GREENSPOON MARDER

Surrogacy Marla Neufeld developed the concept of third-party assisted reproductive technology as a practice area through personal experience. The Greenspoon Marder partner struggled with infertility for four years and found she wasn't alone. About 12 percent of married women of childbearing age have fertility problems. Neufeld ended up using a gestational surrogate to start her family and became the mother of twins in 2014. She realized the breadth of the legal issues surrounding surrogacy along the way. The niche practice in her firm's marital and family law department focuses on helping couples create their own families by advising them on reproductive technologies and adoption laws in Florida and assisting in areas such as surrogacy and egg, sperm and embryo donations. Drawing from her personal experience, the Fort Lauderdale attorney combines her real estate transactional law background with her compassion and understanding of the surrogacy and adoption process. Legal service options include representation on behalf of surrogates and intended parents interested in using a surrogate; egg and sperm donation agreements; and adoptions by heterosexual and same-sex couples, stepparents and second parents. Neufeld is the co-author of the American Bar Association's "Consumer Guide to Assisted Reproduction: Techniques, Legal Issues and Pathways to Success." The book draws on her personal journey and applies her law background to create a simple guide to assisted reproductive technology. In the book, she explains the available ART options, the process for choosing a medical provider and legal representation; understanding and signing appropriate agreements; and the unique issues that may arise before and after birth. She frequently speaks on ART topics, most recently serving as a featured speaker at a Broward County Bar's matrimonial lawyers luncheon and presenting an ART Q&A in Chicago. She is a member of the American Bar Association's Assisted Reproductive Technology Committee.  

SILVER MILLER

Cryptocurrency Fraud The Coral Springs law firm co-founded by David Silver and Jason Miller launched by offering representation as securities fraud and investment loss specialists, and then they drilled down to specialize even more. Silver Miller bills itself as the leading cryptocurrency investor advocates in the nation. The four-attorney firm now has lawsuits pending against cryptocurrency exchanges and the largest initial coin offering promoters, alleging fraud, misrepresentation and securities violations. Silver Miller said it pioneered ahead-of-the-curve litigation in 2014 before bitcoin became a household name and has secured more than $11 million in settlements and judgments against cryptocurrency Ponzi schemers. The partners have filed a civil action against South Florida-based Cryptsy, once one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. The partners charge CEO Paul Vernon helped engineer a widespread fraud before the abrupt closing of the exchange and his disappearance to China with millions of dollars in account holders' funds. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit last month affirmed a decision by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra in West Palm Beach striking arbitration in the class action, setting it up for a jury trial. The firm claimed Vernon destroyed the company's computer servers when the alleged scheme collapsed, but a forensic recreation of company records helped obtain a $9 million judgment against Vernon last July plus an order requiring him to return over 11,325 bitcoins valued at more than $125 million. Silver Miller also has lawsuits pending against the Coinbase, Kraken and BitConnect exchanges and ICO promoters Tezos, Giga Watt and Monkey Capital.