An Associate at Butler, Suzanne DeCopain practices in our Coverage Defense department. Suzanne has been a member of the Florida Bar since 2009 and is based in our Tampa office. She is admitted to the United States District Court for the Middle, Southern and Northern Districts of Florida.  Before joining Butler, Suzanne served as an Assistant State Attorney for the 20th Judicial Circuit for three years. During her time there, she gained significant jury and bench trial experience. Suzanne also has experience in landlord/tenant matters for public housing authorities.  While prosecuting, Suzanne taught as an Adjunct Professor at her undergraduate school, Florida Gulf Coast University. Since moving to Tampa, Suzanne became active with various bar associations including the George Edgecomb Bar Association and has held various positions. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the Diversity Access Pipeline and also serves as the Learn Your Legal Rights Community Workshop chair. She was selected as the 2019 recipient of the GEBA Young Lawyers Award for her upstanding work in the legal community as a leader and a mentor. And in 2019, Suzanne was appointed to the Board of Directors for the InterOcean University, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide online college education tuition-free.

Marisol Ruiz joined McIntyre Thanasides as an associate in the complex litigation division in 2020. Before joining McIntyre Thanasides, Marisol worked as an associate attorney where her practice consisted of the representation of several community associations, real estate, family law, business litigation, and bankruptcy.

Marisol is a Tampa native and a proud “double Gator”, having previously graduated from the University of Florida (UF) in 2013 with two bachelor’s degrees — a B.A. in Criminology & Law and a B.A. in Anthropology, then later graduating from the University of Florida Levin College of law in 2017.

Marisol has a passion for advocacy and actively volunteers with numerous pro bono projects ranging from helping children in foster care to assisting with cases for Bay Area Legal Services. During law school, Marisol worked extensively with Judge Rawls in the Dependency and Delinquency Clinic (Gator TeamChild), where she represented children in various types of proceedings. Upon graduating from law school, Marisol became a certified Guardian Ad Litem continuing her dependency and delinquency work in addition to helping human trafficking victims.

Marisol is very active in the legal community serving on the Young Lawyers Division Professionalism and Ethics committee, a member of the Stann Givens Family Law Inn of Court, a member of the Hispanic Bar, and a member of The Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

Ben Fechter is an associate in Gunster's business litigation practice. He focuses his practice on various business torts and breach of contract disputes at the federal, state, and local levels, assisting individuals and businesses of all sizes.

His case work includes real estate developments, fraudulent transfers in bankruptcy court, public record disclosures, legal malpractice claims, breaches of contract, and probate litigation. Ben has experience arguing for clients in court, participating in mediations and depositions, drafting complaints, motions, subpoenas, and letters to clients and client customers, and overseeing all levels of discovery, including document review and production, researching and analyzing law.

Ben is passionate about advocating for others. He strives to prioritize relationships, and focuses on collaborating with clients and colleagues while attempting to find the best solutions to complex issues.

Ben is actively involved in the Palm Beach County Bar Association (PBCBA), serving as a board member of the Young Lawyer Section. In 2019, he was appointed to the Judicial Relations Committee and the Professionalism Committee for which he has published material on developing a reputation for professionalism. Ben also volunteers for the Jewish Federation and the Florence de George Boys & Girls Club.

While earning his law degree, Ben was a member of the Florida Law Review and Florida Trial Team. He interned with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the Legal Aid Society in New York City, and the civil rights defense group, LatinoJustice, in New York City. Prior to launching on his legal career, Ben spent three years working in middle schools in Bronx, NY.

Lyndonna Marrast, MD, MPH is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker SOM at Hofstra/Northwell. She is a researcher, educator, and general internist. Her research interests include health disparities interventions and workforce diversity. Currently, she studies the perspectives of racial and ethnic minorities on the design and implementation of Personalized (n-of-1) trials (Grant # 3R01LM012836-03S1). Dr. Marrast teaches interprofessional trainees on topics of health equity and forms community-academic partnerships that seek to increase the health literacy of the general public. Dr. Marrast believes in the power of individuals to become better versions of themselves and is pursuing training to become an academic coach.  She earned her medical degree from Stony Brook University Health Science Center and holds a master’s degree in public health from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. She completed internal medicine residency training at Boston Medical Center and general internal medicine fellowship training at Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Health Alliance.

#healthdisparities #lawyerwellness #physicalhealth #covid19 

Links: 

www.DrLyndonna.com

Elaine L. Thompson has been practicing law since 1989.  She began her legal career working as an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals Division of the Florida Attorney General's Office in Tampa.  Over the next ten years, Ms. Thompson continued to develop her legal skills and knowledge while working in the Employment Discrimination Section and the Office of Civil Rights where she represented the State, State agencies, and State employees in appellate, trial, and federal habeas corpus proceedings.   After honing her craft with the Florida Attorney General's Office, attorney Thompson worked in private practice representing parties in workers compensation matters, criminal appeals, civil appeals, civil litigation, and family appeals. Ms. Thompson worked briefly at the Fulton County District Attorney's Office. Upon her return to Florida, she worked at a private law firm that handled cases involving medical malpractice, personal injury, and limited appeals.  From there she joined the Office of the Public Defender in Tampa where she served as a supervisor of the Appellate Division, represented clients in Baker Act proceedings, and handled post-conviction matters.   After practicing law for more than twenty-five years, Ms. Thompson decided to focus her practice on the most rewarding work she performs as a lawyer - appellate cases.  Having attended law school because of her interest in constitutional law, she continues to pursue work related to constitutional claims, civil liberties, disability rights, education rights, and individual property rights.  In addition to appeals, Ms. Thompson provides litigation support to trial lawyers and simplified estate planning.

www.floridaappeals.org 

@legalappeals (Facebook)

In this episode, we pass the mic to Sarah Gottlieb. She is an Associate in the Litigation Practice Group and a member of the Insurance/Reinsurance Industry Team at Freeborn. Sarah focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation.

She served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Charlene Edwards Honeywell in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. She also previously served as an Associate at Phelps Dunbar LLP.

Sarah graduated cum laude from Stetson University College of Law, where she participated in the Honors Program, served as a Notes and Comments Editor for Stetson Law Review, and served as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable Elizabeth Kovachevich and the Honorable Anthony Porcelli of the Middle District of Florida. Before attending law school and becoming a lawyer, Sarah worked as a journalist.

For more about Sarah Gottlieb visit: https://www.freeborn.com/people/sarah-gottlieb

The Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association: https://www.federalbartampa.org/

In this episode, we pass the mic to Kamilah O'Brien to discuss student loan debt and living you bet financial life.

Kamilah O’Brien is an operations and financial nonprofit professional with the proven ability to create and optimize operational systems as well as manage billion-dollar budgets.

Upon graduating with her Masters of Public Administration in General Finance from NYU, Kamilah had over $65,000 of student loan debt. After realizing her salary wasn’t enough to conquer her debt, Kamilah researched and tested several strategies to help her achieve financial freedom. In just three years' time, Kamilah paid off her student loan debt.

Today, Kamilah, also known as the Focused Spender to her YouTube following, is a corporate Senior Financial Manager, speaker, and consultant. She helps her followers stop living paycheck to paycheck by maximizing their savings, investments, and debt payoff. It’s her mission to help people determine and achieve their long term financial goals while reshaping their financial habits.

Get the free download mentioned in the interview here: https://focusedspenderpayday.lpages.co/5-payday-mistakes/

Connect with The Focused Spender at:

[email protected]

www.focusedspender.com/budget-tools

www.youtube.com/focusedspender

IG: @focusedspender

In this episode, we pass the mic to Mandi Clay to discuss voluntary bar associations and mental health. 

A commercial litigator, Mandi has experience in a variety of subject matters, including labor & employment, intellectual property, restrictive covenants, and class actions. Mandi has experienced the practice of law from both sides of the bench, having clerked for U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell and U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell, both in the Middle District of Florida.  

Within the legal community, Mandi is well respected among both practitioners and the judiciary. She began her pro bono work in 2008, her first year in private practice, by representing a teenager who was shot in the back by police officers, giving her immediate trial experience. Mandi is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Court Mediator and U.S. District Court Mediator. She is currently the President of the Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers.

 Most of Mandi’s free time is spent working with various community organizations and being a very invested Auntie to about 25 munchkins.

Links

www.threethirteenlaw.com

www.facebook.com/mandi.esq

www.nami.org

In this episode, we pass the mic to board member Sumayya Saleh, Esq. She discusses why she joined the Journey to Esquire team and religious diversity.

Ms. Saleh is the product of circumstances similar to those endured by JTE’s target population.  Ms. Saleh’s formative years were shaped largely by the realities of being the daughter of Syrian immigrants and being a Muslim in post-9/11 America.  People who looked like her--Muslim women in hijab--were vilified, not uplifted.  er innate desire to advocate on behalf of victims of injustice led her to pursue a career in the law, despite the hurdles she knew she would encounter.   Ms. Saleh brings her own set of invaluable experiences to the table, as she experienced the precise barriers to entry that JTE aims to help its scholars overcome. She graduated from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School (“Cooley Law”)—an unranked law school, and one of the schools with which JTE works. 

As a Cooley Law graduate, Ms. Saleh experienced implicit (and sometimes explicit) biases from prospective employers and others in the profession. Ms. Saleh also had to contend with the reality that, as a hijab-clad Muslim woman, she was a very visible minority in the legal community.  Rather than minimize this part of her identity, she embraced it.  She quickly got involved in local bar associations and made room for herself at the table. She saw firsthand how adding a diverse voice to the mix goes a long way in terms of diversity efforts, but is only the first step toward equity and inclusivity.  Ms. Saleh successfully maneuvered around the obstacles she faced: During her third year of practice, Ms. Saleh was offered a federal clerkship, which she ultimately turned down so she could accept her current position as a staff attorney with the reputable Southern Poverty Law Center. At this stage in her career, she is exactly where JTE is hoping its scholars land within their first five years of practice, and did so while staying true to the parts of her that make her “different.”

Twitter: @SumayyaSaleh

Fun fact: She helped organize a union at my workplace.

In this episode, we pass the mic to Ricardeau Lucceus to discuss being a "whole lawyer" and building character throughout law school. 

Ricardeau Lucceus has called Tampa Bay home for the past 20 years. Mr. Lucceus graduated from The University of South Florida where he earned his Baccalaureate degree in Political Science; he went on to earn his Juris Doctorate degree from the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School where he was on Honor Roll for Federal Administrative Law, Trial Skills, and Florida Real Estate Law. He also earned the honor of having been on the Dean’s list and a member of Phi Theta Kappa and Phi Delta Phi.

Besides his past leadership activities, intellectual and business successes, Mr. Lucceus is a well-known musician who sings, plays the guitar/composes and arranges music; his writing catalog includes more than 100 songs to date includes and not limited to the famous song “Diversity”,”Vye Frère”, “Knowledge”, “Be nice”, “Haiti Says Thank You”, and “Humanity First.” He also dances Salsa as a hobby and for recreation. In addition, he is the founding member of the award-winning band, Evangel, the founder and President of InterOcean Education Support, Inc., and the founder and Secretary-General of United Nations Student Associations of Cooley Tampa Bay (UNSACT).

Mr. Lucceus is a published author of “God’s Justice in an Unjust World” and “How Global Corruption Becomes Rotten Flesh.”  He is a humanitarian and an integrated community leader, with the hashtag: #yourcommunitylawyer. He is a promotor of humanity, peace, diversity, and compassion.

Links:

Dr. Peter-Christian Aigner is a historian of twentieth-century America. In this episode, we discuss the Journey to Esquire: Oral History Project and its importance to recent events.   

Dr. Aigner's first book explores the life and career of Daniel Patrick Moynihan as a view onto the strains of American liberalism between the New Deal and the present century. The manuscript is contracted with Simon & Schuster and will be the first scholarly biography to date of the national political/intellectual figure and New York City icon. He’s begun research on a second book, interrogating the structural dimensions of American exceptionalism, re-conceptualizing local and national history from a modern global perspective.  Dr. Aigner has published essays in The Nation, The Atlantic and The New Republic, presented original research on a variety of topics before numerous professional academic associations, worked for several years as the Journal of the History of Ideas’ assistant editor and hosted a podcast on urban history for the New Books Network. Prior to being named The Gotham Center's acting director (2016-2019), he served as the organization's administrator, during which time he spearheaded the redesign of its website and the creation of several new features, including the semiweekly digital publication Gotham. 

Books mentioned: Vitale, The End of Policing;  Zinn, A People's History of the United States.

#DiversityAccessPipeline #JourneytoEsquire #DiversityandInclusion #Scholarship #Diversity #Excellence #FloridaBar #FloridaAttorney #YoungLawyer #Florida #LawSchool #FloridaLawyer #FloridaBarYoungLawyersDivision #barexam #barexamprep #BarBri #kaplan #themis #agape #barprep