Nisha Bhatia serves as General Counsel for Pensam Residential. Nisha first joined the firm as an intern in 2009. Nisha’s responsibilities include: ensuring internal corporate regulatory compliance, drafting and reviewing loan documents, corporate structuring, and assisting outside counsel in transactional work, including conventional mortgage loans, mezzanine financing, loan assumptions, loan structuring, and real estate acquisitions.
Nisha is a graduate of Rutgers University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 2007. She earned a Juris Doctorate from the University Of Miami School Of Law in 2010. While at the University of Miami School of Law, Nisha served as a member of the Student Bar Association, the Admissions Committee and the Orientation Committee.
Nisha is a member of the Florida Bar.
Janna Maland currently serves as Associate General Counsel at Banco Santander International, which is part of the Spanish Grupo Santander’s Private Banking business. At Santander, Janna focuses on advising internal clients on structuring the bank’s investment products and drafting and reviewing documentation for credit transactions, as well as providing guidance regarding business development, marketing, third-party-agreements and corporate governance. Prior to joining Santander in 2018, Janna spent her career at Shearman & Sterling LLP in New York City, where she practiced in the general corporate and finance groups.
Originally from Germany, Janna obtained her LL.B. degree from Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany, and her J.D. from Fordham Law School in New York City, and is licensed to practice in Germany, New York and Florida.
Leslie Fischer serves as Senior Counsel in the Supply Chain Division of Ryder System, Inc., a Fortune 500 transportation and logistics company. Ryder employs more than 36,000 people, manages a fleet of more than 250,000 commercial vehicles, and operates more than 50 million square feet of warehouse space. Leslie works closely with management of the global supply chain division and advises on matters related to risk management and internal policies. Her responsibilities include drafting and negotiating contracts related to numerous supply chain functions including warehousing, distribution management, and final-mile transportation and delivery. Leslie obtained her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law.
Carolyn is chair of the firm’s Hospitality Practice Group and former co-chair of the Labor and Employment Department. Her practice largely consists of representing and counseling employers in the hospitality industry, specifically restaurants, hotels, caterers, night clubs, lounges and fitness centers. In particular, Carolyn has extensive experience litigating wage and hour class actions, restrictive covenants and employment discrimination cases. She also counsels clients extensively with respect to workplace issues such as the hiring process, diversity awareness training, union avoidance, employee handbooks and other policy initiatives.
Carolyn is also counsel to a number of employers in the retail, financial services, healthcare and manufacturing industries. She frequently provides union avoidance and sexual harassment training, and represents employers before a variety of state and federal agencies.
In 2019, Cornell University’s ILR School awarded Carolyn the Judge William B. Groat prize, the school’s highest honor.
Increasingly, Carolyn is called upon by her peers in the legal community to mediate difficult disputes in the wage and hour and discrimination areas. The respect she enjoys on both sides of the bar and her deep understanding of the legal issues and needs of all parties for practical solutions has made her a sought-after mediator.
Nellie Camerik is a partner in Weil’s Real Estate practice and is based in Miami. Ms. Camerik has extensive experience in representing financial institutions, corporations and other institutional clients in a broad range of real estate and public finance transactions and in a variety of capacities including as borrowers, lenders, owners, agents, participants, credit enhancers, joint venture partners, bond purchasers and underwriters.
Ms. Camerik is recommended for Real Estate by Legal 500 US. Her experience in real estate transactions includes the acquisition, sale, financing, development, leasing and management of all types of commercial real estate and in all kinds of commercial real estate transactions including the creation of joint ventures, mortgage and mezzanine financing, loan syndications and participations, restructurings and workouts, real estate acquisitions and dispositions, section 363 sales and other bankruptcy restructurings, portfolio and multi-asset transactions. She has extensive experience representing clients in public finance matters including the credit enhancement of tax-exempt bonds, the purchase and sale of bond-financed projects and the workout and restructuring of defaulted bond issues, both in and out of bankruptcy court proceedings. She has also been involved in numerous significant bankruptcy and restructuring matters.
With more than 15 years of experience, Michele is a seasoned business litigator and Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Court Mediator who dedicates her practice to representing individuals and a variety of businesses, including insurance companies, for-profit entities, and health care organizations, with their litigation needs. She also works closely with transactional attorneys to analyze risk during the inception of a business relationship and engages with clients in various industries both during and after litigation.
When Michele is not busy advocating for her clients, she enjoys volunteering in the Tampa Bay community and spending quality time with her husband and two sons.
Zamira Zapata Valdés is the Vice President and General Counsel for Diageo’s Central America, Caribbean, Free-trade zone and Border business, and in addition to overseeing corporate security and brand protection, she leads the company’s compliance team in this region. She also plays a relevant role on the CCA Executive Committee and the Executive Committee for the Zacapa business.
Prior to this role, she was the VP and General Counsel for Diageo’s Mexico branch. During her assignment in Mexico she led the legal team, and was a key member of the Executive Committee and Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Mexican companies.
Before joining Diageo she was the Legal Corporate Director in Genomma Lab, a leading Mexican public company in the pharmaceutical and personal care products segment, with an increasing international presence in the U.S.A. and Latin-America. Zamira has also worked for Mexico’s federal government. Later she served as Head of the Unit for Promotion of Trade and Investment at the Ministry of Economy.
Margaret is Vice President, Regulatory, Compliance and Safety at Global Widget. She holds a Doctor of Law from North Carolina Central University.
Kim Gerber is General Counsel of L’Oréal Travel Retail Americas, a US-subsidiary of the world’s largest beauty company. In this role, Kim manages all legal functions for L’Oréal in the travel retail channel throughout the US, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and serves as strategic advisor to the management team. She manages corporate governance and regulatory compliance, drafts and negotiates commercial contracts, promotes best practices, and oversees brand protection for the company. Kim sits on the company’s Management Committee.
Prior to this role, Kim was General Counsel of the Supply Chain Division of Ryder System, Inc., a Fortune 500 transportation and logistics company. Before moving in-house, Kim worked as a corporate associate at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York and at Stearns Weaver Miller in Miami.
Kim is a summa cum laude graduate of Duke University and obtained her J.D. from NYU Law.
Aliette DelPozo Rodz is a partner in the Miami office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where she is a member of the Business Litigation Group and Chair of the Cuba Task Force and the firm’s Diversity Committee. She is Chair of the firm’s Focus on Women Group. Aliette serves as lead trial counsel for companies involved in disputes in state and federal courts, in arbitration and before administrative agencies. She handles all aspects of litigation including preliminary and permanent injunction hearings, evidentiary hearings, bench trials, arbitrations and jury trials.
Aliette has been recognized by South Florida Business Leaders, is a recipient of the In the Company of Women Government & Law Award, the Women Extraordinaire award and a finalist of Businesswomen of the Year, and has received recognition from Outstanding Lawyers of Miami-Dade County. Aliette has built a reputation as a tenacious commercial litigator who advocates for U.S. and foreign companies, institutions in national and international disputes, and individuals in court or through alternative resolutions.
Aliette has experience litigating across numerous industries, including real estate, banking, creditors’ rights, election litigation, construction, insurance, gaming, professional services and aviation. She has represented oil companies, banks, casinos, funds, hospitals, large land proprietors and developers in complex business disputes, commercial and residential foreclosures, bank and creditors’ rights litigation, insurance litigation, consumer credit, contract disputes, ERISA, landlord-tenant litigation, libel, negligence, and personal injury.
She also represents international businesses with claims in the U.S. as well as American clients with claims abroad. She has handled all forms of international discovery and Hague Convention procedures, and has worked on International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitrations. Aliette is a member of the Cuban-American Bar Association, heads the firm’s Cuba Task Force and regularly assists clients with their business prospects in Cuba based on the changes in U.S./Cuba regulations.
Outside of her practice, Aliette is dedicated to supporting women in business and numerous nonprofit organizations. She is the Chair and one of the pioneers of the firm’s Focus on Women Group and is a longtime supporter of The Commonwealth Institute for Women and Casa Valentina, as well as organizations such as Educate Tomorrow, which serves foster youth. She is a board member of the Ladies Empowerment and Action Program, Inc. (L.E.A.P.), a non-profit organization that empowers and educates women to make positive life changes transcending into the business community after prison. She is also on the Executive Leadership Team of the American Heart and Stroke Association and served as Chair of the 11th Judicial Circuit’s Florida Bar Grievance Committee. Aliette is also over a decade long board member of the Zoological Society of South Florida for the benefit of ZooMiami.
While at the University of Florida, she was on the executive board of the John Marshall Bar Association and was an active member of the University of Florida’s trial team.
Provides legal advice on all corporate matters, regulations, internal policies, risk management and minimization, business initiatives, new projects, investment agreements, joint ventures, financing and monitor judicial and extrajudicial litigation for USA, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean (except for Cuba).
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Delia Reyes joined Bacardi North America Corporation in June 2018 as Corporate Counsel/ Consultant and in her role, she oversees the legal operations of the company in areas such as global procurement, marketing and innovation, distributor arrangements, trade practice and regulatory compliance, real estate and corporate communications. Prior to joining Bacardi as a consultant Delia served a Sr. Procurement Counsel at SBAMiller, Inc., the world’s second largest brewer, and was successfully responsible for developing and strengthening procurement legal support levels, standards and systems throughout the Latin America Region. She was also a Member of the Latin America Procurement Leadership.
Prior to that, Delia was a Corporate Counsel at Grupo Phoenix, a Minority Owned Business specializing in rigid packaging with operations in Latin America and US. Before joining Grupo Phoenix, Delia served as Legal Director for the Latin America Region at Burger King Corporation and as an attorney in Venezuela.
Delia is currently a member of the Bacardi Women’s in Leadership Workplace Engagement Committee and Mentoring Program.
Delia is a Venezuelan attorney with a US Master of Laws degree from the University of Miami and is qualified to practice in State of New York and in Florida as an Authorized in- House Counsel.
Alma Uldedaj is currently an Associate Attorney with Deutsche Bank in Jacksonville, FL where she negotiates international swaps and derivatives documentation as well as all ancillary supportive agreements for various entity types and jurisdictions. In addition, she advises Deutsche Bank on Dodd-Frank regulatory matters and reviews netting quality assurance reports. Alma previously worked as a residential real estate and banking attorney in New York. Alma is an active participant in Deutsche Bank’s Employee Resource Groups. She is the Co-Treasurer for the Multi Cultural Partnership and is a Committee Member for the Americas Diversity and Inclusion Council. She previously served as a mentor at the Tiger Academy Charter School in Jacksonville, FL. She also served as the Vice President of the New Albanian Generation Organization in Bronx, NY. Alma was born in Shkodër, Albania and immigrated to the United States in her early 20’s, settling in New York City. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She earned her Juris Doctor from Hofstra University School of Law and is admitted to practice law in New York. Alma enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, volunteering, playing volleyball and soccer.
Brigid F. Cech Samole is the chair of the Miami Appellate Department and a member of the Firm’s National Appellate Practice. Brigid is an experienced appellate advocate who represents clients throughout the country in federal and state forums. She also serves as a legal advisor for complex and high-profile trials. Brigid has been the lead drafter of substantive case papers filed in the United States Supreme Court, the federal Court of Appeals, and several state supreme courts. Although her practice involves numerous substantive areas of the law, in particular, she has defended clients in high-stakes products liability cases, with more than a dozen years of experience handling mass litigations involving claims by thousands of individuals.
I am a citizen of the world. I was born in Venezuela from a Cuban father and a Colombian mother. I came to the US when I was 11 years of age and have lived and studied in Florida since that time. I earned my JD at University of Florida (“UF”) and my Bachelors at Florida International University (“FIU). I am licensed to Practice Law in FL, NJ, PA, and CT. I help make wishes come true as a Wish Granter for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
I am corporate counsel at Paradise Architectural Panels and Steel. Paradise is certified by Miami-Dade County as a CSBE, DBE, SBE. A One Stop Full Service company that manufactures, fabricates and installs architectural and artistic panels, and architectural metals and canopies, expansions, sidings, claddings, etc. (Projects: MIA, Port of Miami Terminals DEF, Ft.Lauderdale/Hollywood Airport, All Aboard, etc.)
Prior to coming to Paradise, I was Senior Commercial Services Counsel at North American National Title Solutions providing Escrow, Closing and Title Services for general and complex real estate transactions nationwide. Prior to that, I was Associate Chief Legal Officer and Compliance Officer for a multi-jurisdiction firm. I guided the firm’s operations overseeing all legal processes while representing mortgage servicers, investors and institutional lenders. Prior to it, I served as "Of Counsel" Attorney with two Miami firms. In one, I supervised the firm’s litigation and closing department. Prior to that, I was the Managing Attorney at another multi-jurisdiction firm. There I acquired extensive experience in litigating real property issues.
Cristina Scarano is Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, Latin America and U.S. Hispanic. In this role, she structures and negotiates all international and domestic television content distribution deals and licensed formats of BBC programs to broadcasters throughout the region. She collaborates with executives from various divisions to promote best practices, regulatory compliance, and global ethics, and serves as strategic advisor to the senior executive team on key matters affecting the business.
Cristina has over a decade of experience in the highly complex international broadcast media industry and has a winning track record of establishing strong relationships across borders.
She joined the team in Miami in 2016. Prior to this, she held key positions at Telemundo Network Group where she focused primarily on the acquisition of third party content, literary acquisitions (both books and scripts for television adaptation) and production and development deals for a youth-oriented channel (which one?). She then led, as General Counsel, the Business & Legal Affairs department of FremantleMedia’s Latin America division and handled all production-related legal matters in connection with formats including Got Talent, Idol and X Factor.
Cristina graduated with a degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed her J.D. from the University of Miami School Law. As an undergraduate, Cristina obtained a certificate in Critical Studies with a focus on French Film from the Sorbonne in Paris and studied Renaissance Studies in Italy.
Pandora Strasler is General Counsel of PPI Technologies Group, a global manufacturer of StandUP pouch and end of line machinery, contract packaging, liquor distribution and consumer natural wellness products. She has extensive experience in corporate commercial law with a special emphasis upon corporate finance and merger transactions. She is qualified to practice law in New York and Ontario, is a member of the Roll of Solicitors of England & Wales and Florida Bar Authorized House Counsel. She has a distinguished career and prior to joining PPITG, practiced law at Latham & Watkins LLP in New York City and Osler Hoskin LLP in Toronto. Ms. Strasler is a contributing author to the Lexis Practice Advisor. At PPITG, she is responsible to oversee all legal matters, including risk assessment and commercial arrangements of the organization. She also serves on the Management Committee. She supports pro bono legal activities for our brave Veterans.
Relying on experience, hard work, and client feedback, Joelle Simms is committed to offering thoughtful analysis and practical solutions to successfully resolve the problems her clients face.
Joelle represents investment professionals and financial institutions in state and federal courts and in arbitration proceedings throughout the United States. Her expertise includes the defense of claims concerning suitability, churning, selling away, statutory and common law fraud, misrepresentation, negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, deceptive and unfair trade practice violations, civil theft, elder abuse and exploitation, and failure to supervise. She also has extensive experience representing registered representatives seeking expungement of disclosures from their Central Registration Depository (CRD) records maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
As a complement to her broader financial services practice, Joelle helps manage the firm’s Senior and Vulnerable Investor Group. She advises, trains, and defends corporate clients who confront issues affecting senior investors and regularly speaks on issues in this space.
Clients gain from Joelle's experience investigating and litigating sophisticated claims concerning a vast array of financial products including stocks, municipal and corporate bonds, mutual funds (closed and open-end), floating rate funds, penny stocks, structured products, exchange-traded funds, options, hedge funds, foreign securities, annuities, life insurance policies, credit lines, and margin. She additionally represents financial services companies and their employees in third party matters, including in interpleader and garnishment actions, as well as in connection with subpoenas for documents and testimony.
An avid litigator, Joelle also represents employers and business owners in employment, commercial, and tort matters. She handles claims of negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation, tortious interference, breach of contract, emotional distress, breach of fiduciary duty, consumer protection violations, repayment of promissory notes, wrongful termination, workers’ compensation, discrimination claims under Title VII and the Florida Civil Rights Act, discrimination and failure to accommodate claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and retaliation and interference under the Family Medical Leave Act. She also assists clients in responding to charges of discrimination levied with federal and state agencies.
Joelle is an active participant in the Southeastern Women in Financial Services (SWIFS) organization. As co-chair of its education committee and a member of its advisory board, she takes particular interest in gender gap issues and enjoys speaking on topics affecting women in this space. She also volunteers for the South Florida chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and serves on the committee for Fort Lauderdale Great Strides, an annual philanthropic walk benefitting the Foundation.
A cum laude graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, Joelle was a Dean’s Merit Scholarship recipient and staff editor of the University of Miami Law Review. She received her undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Richmond, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.
When not practicing law, Joelle enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and two young children.
Stacie E. Trott focuses her practice on highly-structured corporate and commercial real estate transactions, with an emphasis on European and Asian cross-border matters. She specializes in advising institutional private equity firms, global investment managers and real estate investment funds in complex joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions and financings of office, hotel, multi-family and retail assets.
Stacie has in-depth experience throughout the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Hong Kong, the People’s Republic of China, Japan, Korea and Australia.
While in law school, Stacie served as the managing editor for the Fordham Environmental Law Review.
Donya is a Vice President & Associate General Counsel for Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group. SNC has over 50,000 employees, and is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies, connecting people, technology and data to shape the future of the engineering industry and the world around us. Donya supports SNC’s US Region Department of Transportation, Industrial Engineering, and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) businesses. Her practice includes providing guidance on the mitigation of legal risks for large Public Private Partnership/Design Build projects, litigation management, contract negotiation IP licensing and protection. As a new attorney, Donya clerked for a criminal and civil judge in the Superior Court of New Jersey. Subsequently, she worked as in-house litigation counsel until an opportunity was presented to work for Parsons Brinckerhoff (now known as WSP USA), a large and prominent multinational civil engineering firm. Donya is a graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law and a member of the New York State Bar. Outside of work, Donya is a wife and mom of two beautiful children ages 8 and 6 and enjoys traveling, swimming and doing Barre Pilates.
Arden Joseph joined Deutsche Bank in 2015 as Assistant Vice President and Counsel in the Americas Legal Department located in Jacksonville, Florida. In her role, she negotiates derivative contracts for hedge funds, corporate and institutional clients. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, she spent eleven years at Citigroup in New York as a senior member of their capital markets legal team. There, she partnered extensively with various stakeholders as a transactional attorney. She also served as a subject matter expert for the FX prime brokerage desk. Ms. Joseph earned a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School and her Bachelor of Science in Finance from New York University, Stern School of Business.
Heidi Maharaj is an Associate General Counsel at Diamonds International, a vertically integrated corporation that polishes rough diamonds, manufactures jewelry, and sells diamonds, gemstones, jewelry, and watches in its own chain of retail stores trading as Diamonds International, Tanzanite International, and Diamonds International Watch & Design. She manages legal affairs for all aspects of the company’s operations in over 18 jurisdictions in Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Namibia, Ukraine and the United States.
Prior to going in-house, Heidi resided in the British Virgin Islands where she was in private practice with the offshore law firm, Appleby. Heidi is a dual citizen of Trinidad & Tobago and Canada and holds a J.D. from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, ON, Canada. She is qualified to practice in Ontario (Canada), Florida (Authorized House Counsel) and throughout the Commonwealth Caribbean.
Geralyn practices primarily in the area of commercial and complex business litigation with an emphasis on representation of directors and officers, agents and brokers, lawyers and others in professional liability and community association matters. She also handles complex personal injury, toxic tort defense and wrongful death actions, as well as construction and employment liability matters.
Geralyn has tried more than 50 cases to verdict, including four trials in the year 2013, and is also an Arbitrator in consumer and commercial dispute matters through the American Arbitration Association.
Geralyn was recruited by Litchfield Cavo LLP to open its new Fort Lauderdale office in February 2009. Currently, she is chair of the Firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
Kathleen brings more than 25 years’ experience to her practice in complex commercial litigation, commercial and residential construction, consumer fraud, mass toxic tort, premises liability, environmental matters, and commercial and personal automobile.
A substantial part Kathleen’s practice includes the defense of employers, malls, restaurants, retail establishments, rental car companies and manufacturing entities with a world-wide presence. She has engaged in a multi-state civil litigation practice with an emphasis on defending all types of claims from initial filing to trial and appeal.
Kathleen is national counsel for a top manufacturing company with a presence in the US and internationally and she has experience with international treaties in relation to her defense of multinational corporations. Kathleen has been involved in several high profile matters ranging from fatalities to defending against a religious discrimination claim which was monitored by national and international groups.
Kathleen is a current member of Litchfield Cavo LLP’s Executive Committee.
Kim Israel has extensive litigation experience in Florida state and federal courts, including handling jury and non-jury trials and appeals.
Kim has a particular focus on business litigation, representing businesses in litigation tangential to day-to-day business operations and in bankruptcy matters. Her practice includes the handling of general civil and commercial matters; contract review, interpretation, negotiation, and disputes; business disputes and litigation; creditors’ rights; mortgage litigation; landlord-tenant law (commercial and residential); domestication and collection of out-of-state judgments; asset protection; and construction litigation. Kim has served as a Court-appointed Receiver in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, Duval County, Florida, on multiple occasions.
An active member of the Jacksonville business and legal communities, Kim is the former President and board member of the Jacksonville Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. Kim was also featured in SkyRadio's "Forbes Business" in-flight segment on "America's Most Influential Women in Business, Technology & the Law" in December 2005.
Erin Kolmansberger practices in the areas of complex commercial litigation in federal and state trial courts and before arbitral panels.
She represents clients ranging from entrepreneurs, receivers, and small businesses to Fortune 500 companies in major litigation, including ADA compliance and litigation, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, class actions, and breach of contract actions.
Melissa Gomberg has experience handling complex litigation matters. She has served as trial counsel in state and federal court jury and bench trials and has appealed multiple matters before the Third District Court of Appeal.
Ms. Gomberg’s practice focuses on business torts, contract disputes, corporate and partnership disputes, real estate litigation, and construction litigation. She has also defended clients in class actions involving claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Prior to joining Nelson Mullins, Ms. Gomberg gained federal court experience representing the FDIC as receiver for failed financial institutions in the prosecution of more than 35 mortgage fraud cases in the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida.
Sabria McElroy is a partner in the Fort Lauderdale office of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, where her practice focuses on high risk, complex commercial litigation. She represents clients in a variety of areas, including antitrust, class actions, legal malpractice, and education. Sabria was an early member of a litigation team that brought a nationwide class-action suit on behalf of au pairs. The suit recently settled for one of the highest ever amounts in an unfair wages action.
In addition to practicing law, Sabria is a social entrepreneur. She is the founder of Born To Be, a company that creates sustainably sourced clothes for young girls that celebrate their achievements in STEM, sports, and other areas.
Sabria graduated from Yale Law School, where she received the C. LaRue Munson Prize for excellence in work in the law school clinical program. Before attending law school, Sabria was a public school teacher.
