I always wanted to get involved in any way that I could to help others. During my years at the University of South Florida, I was elected Senator to Student Government, and elected President of the College of Arts and Sciences. I was also the Ambassador of the Students of India Association. My hard work resulted in a placement on the Dean’s List from 1993 through 1997 and I was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society from 1995 to 1997.
Upon graduation in 1997, I went on to earn my Juris Doctor from the New England of School of Law, in Boston, MA. Trial and litigation work was a great interest of mine even while in law school. During my law school years, I interned at the Attorney General’s office in the spring of 1999, working on matters of civil litigation and consumer rights and subsequently, I worked at the Brockton County State Attorney’s Office where I worked in the Domestic Violence Unit, that summer of 1999. I was also employed at my law school as a legal research advisor in the spring of 1999, and was involved in such activities as Moot Court in the spring of 1998, as well as an active member of student organizations, including the Minority Students Association from 1997 to 2000, and Phi Alpha Delta Fraternity from 1997 to 2000. I also made the Dean’s List from 1998 to 2000.
Upon graduation from law school in May 2000, I was immediately admitted to the Florida Bar that September 2000. I briefly worked for the Broward County State Attorney’s Office in the Misdemeanor Unit that fall, handling DUI trials, along with other criminal offenses, before I found my true calling in civil litigation, the following summer, where I worked for United Automobile Insurance Company, as their Litigation Specialist for personal injury protection claims. My role was corporate representative for the insurance company in the evaluation and strategic defense of PIP claims for the South Florida region, involving fraud, coverage, and breach of contract disputes. I also briefly developed expertise in the field of health insurance law, representing hospitals, and counseling clients in the areas of HIPPA, ERISA, COBRA, Worker’s Compensation statutes and its application to insurance reimbursement while employed at AHC, as staff counsel.
During my years in defense work at United Automobile Insurance Company, I was also employed as their in house counsel, and therefore was responsible for the defense of active litigation files from beginning to end, in which I personally prepared for all court appearances, handled all motions and hearings, performed all discovery, including depositions of various expert witnesses and lay witnesses related to a personal injury protection claim. Further, as staff counsel, I handled numerous trials, arbitrations, and countless mediation cases, in which Iwas responsible for 200 active files, in which 98% went on to the trial phase. During my defense years, I was also an associate attorney for Vernis & Bowling of Broward, P.A., in which I had the opportunity of representing various carriers in personal injury protection claims as well as personal injury claims and property claims, including carriers such as Citizens, Mercury, Progressive, and AIG.
In 2005, I made a big switch to working on plaintiff’s personal injury claims, homeowner’s claims and auto property damage claims. Due to the fact that I had spent the first 5 years of my practice in the insurance industry for large companies, I know all the inside business strategies therefore I can assist my clients with firsthand knowledge and know how to get the claims resolved in their favor. Further, with my extensive litigation background, and having been in the trenches for both sides, which includes trials and arbitrations, I am well versed in court appearances and litigation practice. I have been before the majority of the Broward County civil and criminal bench judges for 23 years of practice.
Awards & Recognitions
•Awarded by Court as $500/hour in Broward County
