Jessica S. Kramer is our latest Featured Speaker!

Our latest featured speaker is Jessica S. Kramer from Holland & Knight LLP!

Jessica is speaking at our upcoming 13th Annual Circuit Court Boot Camp: The Nuts and Bolts (FL) program on May 21 & 23, 2024. We have put on our premier Circuit Court Boot Camp in Florida for over a decade for a reason – it’s that good. This program provides an inside look and gives advice about litigating in Florida Circuit Court, as well as delves into general litigation skills and strategies. Jessica has previously spoken at our Mastering Discovery: The Nuts and Bolts (FL) program.

Jessica Kramer is a litigation attorney in Holland & Knight’s Tampa office. Ms. Kramer has extensive experience assisting individuals and businesses with contract disputes, class action lawsuits, appeals, and other complex litigation.

Since joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Kramer has gained significant experience representing companies in data privacy litigation, and has defended dozens of companies in high-stakes lawsuits arising from data breaches, a company’s use of technology on company websites, and other privacy issues. Ms. Kramer also advises clients on data privacy-related issues, including responses to data breaches and updates to customer-facing privacy policies and other terms.

Ms. Kramer has experience litigating cases in arbitration proceedings as well as jury trials and bench trials throughout the State of Florida.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Kramer served as a federal law clerk for two years to the Honorable James S. Moody Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Ms. Kramer currently serves on the Hillsborough Education Foundation’s Governance Committee, and she recently completed a four-year mentorship of a local high school student through the foundation’s Take Stock in Children Program. Ms. Kramer mentors young women lawyers and law students through the Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers’ mentoring program, and she also mentors law students through Holland & Knight’s 1L Mentoring Program. Each year, Ms. Kramer volunteers to coach law students preparing for upcoming moot court competitions across the country. In 2020 and 2021, Ms. Kramer helped coordinate the 9/11 National Day of Service for Holland & Knight’s Tampa office.

While in law school, Ms. Kramer competed in national advocacy competitions and won several awards for brief-writing and oral argument. As a member of the Florida Moot Court Team at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, she competed at the 2016 John J. Gibbons National Criminal Procedure Moot Court Competition. At the competition, Ms. Kramer and her teammate placed first out of 43 other law schools and Ms. Kramer was awarded best final round oralist. Ms. Kramer and her teammate also placed first at the 29th Annual Zimmerman Kiser Sutcliffe Final Four competition, and Ms. Kramer was awarded best brief, best oralist, and best overall competitor.

In 2017, Ms. Kramer founded the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Bar Prep Mentoring Program, which provided support to University of Florida law school graduates studying for the Florida Bar examination. She actively participates in University of Florida student and alumni efforts as a member of the University of Florida’s Law Alumni Council and Florida Blue Key. In law school, Ms. Kramer received the Helen Gibel Blechman Memorial Award for earning the most community service hours in her graduating class.

We are excited to have her join us!

Megan E. Thibert-Ind is our Latest Featured Speaker

Our latest featured speaker is Megan E. Thibert-Ind from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP!

Megan is a frequent speaker at our Illinois circuit court boot camp programs, most recently at our 12th Annual Illinois Circuit Court Boot Camp in December 2022.

Because of her in-depth knowledge and insight on civil litigation, Megan will be speaking at our upcoming 13th Annual Circuit Court Boot Camp program, which will be held in-person with a live streaming format in Chicago on December 8, 2024.

Megan Thibert-Ind is a health care and civil litigation partner in Manatt, Phelps & Phillips’s Chicago office. She has extensive experience representing businesses across Manatt’s industry sectors, including a focus on health care stakeholders—such as hospital systems and academic medical centers, ambulatory surgery and urgent care centers, pharmacy services providers, and life sciences companies—as they navigate a variety of complex business controversies, contractual and regulatory disputes, and post-acquisition challenges.

Megan also advises pharmaceutical companies on 340B Drug Pricing Program reimbursement and indemnification claims and provides guidance to life sciences companies facing product liability exposure.

Megan represents clients in litigation pending in state and federal courts nationwide and has handled numerous matters before the American Arbitration Association and other alternative dispute resolution tribunals. Additionally, she regularly navigates complex expert witness issues, including financial analysis, lost profits and damages, and causation and other liability issues.

Alongside her litigation work, Megan is noted for her service as an active member of the Chicago community and is dedicated to providing pro bono services across a range of subject matters. She has represented undocumented immigrants; victims of gender-based hate crimes, domestic violence and employment discrimination; not-for-profit arts organizations; and parents wrongfully indicated for abuse. She also serves on the board of directors of Legal Aid Chicago, the largest nonprofit civil legal services provider in Cook County.

Thank you for joining us again, Megan!  We appreciate you coming back.

 

Alyssa Reiter is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Our latest featured speaker is Alyssa Reiter from Wicker Smith!

Alyssa will be speaking at our upcoming Preserving the Trial Record for Appeal in Florida Civil Cases Webinar on August 1 & 3, 2023. Alyssa has collaborated with Pincus before at our Illinois appellate programs. We are so excited to have her back with us!

Formerly of Illinois, Alyssa is now a partner at Wicker Smith’s Fort Lauderdale office and focuses her practice on handling appeals, litigation support, and insurance coverage matters. She has argued cases in the Florida Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, the 11th Circuit and the 7th Circuit, and numerous appellate courts throughout not only Florida and Illinois, but the entire United States.

Throughout her career, Alyssa has represented clients in a wide range of cases, including: products liability, professional malpractice, commercial litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith, vehicular accident, premises liability, and aviation.

Having served three terms on the Board of Directors for the Appellate Lawyers Association, Alyssa is a highly capable attorney. She was selected by her peers as a Leading Lawyer and a Super Lawyer in the field of civil appeals. Alyssa has also earned an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating awarded by that organization.

Thank you for joining the program, Alyssa!

 

Hugh Griffin is our Latest Featured Speaker!

Our latest featured speaker is Hugh Griffin from Hall Prangle and Schoonveld!

Hugh will be speaking at our upcoming Preserving the Trial Record for Appeal in Illinois Civil Cases Two-Part Webinar on July 18 & 20, 2023. This will be his first time speaking with us. We are looking forward to it, Hugh!

Hugh is co-chair of HPS’ Appellate Practice Group at Hall Prangle and Schoonveld. He is among the country’s most experienced and distinguished appellate attorneys. He has also served nine years on the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee and was appointed by the Supreme Court as the Committee’s Vice Chairman from 2003-2006. 

Over the course of his career, Hugh has handled more than 500 appeals in the Illinois Appellate Court and the Illinois Supreme Court, arguing nearly 50 times before the Illinois Supreme Court. He also has handled appeals in more than two dozen other state courts, as well as in federal Courts of Appeals across the country. Based on his decades of experience in handling all kinds of civil appeals, Hugh is able to bring fresh analysis, seasoned insight and often an innovative approach to appeal issues. 

Hugh has been selected as an “Illinois Leading Lawyer,” an Illinois “Super Lawyer,” a “Best Lawyer” in appellate practice and was named as the “2011 Chicago Best Lawyers Appellate Lawyer of the Year.” He also has been honored repeatedly as one of the top “100 Super Lawyers in Illinois.”

Thank you for joining the program, Hugh!

James Robinson is our Latest Featured Speaker!

james robinson

Our latest Featured Speaker is James Robinson of White & Case LLP!

Jim will be speaking at our 7th Annual Circuit Court Boot Camp in Fort Lauderdale on June 1, 2018.

In past years, Jim was on the faculty panels for our Expert Witnesses, Mastering the Deposition, and Persuasive Brief Writing seminars in Florida. Attendees raved about his clear, articulate delivery, and engaging demeanor.

Drawing on his significant experience in state and federal courts handling virtually every type of civil case, Jim’s practice is primarily focused on commercial trial work. He works to limit his clients’ exposure and to protect their interests.

Jim has particular experience of representing regional and national law firms in legal malpractice lawsuits. In such cases he takes a thorough, hands-on approach, managing all aspects of the lawsuits.

Many of Jim’s recent commercial cases include representation of clients connected to the banking industry. Such cases include representation of financial technology (fintech) companies involved with merchant services and credit card processing in both domestic and international disputes. In addition, Jim has represented a series of banks against multimillion-dollar lender liability lawsuits, most of which were resolved with summary judgment in Jim’s clients’ favor. For banking clients, Jim also brings his experience of prosecuting dozens of commercial foreclosure lawsuits on loans totaling over US $ 1.5 billion. Jim represents foreign and domestic corporations in contract disputes, regulatory and compliance matters, and consumer class actions at various stages, including appeals. He has successfully defended numerous director and officer liability actions, and has successfully represented real estate developers and contractors in real estate disputes throughout the United States.

Jim is an active member of a number of professional associations, including the Federal Bar Association, the Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar, the International Law Section of The Florida Bar, the Miami-Dade County Bar Association and the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.

He has taken lead roles in a significant number of professional committees, including as the Chair of the International Litigation and Arbitration Committee (2008), the Chair of the International Litigation and Arbitration Committee Conference (2007), a Steering Committee Member on the International Litigation Update (2005–2006), and as a Chair of the FGCU Alumni Association Board of Directors (2009–2011). He has also served on the Law Alumni Council, University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz is our Latest Featured Speaker!

alaina

Our latest featured speaker is Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz, Esq. of Brodsky Fotiu-Wojtowicz!

Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz will speak at our Circuit Court Boot Camp in Fort Lauderdale on June 1, 2018.

Ms. Fotiu-Wojtowicz is a founding shareholder of BFW, is an experienced trial lawyer, and has tried cases in federal and state court. She has won numerous multi-million dollar jury verdicts for her clients in both commercial and personal injury cases. She represents corporations, business entities, and individuals in a variety of complex commercial business disputes, and routinely represents individuals who have suffered life altering personal injuries.

Prior to founding the firm, she was a partner at the litigation boutique, Michael S. Olin, P.A., where she focused her practice on personal injury and complex commercial litigation. Ms. Fotiu-Wojtowicz began her career by serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge William P. Dimitrouleas in District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Ms. Fotiu-Wojtowicz serves on the Adjunct Faculty at the University of Miami School of Law where she teaches an upper level course on Florida Civil Procedure and a seminar on Voting Rights and Election Law.

Ms. Fotiu-Wojtowicz is active in the South Florida community. She currently serves on the board of directors of the South Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, sits on the Leadership Counsel for POSSE Miami, chairs the board of directors for Seraphic Fire, and captains numerous tennis teams in leagues sanctioned by the USTA and WTT.