Adjunct and Visiting Faculty

Corinne Aftimos is an associate with Bilzin Sumberg’s Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group, where she is developing her practice in creditors’ rights, workouts, bankruptcy and commercial loan transactions, complex Chapter 11 proceedings, adversary proceedings in bankruptcy courts and out-of-court restructurings.

While attending the University of Miami School of Law, Corinne was a member of the Business Law Review and volunteered as a Guardian ad Litem.She was a Dean’s Merit Scholar and the recipient of several book awards.

Prior to attending law school, Corinne worked in Marseilles, France, assisting the lead in-house counsel for an international shipping company. Corinne holds a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Miami.

Prof. Andy Anderson is a partner with the Miami based law firm of Houck Anderson P.A. He is a Board Certified, Admiralty and Maritime Lawyer who has been practicing in the area of federal maritime and federal administrative law since 1976. Prof. Anderson is the past Chair (1995-1997) of the Florida Bar Admiralty Law Committee and the Admiralty and Maritime Law Certification Committee (1988-1999). He retired from the United States Coast Guard, following a 20 plus year career, in 1989 with the rank of Commander. Since then, he has been in private practice, practicing exclusively in the area of admiralty and maritime law. In addition to an extensive practice involving all areas of federal maritime and administrative law, Prof. Anderson has also been active in the Florida Bar, chairing both the Florida Admiralty Law Committee and Admiralty and Maritime Law Certification Committee, as well as serving, for the past fifteen years, as an adjunct Professor of Admiralty Law at the University of Miami, School of Law and has written numerous admiralty and maritime law articles.

As a practitioner of federal maritime, admiralty and administrative law, Prof. Anderson has been involved in all phases of admiralty, litigation and administration matters ranging from litigation of limitation of liability proceedings in the United States District Courts to appearance before U. S. Coast Guard Marine Casualty Investigations Boards, U.S. Coast Guard Administrative Law Judges and representing claims before counts or courts of inquiry into marine casualty. In the past 30 years, Prof. Anderson has gained extensive experience in dealing with federal maritime and administrative agencies such as the U. S. Customs Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture, the U. S. Department of Commerce, NOAA, National Park Service, Department of the Interior and various federal law enforcement agencies, such as the Drug Enforcement Administration, Secret Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Professor Blanco has devoted her practice to a wide range of litigation and insolvency matters, including out-of-court workouts, debt restructuring and representation of creditors, trustees and debtors in bankruptcy and general commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts. She has also been involved in bankruptcy appeals at the district court and circuit court of appeals levels. Her practice in the area of restructuring and creditors’ rights is currently focused on complex business bankruptcy matters in which she represents various parties including institutional lenders, in all aspects of bankruptcy and workouts.

Leyza received her Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from the University of Miami Law School. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation’s Florida Network and is a member of Executive Council of the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar. Leyza is a Past-President of the Bankruptcy Bar of the Southern District of Florida and was named to Top Lawyer in Florida Trend’s Legal Elite 2008. She was also named as a Top “Up and Comer” by Florida Trend’s Legal Elite in 2007 and South Florida Legal Guide in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. In addition, she has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Nova Southeastern University Law School and at University of Miami School of Law, where she taught courses in bankruptcy law.

STEPHEN M. CARLISLE, Esq. has practiced in the area of copyright and entertainment law in Florida for 24 years. Mr. Carlisle has represented recording artists with more than 18 gold and 12 platinum albums to their credit, including members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Outlaws, Miami Sound Machine and the estate of jazz legend Jaco Pastorius. He has also represented film actors, directors and production companies, whose credits include “Striptease” and “Shrek 2”, as well as playwrights, models and local radio and television personalities.

In addition to his law practice, Mr. Carlisle is a published author on copyright law and is an Adjunct Professor at Florida Atlantic University School of Music, having taught courses in copyright law, artist management and legal issues for entertainers. He drafted the majority of the current section of Florida Statutes which protects the rights of child actors and performers. In 2010-2011 he was the Chair of the Entertainment Arts and Sports Law Section of the Florida Bar, marking the second time he has been elected to that position.

He was awarded a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Miami in 1981, and a Juris Doctor from the National Law Center at George Washington University in 1987. During law school he was a legal intern with the United States Copyright Office and won the 1987 Giles Sutherland Rich National Moot Court Competition in Intellectual Property.

Prof. Joni Armstrong Coffey specializes in Land Use and Planning. After receiving her J.D. from the University of Florida, Joni continued to South Florida, where she joined the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office in 1982. In addition to being Chief in the Zoning, Land, Use and Environment Section, Professor Coffey teaches at St Thomas University School of Law and the University of Miami School of Law.

Prof. Joni Armstrong Coffey heads the Zoning, Land Use and Environment Section of the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office in Miami, Florida. Her practice includes litigation in federal and state courts and administrative agencies, as well as advising local government officials and agencies in transactional and regulatory matters. Ms. Coffey is currently Chair of The Florida Bar’s statewide Board of Legal Specialization and Education, which oversees the board certification program for the Bar. She has been a Florida Bar Board Certified City, County and Local Government Lawyer since 1996. Ms. Coffey is past chair of the City, County and Local Government Law Section of The Florida Bar, and has served on the Executive Council of the Section since 1990. She has been the recipient of the statewide Paul S. Buchman and the Ralph A. Marsicano Awards for public law service. She has lectured in numerous continuing legal education courses, including those presented by the National Judicial College, The Florida Bar, and the Florida Planning and Zoning Association, and she teaches as an adjunct law professor in the areas of land use and state constitutional law. Ms. Coffey is AV-rated by the Martindale Hubbell® peer-review attorney rating service, and has been recognized in Florida Trend’s Legal Elite and the South Florida Legal Guide (Government Attorneys). Published articles include High Hopes, Hollow Harvest: State Remedies for Partial Regulatory Takings, The Urban Lawyer, Vol. 39, No.3 (Summer 2007); Practical Aspects of Quasi-Judicial Hearings: Basic Tools, Recent Fine-Tuning, Stetson Law Review, Vol. XXX No.3 (2001) and Private Property Rights Protection Legislation: Statutory Claims for Relief From Government Regulation, Florida Environmental and Land Use Law Treatise, Vol. III, Chapter 30 (Florida Bar 2001). Ms. Coffey received her B.A. summa cum laude from Florida State University, and graduated with honors from the University of Florida Law School, where she served as executive editor of the University of Florida Law Review. She was privileged to serve as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Peter T. Fay, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Judge Angel Cortiñas graduated magna cum laude from Brown University, where he majored in Political Science and Latin American Studies. He received his Juris Doctor, with honors, from Harvard Law School.

For over fourteen years, Judge Cortiñas worked as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where he served as the Chief of the Economic Crimes Section. He was also lead counsel on high profile corruption cases and complex fraud prosecutions. In 2001, he received the Attorney General’s Exceptional Service Award, which is the highest award bestowed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Since 2005, Judge Cortiñas has served on Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal.

Prof. Cynthia A. Everett founded her law firm in 1999 and concentrates her practice in the areas of labor, employment, and local government law. She is board certified by The Florida Bar in labor and employment law and a Florida Supreme Court certified civil mediator. She has been named in the South Florida Legal Guide as one of South Florida’s Top Attorneys in the areas of Labor & Employment and Municipal Law since 2005.

Prof. Everett is a former member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors and continues her bar service by serving as a member of the executive council of the City, County and Local Government Law Section. She began her legal career as an assistant state attorney with the Dade County State Attorney’s Office in 1982, and then joined the civil division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and entered the private sector in 1995. Prof. Everett is a member of the Florida and District of Columbia Bars and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.

Prof. Everett received her B.A. Florida State University and her Juris Doctor from George Washington University School of Law; she first joined FIU as an adjunct professor in 2004.

Martin A. Frey is Professor Emeritus at The University of Tulsa College of Law.  He earned a B.S.M.E. from Northwestern University, a J.D. from Washington University (St. Louis) School of Law, and an LL.M. from George Washington University.

He is a member of the Oklahoma and Missouri Bar Associations, a Senior Settlement Judge for the United States District Court and the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.  He was the Reporter for the Civil Justice Reform Act Advisory Group for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, an inspector for the ABA’s Committee on Accreditation and Admissions to the Bar and the Co-Director of the Center on Dispute Resolution at The University of Tulsa College of Law.

Although “retired,” Professor Frey still teaches in the areas of Contracts, Uniform Commercial Code (Selling & Leasing of Goods, Negotiable Instruments, and Secured Transactions), Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution, Mediation and Interviewing, Counseling, & Negotiating.

Professor Frey is a co-author of Frey & Frey, Introduction to the Law of Contracts (Delmar Learning/Thomson, West Legal Studies 4th ed. 2007); Frey, Frey & Swinson, an Introduction to Bankruptcy Law (Delmar Learning/Thomson, West Legal Studies 5th ed. 2006); Frey & Frey, Essentials of Contract Law (Delmar Learning/Thomson, West Legal Studies 2001); Bucholtz, Tatum, and Frey, A Student’s Guide to Law School Competitions (Carolina Academic Press 2001); and author of Alternative Methods of Dispute Resolution (Delmar Learning/Thomson, West Legal Studies 2002).

In 1981, Professor Frey was selected as a recipient of The University of Tulsa’s Distinguished Teacher Award.  Over the years, Professor Frey has been selected by the students at the law school on a half a dozen occasions as outstanding professor.  Upon his retirement he received a Lifetime Service Award from the Tulsa Alumni and the Tulsa Law Review Outstanding Professor Award.

In addition to having taught at The University of Tulsa, Professor Frey has taught at Drake University and Texas Tech University and has been a visiting professor at Washington University (St. Louis), The University of Maine, The University of Alabama (John J. Sparkman Visiting Professor of Law), Wake Forest University, and Stetson University.

Professor Frey teaches as GED course for the parents of students at a local elementary school, has his dog Daisey certified as a therapy dog and takes her to the elementary school for students to read to and works on cold cases as a volunteer at the Tulsa Police Department.

Professor Frey is listed in Who’s Who in American as well as in Who’s Who in American Law.

Given Prof. Murray A. Greenberg’s experience with the famous Bush v. Gore case in 2000, FIU is pleased to have his expertise in teaching Election Law for our students.

Prof. Greenberg received both his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He has spent the bulk of his career in the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office, from which he “retired” in 2007, and is now affiliated with Wetherington, Klein & Hubbart and Gerald Kogan. He is a highly sought after mediator and has mediated several highly-visible mediations in South Florida. He was County Attorney(2005 -2007), First Assistant County Attorney (1980-2005), and Assistant County Attorney (1975-1979 and 1969-1972).

Prof. Greenberg also has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law; (1974-to Present) and St. Thomas University School of Law, specializing in State & Local Taxation, State & Local Government Law, and Election Law.

After 20 years as a full-time law professor, Jerry Hesch became a practicing tax lawyer, but continues as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Miami School of Law, Graduate Programs in Estate Planning and Taxation and joined FIU Spring 2009.

He has appeared on CLE programs throughout the country, such as the NYU Annual Institute on Taxation, the University of Southern California Tax Institute and the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning. He served on the Drafting Committee for the Florida Revised Uniform Partnership Act and the Florida Governor’s Unitary Tax Study Committee.

He has published extensively, including a law school casebook on Federal income taxation now in its third edition: The Individual Tax Base: Cases, Problems and Policies in Federal Taxation (with Prof. Laurie Malman, NYU, Prof. Linda Sugin, Fordham and Prof.Lewis Solomon, George Washington University).

He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and his law degree from the University of Buffalo. He was with the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. from 1970 to 1975, and was a full-time law professor from 1975 through 1994.

Prof. Adalberto Jordan, born in Havana Cuba, became Federal District Court Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in 1999. Professor Jordan received his J.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Law where he graduated second in his class. Aside from being a professor of law at the University of Miami and now FIU, Professor Jordan served as clerk for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the United States Supreme Court.

Prof. George Knox comes to the FIU College of Law after many years of substantial contributions to the city of Miami. Considered among the “100 Most Powerful People in Miami” by Miami Business Magazine, Professor Knox’s community credentials range from serving on our FIU College of Law Advisory Board, playing a key role in bringing both an NBA and an MLB team to South Florida, and being Co-chair of a campaign in 1997 for the United Way of Miami-Dade County which raised over $33 million in contributions. Professor Knox, whom received his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, was the first person of African descent to join the faculty at the University of Arkansas School Of Law.

Prof. Larry Leiby has practiced construction law for 35 years. He is the author of the Florida Construction Law Manual, originally published by Shepard’s/McGraw Hill (1981), now published by West annually as a text that is included as a part of the Florida Practice Series on Westlaw. Mr. Leiby has also written the construction lien and construction contracts sections of The Contractor’s Manual, published by Associated Builders and Contractors, a text authorized for the Florida state contractors’ licensing examinations. Mr. Leiby was the founder (1976) and served as the first Chairman of the Construction Law Committee in the Real Property Section of the Florida Bar for 16 years. Mr. Leiby was on the inaugural Florida Bar Construction Law Certification Committee (2005) and later chaired that committee. Mr. Leiby helped put together the program and then served as instructor for the American Arbitration Association in training construction arbitrators, and currently serves as a mediator and arbitrator in construction law cases.

Prof. John Little was born and raised in upstate New York’s Hudson Valley. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Alabama in 1969 followed by a short stint teaching 7th and 8th grade science in Alabama’s rural Black Belt. Before attending law school he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa.

He received his J.D. degree from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1978. Upon graduation he was awarded a two year “community lawyering” fellowship through Howard University and was assigned to work with a small legal services program in north Alabama. Upon completion of the fellowship he worked for five years with Alabama Legal Services in their Tuscaloosa Regional Office. During that time he served numerous individual clients and helped to create a statewide community development initiative providing assistance to nonprofit corporations.

In 1985 he began his present employment as a community development specialist attorney with Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. where he is responsible for providing free legal assistance to nonprofit corporations engaged in housing, economic and community development activities in ethnically diverse low income neighborhoods. He has extensive experience in the legal aspects of real estate development, affordable housing, and small business issues.

David Oscar Markus is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School. After graduating from Harvard, David served as law clerk to the Honorable Edward B. Davis, then-Chief United States District Judge, Southern District of Florida. Following his clerkship, David worked as an associate at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., and then practiced as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in Miami. He is now in private practice focusing on criminal trials and appeals.

The National Law Journal selected him as one of the top 40 litigators in the country under 40 years old, and it has recognized one of his trial victories in federal court as one of the top ten defense verdicts in the country for 2003.  David is the past-president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers–Miami Chapter and the past-president of Federal Bar Association-South Florida Chapter. He is the Southern District of Florida’s national representative for the Criminal Justice Act Panel.  David is the vice-chair of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer’s amicus committee.

He writes the popular Southern District of Florida blog (www.sdfla.blogspot.com) and used to write the 4^th Amendment column for the Champion, the magazine for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.  His firm website is www.markuslaw.com

Prof. William T. Muir, is a graduate of the University of Florida (BA, 1969) and the University of Miami (JD, 1981) and is a founding shareholder of Dunwody White & Landon P.A., a law firm dedicated to the practice of estate and trust law, with offices in Miami, Naples and Palm Beach. His practice focuses on estate planning, probate and trust administration. He is a member of the Executive Council of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar and serves on the Trust Law, Probate Law and Advance Directives committees of The Florida Bar. He is a member of the Probate and Guardianship Committee of the Dade County Bar Association and the Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and a past chair of the Dade Community Foundation.

Professor Edward D. McCutcheon joined the Miami Regional Office of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission in 2003. He is currently senior trial counsel for the Commission. A graduate of Brown University and the Cornell Law School, Prof. McCutcheon served as an assistant district attorney in New York County, New York before joining the Commission. He is admitted to practice in Florida and New York.

Prof. Bernardo Pastor is currently an Assistant County Attorney for the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office, where he represents the County in a wide variety of litigation matters in trial and appellate courts, including actions attacking the constitutionality of County ordinances, and defending the County and its employees in tort claims, false arrests, and other civil rights actions.

Prof. Pastor began his legal career in 1994, clerking for the Honorable John H. Moore II, of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, before moving into private practice as an associate with Holland & Knight, P.A. in Miami. He then joined the United States Attorney’s Office in Miami in 1999. After serving as an Assistant United States Attorney for three years, Prof. Pastor joined While & Case LLP in Miami in 2001, and in 2004 joined the County Attorney’s Office.

In addition to serving as an Adjunct Professor at FIU, Prof. Pastor has for several years been a National Faculty Lecturer for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA). He has also served on the Advisory (Ad Hoc) Committee on Rules & Procedures for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida; the Florida Bar Federal Court Practice Committee; and chaired a Florida Bar Grievance Committee.

Prof. Pastor earned his B.A. in Political Science and Economics (double major) from Fordham University, and graduated from Temple University School of Law.

Studies of law at Universidad Central de Venezuela (1959-64), philosophy and sociology of law at Paris (1964-66) and Harvard (1971-12). LlM (Harvard) and Dr.C.Law (PhD, Universidad Central de Venezuela).

Professor of law and former dean, Universidad Metropolitana, Caracas. Frequent Visiting Professor at Stanford Law School since 1998. Professor at Universidad Central de Venezuela (1967-1988) and Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (1988-1998). Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex (1977), University of the Basque Country (1991-92), CIDE and Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas of UNAM, México in 2010).

Academic Director of Stanford Program for International Legal Studies (1999-2001), Academic Director of Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law (1991-92). President of the Research Committee on Sociology of Law, International Sociological Association.

Many academic publications. The most recent books are Justicia e injusticias en Venezuela (Academia de la Historia and Universidad Metropolitana, 2011) and Law in many societies (co-editors: Lawrence Friedman and Manuel Gómez, Stanford University Press)

Prof. Laverne O. Pinkney directs and supervises the Education Advocacy Clinic at FIU. Her previous experience includes serving as an administrator with the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Organized Crime Strike Force for more than ten years. After earning her Master’s in Public Administration she was selected as a United States Presidential Management Intern, and after successfully completing her management internship, she entered St. Thomas University School of Law.

Following completion of her J.D., Prof. Pinkney clerked for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division in Miami and the 17th Circuit Court in Broward County. She spent a number of years with Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc., a pro bono program to assist the poverty communities in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. She represented clients in a wide variety of civil cases, including Dependency proceedings in Juvenile Court, class actions, special education cases and other family court actions. From 1998-2001, Professor Pinkney served as Chief Legal Counsel for the Department of Children and Families in Broward County, Florida. As Chief Legal Counsel, she was responsible for providing legal direction to an Agency with broad responsibility.

In 2006, Professor Pinkney returned to private practice. She established the Pinkney Law Firm, P.A. In addition to the above experience, Professor Pinkney has served in several quasi-judicial positions, including Special Master and Traffic Court Magistrate. She is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family and County Mediator.

Judge Juan Ramirez, Jr. is the former Chief Judge of the Third District Court of Appeal. His term commenced July 1, 2009 and expired June 30, 2011. He has served as a district court judge since January 2, 2000. He previously served as a circuit court judge (1990-99) and as a county court judge (1988-90). He is the author of a three-volume treatise entitled “Florida Civil Procedure,” originally published by Michie / Lexis Publishing in 1997 and a three-volume set entitled “Florida Evidence Manual” published in 2000, also by Lexis. He writes yearly updates for both treatises.  He has also written for a number of Florida Bar publications and a casebook on Florida Civil Procedure, published by Carolina Academic Press.

He has served as a member of the Executive Committee (2010-11) and the Education Committee (2009-10) of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal (CCJSCA).  He hosted the Annual Education Conference of the CCJSCA held at Miami Beach in October 2011.  He has also represented the Third District on the Court Technology Committee for the Appellate Courts of Florida and the Education Committee of the Conference of District Court Judges.  He is currently serving on the Editorial Board for Lexis Publications.  He was a member of the Advisory Board of the Law and Economics Center of George Mason School of Law and was the Associate Dean of the College of Advanced Judicial Studies.  He also served in the Florida Courts Education Council. As a chief judge, he served on the DCA Budget Commission.

As a trial judge, Judge Ramirez served in the Criminal, Family and General Jurisdiction Divisions and, during his last year, was the Administrative Judge of the Appellate Division of the Circuit Court. He was elected by his peers to serve as the Third District representative to the Conference of Circuit Court Judges, and also served as Civil Section Chair and Education Program Chair. He has previously lectured at various meetings of the Conference of Circuit Judges on civil topics.

Judge Ramirez has taught numerous law school courses as an adjunct professor at Florida International University, St. Thomas University School of Law and Nova Southeastern University School of Law, including Florida civil procedure, medical malpractice, criminal procedure, evidence and family law. He currently teaches Florida Civil Procedure at both the FIU College of Law and the UM School of Law, and he is teaching Law, Science and Technology at the FIU COL.  He lectures every year at the East Region Construction Defect and Construction Law Conference, and will be on the Judges’ Panel at the American Conference Institute’s National Forum on Construction Litigation..  He has also lectured for Lawline and will be participating in the Circuit Court Book Camp Miami – 2012.  Judge Ramirez has also served in other numerous bar activities, including on Florida Rules of Civil Procedure Committee, as well as the Appellate Rules and the Family Law Rules Committees.

Judge Ramirez earned a B.A and an M.A. degree from Vanderbilt University, followed by two years at the University of Florida, where he worked on a Ph.D. in Latin American History. He graduated with honors in 1975 from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He was born in Havana, Cuba and has been married to Josefina Rovira Ramirez (Josie) since 1979.  They have two children, Juan Luis (a lawyer at Debevoise and Plimpton, NYC) and Julian (a certified sommelier). He is also active in the community, having participated in School-Based Mentoring with Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Greater Miami, and other civic organizations.

Prof. Timothy M. Ravich is a past president of the Dade County Bar Association (2008-’09), the largest voluntary bar association in the State of Florida. He also is 1 of only 34 lawyers in the State recognized as a Florida Bar Board Certified Aviation Lawyer.

Prof. Ravich practices with the law firm of Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole & Boniske, P.L. in Coral Gables, representing individuals and corporations in the prosecution and defense of general and complex civil lawsuits in state and federal court, in the areas of aviation law, business torts, class actions, contract disputes, and products liability. Mr. Ravich has been elected a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, an honor limited to one percent of all attorneys in the country, and in 2010, he was an FIU Torch Award recipient on behalf of the College of Law.

Prof. Ravich is a cum laude graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Miami Business Law Review and a member of the Iron Arrow Honor Society. Additionally, he earned his M.B.A. degree in Aviation Policy and Planning from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He is a frequent commentator on aviation issues, serves as an “Expert Legal Commentator” for Matthew Bender/LexisNexis in the area of aviation law, and has written and spoken extensively about aviation issues, including: Aviation Law after September 11th (Vandeplas 2010); Is Airline Passenger Profiling Necessary?, 62 University of Miami Law Review 1 (2007); Airline Passenger Profiling Systems after 9/11: Personal Privacy versus National Security, 44 Journal of the Transportation Research Forum 127 (2005); Deregulation of the Airline Computer Reservation Systems (CRS) Industry, 69 Journal of Air Law and Commerce 387 (2004); and Re-Regulation and Airline Passengers Rights, 67 Journal of Air Law and Commerce 935 (2002). Prof. Ravich also teaches Aviation Law at the University of Miami School of Law.

Prof. Abbe Rifkin is a Florida transplant, having moved to Miami Beach from Laurelton, New York when she was in high school. Ms. Rifkin received a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Florida in 1978 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law in 1981. She has served as an Assistant State Attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami, since her graduation from law school. She is Chief, Sexually Violent Predator Unit (aka Jimmy Ryce Sexual Predator Act) and serves as Senior Trial Counsel in the most complex and high profile cases, almost always homicides (mainly those with multiple victims, complex and novel legal issues, and those cases in which the State is seeking the death penalty). During her tenure with the Office of the State Attorney, Prof. Rifkin has served as Deputy Chief of the Felony Division, Assistant Chief of the Sexual Battery/Child Abuse Unit, and Assistant Chief of the Juvenile Division. She has prosecuted many high profile cases, most notably the road rage case of OJ Simpson, the sexual battery conviction of Jon Wyatt, one the South Miami Police Department’s Officer of the Year, the First Degree Murder conviction of Harrel Braddy (elimination murder of a 5-year-old child by throwing her in Alligator Alley), and the conviction of Jesus Rodriguez, the first entirely circumstantial murder case in Miami-Dade County where no body was ever recovered.

Prof. Rifkin has received numerous honors and awards throughout her career.. She has served on the Juvenile Rules Committee as Subcommittee Chair and the past Chair of Florida Bar Grievance Committee 11H. She has been a guest speaker at numerous legal seminars, including the Symposium on Juvenile Sentencing Alternatives and the Judicial College.

Prof. Lisa Trueba Roberts has been Chief, Attorney-Advisor for the SEC’s Miami Regional Office since June 1999. In that position she works with the Regional Director and also supervises the regional administrative officer, the investor assistance specialist and the information technology group. Ms. Roberts joined the SEC as a staff attorney in 1991. In 2007, Ms. Roberts received the Chairman’s Award for Excellence for participation in the Chairman’s initiative on protecting older investors from investment fraud. Prior to joining the SEC, Ms. Roberts worked in private practice for a firm that specialized in civil and commercial litigation. Ms. Roberts received her law degree from the University of Miami in 1988. Ms. Roberts received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with Honors from the University of Florida in 1985.

Professor Eloisa C. Rodriguez-Dod has been tenured faculty member of Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center since 1993, with the rank Professor of Law, and is the Academic Director of the NSU-UB (University of Barcelona) dual degree program. She had previously worked as an Attorney in the Real Estate and Corporations Department at White & Case, one of the largest law firms located throughout the world. Prof. Rodriguez-Dod has taught Wills & Trusts, Real Estate Transactions & Finance, Landlord/Tenant Workshop, Lawyering Skills & Values, Negotiable Instruments, and Legal Drafting; she also taught U.S. Contracts Law at the University of Barcelona in 2003. She is the faculty advisor for the bilingual edition of the ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law.

Prof. Rodriguez-Dod graduated cum laude from the University of Miami Law School in 1990, where she was elected Special Features and Reports Editor of the Inter-American Law Review and was inducted into Order of the Coif. She holds a B.A. in International Marketing & Finance from the University of Miami, and an M.B.A. from Florida International University. She has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1990.

Prof. Rodriguez-Dod is a respected scholar: She co-authored Florida Wills, Trusts, and Estates: Cases and Materials (Carolina Academic Press 2007)(with Elena Marty-Nelson, Gail Richmond, Donna Litman & Jani Maurer), a unique casebook examining wills and trusts by focusing on Florida law. Additional selected publications include Ashes to Ashes: Comparative Law Regarding Survivors’ Disputes Concerning Cremation and Cremated Remains, 17 Transnat’l L. & Contemp. Probs. 311 (2008); Testamentary Capacity and Validity of Wills, 824-2nd TM, Tax Management, Bureau of National Affairs (2007) (co-authored with Elena Marty-Nelson and Angela Gilmore); Evaluating Katrina: A Snapshot of Renters’ Rights Following Disasters,31 Nova L. Rev. 467 (2007) (co-authored with Professor Olympia Duhart); “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”: Airline Liability for Checked-In Jewelry, 69 J. Air L. & Com. 743 (2004); Estates & Trusts: 2001 Survey of Florida Law, 26 Nova. L. Rev. 37 (2001); and RESPA – Questioning its Effectiveness, 24 Hamline L. Rev. 69 (2000).

Henry Salas is a partner at Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A. He practices in all phases of civil litigation with a focus on Federal and State Civil Defense Litigation and an emphasis on the defense of products liability, admiralty and commercial litigation.  Henry has tried in excess of 70 cases to verdict in multiple jurisdictions throughout the United States.  He is trial counsel for several Fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Salas attended the University of Miami where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1986. Mr. Salas earned his Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University School of Law. While attending Law School, Mr. Salas received a series of honors and distinctions including being selected for Law Review.  He also received a Masters in Business Administration from Florida International University Chapman School of Business in 2009.

Before joining Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A., Mr. Salas was a founding partner of a firm in Miami, Florida where he focused on admiralty defense and products liability actions.

Mr. Salas has served as an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University School of Law teaching pre-trial and trial skills to second year law students and continues to serve as an adjunct professor at Florida International University School of Law in the area of products liability and law firm management.

Mr. Salas is admitted to practice in all State and Federal Courts in Florida. He is also an active member of the American Bar Association, the Miami-Dade County Bar Association, Cuban American Bar Association, International Association of Defense Counsel, and American Board of Trial Advocates.

The Honorable Robert N. Scola has been a Circuit Court Judge since his appointment to the bench in 1995. He has served with distinction in the Criminal, Family and General Jurisdiction Divisions and has consistently been one of the highest rated judges in the “exceptionally qualified” category in judicial bar polls. His distinguished service on the bench has been recognized by his receipt of the following judicial awards for professionalism and integrity: Hon. William Hoeveler Professionalism Award, Florida Bar Committee on Professionalism, 2007; Justice Award, Miami-Dade County League of Prosecutors, 2005; Judge of the Year Award, Florida Bar Law Related Education Program, 2004; Judge Steven Levine Award, Miami-Dade Justice Association, 2006; Jurist of the Year Award, First American Family Law Inns of Court, 2002. Hon. Gerald Kogan Judicial Distinction Award, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Miami Chapter, 2001.

Judge Scola has been a frequent lecturer at continuing judicial education seminars and has made presentations at the Florida New Judges’ College, the Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies, the Florida Conference of Circuit Court Judges, and the Florida Conference of County Court Judges on a variety of subjects. He has also made presentations at continuing legal education programs sponsored by the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Dade County Civil Defense Attorneys Association, Family Law Inns of Court, Florida Bar Put Something Back Program, and the International Association of Civil Defense Lawyers.

Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Scola was a major crimes prosecutor for the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office where he served from 1980 to 1986 and then was sole practitioner handling criminal investigations and trials from 1986 to 1995. He also served as President of the Miami Chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and as Chairperson of a Florida Bar Grievance Committee.

Judge Scola graduated from Brown University with a degree in English and American Literature in 1977 and from Boston College Law School, cum laude, in 1980.

After graduating with Honors from the University of Miami School of Law, Jorge E. Silva obtained the highest score on the Florida Bar examination and was subsequently invited to teach the preparatory course for it.

Jorge E. Silva is passionate about his law practice. He has concentrated his efforts on representing victims of catastrophic medical malpractice events. He firmly believes that patients must have a solution for medical negligence and wrongful death.

Because of his firm’s involvement in major aircraft, maritime and products-liability catastrophes, Jorge E. Silva has also become immersed in these matters. Specifically, he has been able to contribute substantially in areas such as establishing a breach of prevailing standards, causation, and damages.

Mr. Silva is a member of the Florida Bar, the American Bar Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers. He is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and is rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell, a recognition by his peers that places him amongst the top trial attorneys in the nation.

He has participated in “Put Something Back” a pro-bono effort by Miami attorneys and judges to represent, free of charge, those who cannot afford the services of an attorney in civil matters. He is a Charter Founder of the Coalition for Family Safety and sits on the Board of Advisors for Misioneros Del Camino, a non profit organization dedicated to helping orphaned children.

In 2004 and 2005, Mr. Silva completed the New York City Marathon with the objective of raising funds to facilitate the construction of a Hospital as well as to provide education to orphan children in Sumpango, Guatemala. Thereafter, Mr. Silva ran the Marine Corp and Chicago Marathons to further fund the hospital.

Jorge E. Silva is married and a father of four. As such, he is tenacious in his request to be an advocate for victims and their families.

Prof. Doug Stein is one of the most accomplished appellate advocates in the State of Florida. He has served as lead counsel in more than five-hundred civil appeals covering a broad spectrum of issues. He is admitted to practice law in Florida, New York, and the District of Colombia, in addition to various federal appellate courts throughout the country, including the United States Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits. Prof. Stein received his B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1979, and is a 1982 graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, where he was named Editor-in-Chief of the International Law Review, and selected for both the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Competition and National Moot Court Team. Upon graduation he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Peter Palermo of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, after which he moved into the private sector. He served the maximum two terms on The Florida Bar Appellate Court Rules Committee and has lectured for numerous institutions on the subjects of appellate litigation and insurance law.

Professor Stein has been selected three times by the Judicial Nominating Commission as a candidate for appointment by the Governor to the Third District Court of Appeal, State of Florida. In addition to his pursuits in the law, Professor Stein holds a 4th degree black belt in Shotokan karate, and is Director of Legal Affairs and a Member of the Executive Board of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Karate Program.

Frank P. Terzo is the Chair of GrayRobinson’s Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights practice group. His practice is devoted to a wide range of insolvency matters, including representation of corporate and consumer clients in complex workouts, bankruptcies, assignment for the benefit of creditors, and receiverships. He has also represented creditor’s committees and Chapter 11 and 7 trustees. In addition, his practice encompasses both the prosecution and defense of all forms of complex bankruptcy litigation including preference, fraudulent transfers and complex contested matters.

Prior to practicing law, Frank spent eighteen years in the healthcare industry, successfully starting up, managing and operating various public companies. He filed his first Chapter 11 just six weeks after his admission to the Florida Bar and successfully reorganized the largest minority plumbing contractor in Miami-Dade County.

Because of his past experience in managing public companies and raising both debt and capital offerings, Frank has devoted much of his attention in the last several years to representation of both state and national lending institutions in all aspects of insolvency and workout matters. Most recently he has been involved in large complex Chapter 11 litigation matters pending in both the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida and the United States District Court on behalf of secured and unsecured creditors.

Prof. Maggie Tsavaris completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz in psychology and theatre arts where she graduated with highest honors. At the University of Miami School of Law, she received numerous awards and honors, most notably for her published maritime casenote, Calming Troubled Waters for Cruise Ship Owners and Their Passengers: Carlisle v. Carnival Corp., 35 U. MIAMI INTER-AM. L. REV. 153 (2003-2004), and for her contributions as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Miami Inter-American Law Review.

Prof. Tsavaris was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2006. She practices in the areas of maritime law, international and domestic family law, complex business disputes, and commercial transactions. Additionally, she is an adjunct Professor of Legal Research and Writing at the University of Miami School of Law.

Prof. Antonio Zamora has practiced law in Miami, Florida for almost 40 years with some of Florida’s largests and more prestigious law firms. His practice has concentrated on international law issues particularly foreign investments from the United States to Latin America and the Caribbean and vice-versa. He has also represented clients in Europe and Africa. Mr. Zamora has an AV-Rating from the Martindale Hubbell peer-review attorney rating service. He has visited almost every country in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mr. Zamora has a long history of involvement in South Florida’s community. He was a founder of the Cuban American Bar Association, General Counsel of the Cuban American National Foundation, Vice-Chairman of the International Trade Board of the City of Miami, President of Miami Friends of Caribbean Central American Action, Inc., President of US/Cuba Legal Forum,Inc. and a Trustee of The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

Prof. Zamora has a B.A. in Political Science with a Certificate of Latin American Studies from the University of Florida, 1965, an M.A. in International Studies from the University of Miami, 1969 and a J.D. from the University of Florida College of Law. He is a member of the Florida Bar International Law Section and an advisor on international matters to the University of Florida.

He has published numerous scholarly articles dealing with Latin America and the Caribbean and is a frequent lecturer on law and development issues.