The 13th annual Most Effective Lawyers special report recognizes the extraordinary work performed by South Florida attorneys in the past year.

The honorees were selected from more than 100 nominations. Attorneys were asked to show proof of positive results obtained for their clients, illustrating obstacles overcome and their impact on public policy and business interests.

This year the Daily Business Review recognizes more than 40 attorneys in 10 practice areas.

Legal professionals distinguished themselves for their work shepherding a $1 billion bank sale, arranging $335 million in condominium construction financing and handling asylum requests for women and children detained in Texas.

In a year of notable settlements, people infected with hepatitis C were guaranteed insurance coverage, barriers were removed for disabled state prison inmates, and a guest who was paralyzed at a Key West resort recovered a sizable pretrial award.

The annual recognition is based on one overriding benchmark — tangible results and impact.

— Catherine Wilson
 Managing Editor

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Appellate

Carlton Fields Team Goes 4 Rounds to Defeat Shareholder Class

The legal team defeats a proposed shareholder class action on behalf of Knology Inc., which successfully pursued a $1.5 billion merger.

A long-running fight over commercial development in a bedroom community leaves Ponce Inlet victorious.

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Bankruptcy/Receivership

Jay Peak Receiver's Team Negotiates $150M Settlement With Raymond James

Attorneys at three South Florida law firms combine to extract a record-setting EB-5 fraud settlement in the case of a Vermont ski resort.

A Squire Patton Boggs team led by Florida regional managing partner Traci Rollins is representing British American Insurance Co., known as BAICO, an insolvent Caribbean-based insurance company with policyholders in the U.S.

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Business/Complex Litigation

Akerman Team Helps Win Reversal of Swisher Cigar Antitrust Jury Award

Miami partners Michael Marsh and Ryan Roman helped persuade a federal judge to strike a $44.4 million jury award with treble damages in post-trial motions for Jacksonville-based cigar maker Swisher International Inc.

Faced with the seizure of U.S. assets identified by the law firm, Angola paid $45 million for power generated at two plants.

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Class Action

Rivero Mestre Team Gets 2 Settlements for Hepatitis C Insurance Coverage

Rivero Mestre attorneys filed class actions against UnitedHealthCare Services Inc. and Florida Blue to obtain insurance coverage for almost 9,000 insureds nationwide after they were denied coverage for Harvoni, the first-ever cure for hepatitis C.

Theodore J. Leopold is leading the plaintiffs team in litigation over the Flint, Michigan, contaminated water crisis and the Pulse nightclub attack.

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Criminal

Cuba Cruises, Police Brutality Cases Mark Work by Kozyak Tropin's Lopez

Javier Lopez took on cases targeting a decades-old Cuban policy of excluding the arrival of Cuban nationals by boat and won a settlement in a police brutality case for a mentally ill client.

Elroy Phillips was convicted of drug conspiracy based on the false testimony of a corrupt West Palm Beach police officer. He was initially sentenced to 30 years years in prison and then 24 years after winning a sentencing appeal.

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International

Hunton & Williams Partners Help Arrange $1 Billion Bank Sale

Fernando Alonso and Uriel A. Mendieta led a Hunton & Williams team advising Banco de Sabadell S.A. and its U.S. subsidiary, Sabadell United Bank, on the bank's $1 billion sale to IberiaBank Corp.

A Bilzin Sumberg team represented Grupo Mexico Transportes as Florida counsel in the $2.1 billion acquisition of Florida East Coast Railway.

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Personal Injury

Grossman Settles Over Dive That Left Key West Vacationer a Quadriplegic

A settlement worth nearly $11 million goes to a vacationer who was paralyzed diving off the deck at a Key West resort.

The legal team obtained a presuit settlement in under three months for the family of a bicyclist who was hit in a bike lane by a 16-year-old motorist.

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Pro Bono

Food Fight Led by Public Interest Law Firm Ends Well for Skim Milk-Making Dairy

Mary Lou Wesselhoeft of Ocheesee Creamery wanted her skim milk to be labeled just that.

More than 400 Jones Day lawyers have donated almost 80,000 hours representing hundreds of women and children seeking asylum in the United States.

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Public Interest

Settlement Removes Barriers for Disabled State Prison Inmates

The state Department of Corrections settled a lawsuit claiming the prison agency routinely violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act in its treatment of inmates.

Javier Lopez took on cases targeting a decades-old Cuban policy of excluding the arrival of Cuban nationals by boat and won a settlement in a police brutality case for a mentally ill client.

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Real Estate

Bilzin Sumberg Team Coordinates $335M in Financing for Paramount Miami Worldcenter

A three-part financing package valued at $335 million propels two major components of the Paramount Miami Worldcenter project.

Akerman partner Steven J. Wernick has played a direct role in the planning and evolution of many suburban neighborhoods, most notably Miami's fast-changing Wynwood neighborhood.