MIAMI – Feb. 5, 2016 – International law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A. has elevated to Shareholder 11 Florida attorneys in the Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando and West Palm Beach offices: Joshua R. Brown, Travis R. Chapin, Kristina L. Ciaffi, Camille M. Evans, Timothy A. Kolaya, Carlos R. Lago, Tracy H. Lautenschlager, Sara Levy, Zachary M. Schlichter, Andrea Shwayri, and Anthony P. Vernace. Katie Molloy in the Tampa office was elevated to Of Counsel.
-
Brown, a member of the Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group and eDiscovery Practice Group at the firm’s Orlando office, is a patent attorney and Board Certified in Intellectual Property Law by the Florida Bar. He primarily works with businesses to resolve disputes related to trademarks, patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property. He graduated second in his class from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2004. Before attending law school he was a software developer and technology consultant in Boston, Massachusetts.
-
Chapin, a member of the Litigation Practice Group at the firm’s West Palm Beach office, represents broker-dealers and their employees in all aspects of business, including litigation and arbitration before state and federal trial courts, regulators and self-regulatory agencies. He received a law degree, cum laude, in 2006 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
-
Ciaffi, a member of the Litigation Practice Group and Labor and Employment Practice Group at the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office, concentrates her litigation practice in the areas of labor & employment, non-competition/restrictive covenant agreements, civil rights, commercial and landlord-tenant litigation. She received a law degree, summa cum laude, in 2007 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
-
Evans, a member of the Public Finance Practice Group at the firm’s Orlando office, focuses her practice on public finance, serving as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriter’s counsel, bank’s counsel and trustee’s counsel for both publicly and privately offered financings. She received a law degree, cum laude, in 2005 from Florida State University College of Law.
-
Kolaya, a member of the Litigation Practice Group at the firm’s Miami office, concentrates his practice on commercial litigation in federal and state courts, as well as arbitration panels, with a primary focus on construction and real estate matters. He received a law degree, summa cum laude, in 2008 from the University of Miami School of Law. He had a prior career as a project manager for two national construction management firms.
- Lago, a member of the Real Estate - Land Use & Development Practice Group at the firm’s Miami office, focuses his practice on land use, zoning and governmental affairs. Prior to joining the firm, he was the chief of staff for the largest hospital system in Florida, managing the health system's legislative agenda at the local, state and federal levels. He received a law degree in 2009 from Florida International University College of Law.
- Lautenschlager, a member of the Real Estate - Land Use & Development Practice Group at the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office, represents a broad range of private developers before local governments, including obtaining entitlements for residential and commercial projects, platting, site plan approvals and land use plan amendments, and represents businesses that operate at airports nationwide. She received a law degree, cum laude, in 1988 from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center.
- Levy, a member of the Litigation Practice Group at the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office, has experience in a wide variety of insurance defense matters, commercial litigation matters, class actions, securities litigation, labor and employment litigation, construction litigation and product liability matters. She received a law degree, cum laude, in 2005 from Hofstra University School of Law.
-
Schlichter, a member of the Corporate & Securities Practice Group at the firm’s Fort Lauderdale office, focuses his practice on private equity and venture capital transactions; mergers and acquisitions; public and private securities offerings; and counseling boards and senior management on strategic business, financial and transactional matters. He received a law degree in 2008 from Vanderbilt University Law School.
-
Shwayri, a member of the Litigation Practice Group at the firm’s West Palm Beach office, concentrates her practice on complex commercial litigation, business disputes, and tort defense. She has broad experience representing clients in state and federal courts in class actions, product liability matters, contract disputes, and business tort claims. She received a law degree, cum laude, in 2007 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
-
Vernace, a member of the Real Estate Practice Group at the firm’s West Palm Beach office, focuses his practice on a wide range of Florida real estate issues, including the acquisition, disposition and financing of all types of real property, negotiating commercial office leases and advising on commercial loan workouts. He received a law degree, magna cum laude, in 2006 from the University of Miami School of Law.
-
Molloy, a member of the Labor & Employment Practice Group at the firm’s Tampa office, focuses her practice on defending matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful discharge in state and federal court, as well as before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She received a law degree in 2006 from William & Mary Law School.
“We congratulate these outstanding attorneys and future leaders for their demonstrated commitment to our clients and to the firm,” said Matt Gorson, Senior Chairman.
Firmwide Greenberg Traurig elevated 30 attorneys to shareholder and 14 to of counsel positions. Overall, the Class of 2016 includes more than 15 attorneys in the Litigation Practice and 10 attorneys whose core focus is Real Estate, Land Use or Real Estate operations. The rest of the class includes attorneys who assist clients with matters in the areas of Business Immigration & Compliance, Entertainment, Government Contracts & Projects, IP Litigation, Prosecution and Trademarks, Labor & Employment, Public Finance, Tax, Technology, and Trusts and Estates.