Coconut Grove Maritime Lawyers

Mr. Margulies is board certified by the Florida Bar as an expert in Admiralty and Maritime Law. To achieve this status, Mr. Margulies had to demonstrate a substantial background in handling maritime cases and maritime law continuing legal education. In addition, Mr. Margulies was rigorously evaluated by the board as to character, ethics, and reputation for professionalism and was required to pass a written examination on all areas of admiralty and maritime law.

Spencer Aronfeld, is a board-certified civil trial lawyer who has earned international recognition as being a “lawyer for the people.” Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Wichita, Kansas, Aronfeld graduated cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law in 1991. Upon graduation, he founded his own firm, Aronfeld Trial Lawyers, based in Coral Gables, Florida.

He has dedicated his life to representing individuals against corporate giants, such as Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Disney Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Holland America Cruise Lines, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Stryker, Target, Publix, Walmart, Mt....

Jason Turchin, Esq. is an Attorney, Author, Media Correspondent, Producer and Entrepreneur who has handled more than 6,500 Personal Injury, Accident, Product Liability, Life Insurance, and Wrongful Death Claims. Jason has appeared throughout the national and international news on various legal topics, including car accidents, wrongful death, product liability, Takata airbag shrapnel claims, exploding pressure cooker claims, life insurance, personal injury and more. Several major media outlets have turned to Jason for legal opinions or stories on his cases, including CBS Evening News, Wall Street Journal, Miami Herald, Bloomberg News, CBS Miami, Orlando Sentinel, Sun Sentinel, Telemundo, The New...

Mitchell J. Panter is Board Certified as a Civil Trial Lawyer by the Florida Bar and National Board of Trial Advocacy, primarily practicing in the areas of Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Product Liability, Sexual Assault, Food Contamination and Premises Liability Cases. Mitchell Panter is also Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in Civil Trial Advocacy since 1996. At the age of 31, Mitchell Panter argued the case of American Aerial Lift v. Jose Perez in the Florida Supreme Court addressing the issue of Strict Liability and Product Liability. This precedent setting case involved the award of a...

Michael A. Winkleman is one of the nation’s top maritime lawyers. An active trial and appellate attorney, Mr. Winkleman is also a frequent contributing expert on maritime and cruise ship law. He has made more than 100 national television appearances regarding cruise ship law, including The Today Show, Dr. Oz, Good Morning America, 20/20, Inside Edition, OutFront with Erin Burnett, Fox News Channel’s ‘American’s Newsroom,’ ‘Fox & Friends,’ ‘America Live,’ ‘Happening Now,’ ‘Justice with Judge Jeanine’; and ‘Imus in the Morning.’ Mr. Winkleman has received numerous honors and accolades in recognition of his contributions to the field of maritime law

Nicholas I. Gerson is a personal injury attorney whose practice consists of representing plaintiffs in serious, catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. Mr. Gerson focuses on auto, truck, and motor vehicle accidents, cruise ship accidents, maritime and marine related injuries, negligent security, premises liability, victims of crime, and other complex litigation.

Mr. Gerson is known within the legal community for his hard work, dedication and providing zealous legal representation. He has secured over 25 million dollars in jury verdicts and personal injury settlements in his first 13 years of practice. Some of Mr. Gerson's highlights include a $1.7 million dollar jury...

Curtis J. Mase is the Managing Shareholder and founder of Mase Mebane & Seitz. He is board certified in civil trial law by the Florida Bar and National Board of Trial Advocates (NBTA). Mr. Mase is also board certified in pretrial practice by the NBTA. His main area of practice is civil litigation with an emphasis on maritime and admiralty, personal injury and class actions. Mr. Mase has tried hundreds of jury and non-jury matters. Born in Coral Gables, Florida, Mr. Mase earned his B.A. with a dual major in English and Business from Florida State University in 1982. He graduated...

“Achieving substantial compensation for our seriously injured clients in a way that dramatically improves the quality of their lives is the most satisfying thing about the work that we do.” Robert B. Boyers

James Hannon is a native of Miami, Florida and a founding shareholder of the law firm, Hannon Legal Group. The firm began on Brickell Avenue in the heart of Miami's financial district and relocated to central downtown Dadeland. The Firm specializes in serious personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, negligent security, dialysis errors, pharmacy errors, premises liability, defective products, crime victim's rights, cruise line negligence and insurance claims.

Mr. Hannon holds an AV Preeminent Rating - the highest rating for legal skill and ethics - in the Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory and has been repeatedly recognized as one of the "Best Lawyers...

Elizabeth Estrada is a Partner at Friedman Rodman Frank & Estrada, P.A. she represents clients in the areas of Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice Claims, Products Liability, Motor Vehicle Accidents, Insurance Coverage Disputes, Negligent Security, Wrongful Death, Catastrophic Injuries, Nurse Home Negligence, Workers' Compensation Claims, Long-shore, and Harbor Act Based Claims. She has litigated, arbitrated, and mediated cases throughout the State of Florida.

Ms. Estrada has obtained several million-dollar settlements, judgments, and jury verdicts on behalf of her clients during her career. She is a member of Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a membership for trial lawyers who have won million-dollar settlements and...

David Markel is a personal injury attorney whose practice consists of representing plaintiffs in serious, catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. Mr. Markel focuses on auto, truck, and motor vehicle accidents, cruise ship accidents, maritime and marine related injuries, negligent security, premises liability, victims of crime, and other complex litigation.

Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Mr. Markel graduated from Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove where he was an All Dade County football player and AP Scholar. Mr. Markel attended Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he continued his football career and graduated with a degree in History...

Mr. Mermell has been the senior partner for the past twenty years in a firm that specializes in the representation of injured workers; Mr. Mermell has handled the claims of over 2,000 injured workers during the past 27 years; Mr. Mermell has tried numerous cases before the Office of Administrative Law Judges and has successfully handled appeals to the Benefits Review Board and the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit; Mr. Mermell was trained by Donald D. Gillis, Esquire, who had over 35 years of experience in handling DBA/Longshoremen’s claims; Mr. Mermell has been Florida Bar Board...

Brandon Stein is a Florida based trial attorney born in Queens, New York, and was raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Being the son of an accountant that owns a large firm in New Jersey, owning and operating a business is something that was engrained within Brandon Stein from a very young age.

As owner and founder of SteinLaw, Brandon Stein focuses his practice on personal injury, wrongful death, car accident and slip and fall litigation, as well as a variety of other civil litigation areas. While SteinLaw is based out of Florida, Attorney Stein handles cases all around the country.

Being...

Jacqueline Garcell is a senior partner and active trial attorney in maritime law for Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. She routinely handles passengers’ personal injury, sexual assault and wrongful death claims, as well as non-maritime personal injury claims. Ms. Garcell is the fastest attorney to ever make partner at the firm, having been promoted to the partner position after being with us for a decade. Ms. Garcell has helped settle hundreds of cases on behalf of both cruise ship passengers and crew members. She achieved one of the Top 50 Personal Injury Verdicts in Florida in 2017 — this rare and...

Michelle has concentrated in the area of plaintiffs’ civil trial practice since the beginning of her legal career. Her experience includes land-based and admiralty/maritime personal injury, wrongful death, and class action litigation. Michelle works closely with her clients and will always take the time to address their concerns and provide an honest assessment of their cases.

Michelle was co-lead counsel in a jury trial in Broward County resulting in one of the top 100 personal injury verdicts in Florida in the year 2017. She is fluent in Spanish.

Manny Arce is a civil trial lawyer whose practice focuses on personal injury claims including medical malpractice, wrongful death, auto accidents, premise liability, and defective products. He prides himself in his aggressive negotiation skills and impassioned advocacy on behalf of his clients.

Manny is a second generation Cuban-American who received his undergraduate degree at the Florida International University where he majored in Political Science. While attending F.I.U., he was nominated to the Honor Society of Pi Sigma Alpha.

He received his law degree from the University Of Miami School Of Law. While attending U.M., Manny was an active participant in multiple organizations....

Joseph J. Rinaldi, Jr., graduated from the University of Florida in 1998 and from the University of Miami School of Law in 2002. He is licensed to practice in Florida, in both State and Federal Courts, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Memberships: Florida Bar Association, American Association for Justice, Florida Justice Association, American Bar Association, Broward County Bar Association, Florida Admiralty Trial Lawyers Association, United District Court for the Southern District of Florida, United District Court for the Northern District of Florida, United States...

Eliana Aklepi is a litigation attorney handling passenger personal injury, sexual assault, and crewmember cases. Eliana prioritizes working closely with clients, ensuring their stories are heard. Eliana’s undergraduate degree from Drexel University allowed her to work with artists, helping them avoid exploitative contracts. This work sparked her desire to fight corporations with abusive labor practices. Eliana received her law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. In law school, she focused her studies on international law and labor. Her interest in maritime law stems from her work in Cardozo Law School’s Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention Clinic, the only...

Brandon Volk is a litigation attorney licensed to practice law in all Florida Federal and State Courts. Mr. Volk specializes in handling all aspects of maritime personal injury claims. He has achieved numerous impactful results for his clients, including passengers injured on cruise ships and pleasure boats, crewmembers injured on commercial vessels, yachts, tugboats, and barges, as well as longshoremen and a variety of maritime service workers. Mr. Volk undertook his legal education at Tulane University Law School, widely renowned as hosting one of the preeminent programs in the United States for its Admiralty & Maritime Law curriculum. There, he attained...

A native Miamian, Marc earned his undergraduate degree from American University in Washington D.C. graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. He attended law school at Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, FL. While in law school, Marc earned the William F. Blews Pro Bono Service Award and studied abroad at Nankai University located in Tianjin, China. The semester abroad allowed Marc to have a wider outlook on life and appreciate cultural differences which has come in handy when working with clients. After graduating from law school, Marc has practiced in state courts throughout Florida and...

David is the managing attorney of BRILL & RINALDI, The Law Firm. He is also co-counsel with the Miami-based law firm of Crewmember & Maritime Advocacy Center, P.A. David began his legal career in the Office of the State Attorney in and for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami, first serving as a Certified Legal Intern and then for over three years as an Assistant State Attorney. He tried six jury trials as an Intern. He tried dozens of bench proceedings and approximately two dozen jury trials as an Assistant State Attorney. After his departure...

Geoffrey Probst is a new and prized addition to Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. While only recently joining LM&W, attorney Probst brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the firm, having specialized in admiralty and maritime law for over 17 years. Attorney Probst has extensive experience in representing both plaintiffs and defendants in legal actions involving injured or deceased passengers and crew members in cruise ship accidents. In his earlier career, he was the senior in-house litigator for a major cruise line. Having worked on both sides of these claims gives attorney Probst a unique advantage when representing accident...

Alex Perez is an active litigator licensed to practice law in all Florida Federal and State Courts, including Appellate Courts. Mr. Perez also routinely handles International Arbitrations pending in countries all over the world. Mr. Perez has secured millions of dollars for his clients. Mr. Perez primarily represents passengers injured on cruise ships, crewmembers injured on cruise ships, cargo vessels, oil tankers and other commercial sea going vessels, and handles a variety of recreational marine cases involving yachts, pleasure boats and jet skis. Before starting his practice, Mr. Perez attended Tulane University Law School where he pursued a course of study in...

Elizabeth Irazabal is a litigation attorney handling cruise ship passenger personal injury claims and crewmember claims as well as non-maritime personal injury claims. She is dedicated to providing exceptional service and representation to the firm’s clients throughout all stages of the litigation process. “When clients call for our help, they seek answers and guidance. My driving passion is to be the voice for our clients to help them feel whole again.” Elizabeth was born and raised in Miami, Florida and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Central Florida earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Studies. While completing her...

Stefanie Black is a litigation attorney handling passengers’ personal injury claims and crewmember cases as well as non-maritime personal injury claims. She has experience in maritime personal injury litigation as well as cargo claims against ocean carriers in federal court. Ms. Black enjoys state and federal court practice with a history of countless successful trials. She is passionate about providing exceptional representation to the firm’s clients throughout all stages of the litigation process. Stefanie obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from Barry University School of Law and graduated in the top 18% of her class. While in law school, she received the...

Daniel Grammes is a litigation attorney, handling passengers’ personal injury claims, crewmember claims, wrongful death claims, product liability claims, as well as non-maritime personal injury claims. He is dedicated to providing exceptional service and ensuring that every client is treated like a valued member of the firm’s family. Daniel graduated Magna Cum Laude from St. Thomas University School of Law with his Juris Doctorate degree. He graduated in the top 5% of his class. While in law school he obtained Dean’s List Awards for every semester. In addition, he received the CALI Award for Excellence for his performance and mastery of...