Attorney and Counselor at Law
Admitted to The Florida Bar and licensed to practice law since October 11, 1996.
Also Authorized to Practice Before:
• Social Security Administration Office of Disability Adjudication and Review
• Social Security Administration Appeals Council
• Board of Veterans Appeals - Accredited Attorney by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Legal Experience:
• Former Substitute General Magistrate, Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida
• Former Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Charles R. Wilson, Circuit Judge, United States Court of • Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Former Assistant State Attorney/Prosecutor, Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida
• Former Assistant State Attorney, Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida
• Former Judicial Staff Attorney, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida
• Former Adjunct Professor, Constitutional Law, University of South Florida
• Former Adjunct Instructor, Florida Civil Procedure, Pasco-Hernando Community College
• Former Legal Intern, United States Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida
• Former Assistant Law Review Editor, Stetson University College of Law
Publications:
• The Jury Selection Process: An Interview with Judge Manual Menendez, Jr., University of South Florida Legal Brief, Volume 1, Issue 3, December, 1991.
• Mandatory Drug-Testing of Government Employees: Is it Reasonable? University of South Florida Legal Brief, Summer Edition, 1993.
• International Extradition and the Dual Criminality Requirement as Applied to RICO and CCE, World Order: Conflicts and Issues Analysis, 1995 Edition.
• Recent Development: Government Tort Liability, 25 Stetson Law Review 940 (1996).
• Social Contract Between Students and the State: A Constitutional Analysis of Florida Statutes Related to Mandatory Expulsion for Weapon Possession, Corporal Punishment, and the Use of Metal Detectors on Campus, 16 St. Thomas Law Review 109-146 (2003).
• Aid, Solace from Government not Simple Matter, The West Pasco Press, January 21, 2005 (Article about the Social Security Disability claims process and its hurdles).
• Judicial Activism and the Constitution, The West Pasco Press, July 1, 2005 (Discussing concepts in judicial interpretation, judicial restraint, and the philosophy of our Nation's founding fathers).
• The Tort Reform Debate, Contemplated, The West Pasco Press, October 14, 2005.
• Building Tax Burden: Pondering the Power of the Purse and Who Holds the Strings, The West Pasco Press, February 9, 2007 (Discussing the Constitution and taxation).
• The Professional, The Florida Bar, The Professional, Vol. V, No. 4, June 2004 (Discussing the concept of professionalism towards clients).
• Matter of Ethics: Image Reconstruction: Lawyers Can Set the Bar for Professionalism, Immigration Law Today, Vol. 26, No. 3, 36-37, May/June, 2007.
• Roberts v. Shinseki: Is a Finding of Fraud Enough to Terminate a Veteran's Benefits? Veterans Law Journal, Summer, 2010.
• Jesus was Denied Due Process: A Defense and Constitutional Analysis of the Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments Applied to the Trials and Sentencing of Jesus Christ, March, 2014.
Presentations:
• Guest Lecturer to a group of elder care professionals: Residents' Rights and Employees' Duties: An Overview of the Statutory and Constitutional Rights of Elderly Residents of Adult Care Living Facilities and Nursing Homes and the Duties of the Employees of the Facilities, 2002
• Advocating For Elderly Clients/Preparing for a Social Security Disability Hearing, Stetson University College of Law, CLE/Continuing Legal Education Course, October 19, 2005
• Greek Independence Day Key Note Guest Speaker, Principles of Christianity and Democracy in the United States and Greece, Pasco County Government Center, March 2006, 2007
• Overview of Florida Statutes on Domestic Violence: Criminal and Civil Remedies-Fox Hollow Elementary School, April 6, 2006
Practice-Relevant Continuing Education Courses:
• Risk Management and Legal Issues in Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, June, 2008
• Diabetes, Yale University School of Medicine, June, 2008
• Introduction to Veterans Law, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, March, 2008
• Negotiation and Conflict Management, United States Institute of Peace, March, 2013
Professional Associations and Memberships:
• Former Member, The Florida Bar, Professional Ethics Committee (committee answers ethics inquiries from lawyers about their proposed conduct, reviews informal Bar advisory opinions, and publishes formal advisory opinions to guide attorneys in interpreting and applying Bar ethics rules)
• Member and Chair, The Florida Bar, Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee, 6B (committee investigates complaints against individuals allegedly practicing law without a license).
• Former Traffic Magistrate, City of Port Richey (hearing and deciding red light camera infraction claims)
• Former Special Master, City of Port Richey (hearing and deciding cases of alleged violations of the city code)
• Former Member, The Florida Bar, Committee on Professionalism (committee promotes lawyer professionalism)
• Former Member, National Organization of Veterans Advocates
• Former Member, United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Bar Association
• American Diabetes Association Advocate
• Former Take Stock in Children Mentor
• Former Member and Vice Chair, City of New Port Richey, Communities for a Lifetime, Elder Ready Committee (committee considered issues related to the well-being of elderly residents)
• Former Member, City of New Port Richey Charter Ordinance Board (committee reviewed and amended city charter ordinances)
• Commissioned by the Governor of Kentucky and Secretary of State of Kentucky as a "Kentucky Colonel"
