The Daily Business Review, with the help of editorial staff as well as distinguished members of the Florida legal community, has selected this year's honorees for the Florida Legal Awards. Among them are three attorney of the year finalists.

All honorees will be recognized, and the Attorney of the Year winner announced, at the ceremony to be held on May 17 at the JW Marriott Marquis in Miami. We hope to see you there.

We'll also be featuring these honorees in two special supplements to be released later this year.

In the meantime, please join us in congratulating the honorees for their well-earned recognitions.

The honorees are:

Attorney of the Year Finalists

Adam Balkan of Balkan, Patterson & Charbonnet – Over a 10-month span in 2022, Balkan obtained a trio of significant trial verdicts for clients in personal injury and employment cases, and in so doing carried his firm through the aftermath of losing its cofounder,  co-founder, John Patterson.

Michael Goldberg of Akerman – Goldberg played a key role in bringing bout the historic settlement resulting from the tragic Surfside collapse; he was appointed receiver for the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association Inc. and took the lead on such important aspects as site purchase, and coordinating the sale and government response.

Jason Kellogg of Levine Kellogg Lehman Schneider + Grossman – Kellogg is credited with helping fraud victims recover millions, including for his part in obtaining a $54.5 million class settlement with Comerica Bank on behalf of investors following a $1.7 billion Ponzi scheme.

Best Mentors

Beatriz "Bibi" Azcuy - Sidley Austin

Deborah Baker - Greenspoon Marder

Jennifer Bullock - Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Angela C. de Cespedes - Saul Ewing

Suzanne M. Driscoll - Shutts & Bowen

Michael Ehrenstein - Ehrenstein Sager

Raquel Fernandez - Bilzin Sumberg

Marck Joseph - The Joseph Firm

Abbey Kaplan - Kluger, Kaplan, Silverman, Katzen & Levine

Sara Lawson - Zuckerman Spaeder

Mark Osherow - Osherow PLLC

Chad Van Horn - Van Horn Law Group

Cross-Border Disputes

Greenberg Traurig

Jones Day

Squire Patton Boggs

Distinguished Leaders

Stephanie Adler-Paindiris - Jackson Lewis

Suzanne Amaducci-Adams - Bilzin Sumberg

Ardith Bronson - DLA Piper

Antonio F. Dias - Jones Day

Jorge Diaz-Silveira - Hogan Lovells

Justin Fineberg - LashGoldberg

Bill Geraghty - Shook, Hardy & Bacon

Elizabeth "Betsy" Hodge - Akerman

Tammy Knight - Holland & Knight

Enrique Martin - Winston & Strawn

Gregory Podolak - Saxe Doernberger & Vita

Andres Rivero and Jorge A. Mestre - Rivero Mestre

Randy Rosenblum - Dolan Dobrinsky Rosenblum Bluestein

James G. Sammataro - Pryor Cashman

Larry Silverman - Sidley Austin

Diversity and Inclusion – Firm

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney

Carlton Fields

Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel

Diversity and Inclusion – Individual

Nancy Faggianelli - Carlton Fields

Corey Gray - Boies Schiller Flexner

Nikki Lewis Simon - Greenberg Traurig

Grasford Smith - Akerman

Cristina Pérez Soto - Jones Day

ESG Impact

Baker McKenzie

Brinkley Morgan

Farah & Farah

LashGoldberg

University of Miami School of Law

General Counsel Impact

Jessica Camuffo - Uber Technologies, Inc.

Andrew McLachlin - BGIS Global Integrated Solutions

Pilar Ramos - TelevisaUnivision

Jalal "Jay" Shehadeh - U.S. Century Bank

Innovators

Andrew Balthazor - Holland & Knight

Mitch Bierman, Justin Luger and Roger Pou - Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman

Maria Jose Granados-Godoy - SimplyLegal

Dan Morgan - Morgan & Morgan

Lifetime Achievement

Melanie Damian - Damian Valori Culmo

Matthew B. Gorson - Greenberg Traurig

Ronald L. Kammer - Hinshaw & Culbertson

Jack Kessler - Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney

Anthony C. Musto - Anthony C. Musto, Attorney at Law

Scott J. Silverman - Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS)

Litigation Departments of the Year

AXS LAW Group

Kim Vaughan Lerner

LashGoldberg

Podhurst Orseck

Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman

Real Estate Transactions

Bilzin Sumberg

Brinkley Morgan

Eisinger Law

Greenberg Traurig

Jones Walker

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

Saul Ewing

On the Rise

Cary Aronovitz - Holland & Knight

Clay Carlton - Morgan Lewis & Bockius

Alexander Clavero - McDermott Will & Emery

Jordan Chisolm - Cozen O'Connor

Aaron Davis - Davis Goldman

Juliana De Valdenebro Garrido - Hogan Lovells

Amanda Fernandez - Rivero Mestre

Jason Goldman - Davis Goldman

Stefan R. Grow - Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs

Elizabeth Hughes - Akerman

Allison J. Leonard - Damian Valori Culmo

Jennifer Migliori - Duane Morris

Dania Slim - Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

Rebecca Rodriguez - Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

Brian Seidenberg - Polsinelli

Daniel Stabile - Winston & Strawn

Colleen Smeryage - Freedman Normand Friedland

Gabriel Valdes - Sidley Austin

Stuart Weissman – Ratzan Weissman & Boldt

Brandon White - Holland & Knight

Unsung Heroes

Lea Bucciero - Podhurst Orseck

Scott Eichhorn - University of Miami School of Law

Allison Hertz – Kaye Bender Rembaum

Bernice Lee – Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton