Our Principal, Mr. Heitman, has extensive experience with both the law and construction. He is both a Florida Licensed Professional Engineer, as well as a Certified Construction Attorney. This puts him in the unique position to lead on both the jobsite, courtroom, and boardroom.

Much like you on your jobsite, we do everything to legal code and correct the first time. We will be straightforward with you about your case and inform you on all your options. We will not cut corners, paying careful attention to every aspect of your case, from the contracts to the construction disputes. Also like you, we think that no project is too big or too small to be given our utmost attention. We want to make you, your project, and your company is given thorough legal representation.

Heitman Law Firm serves it's clients by first comprehending the specific issues our clients face and then tailoring our representation to those specific needs. Construction law cases often involve legal,technical, engineering, design, constructability and scheduling issues. We speak the language of construction. We understand your business. We know how to read a set of plans. Our client service is based on the idea that the client should not be required to pay to bring us up to speed on the construction issues. Instead, we make it our business to be ahead of the learning curve.

Heitman Law Firm has the technical knowledge to understand the issues you face and the legal acumen to address these issues. With construction law, the cases are often multi-faceted and multidisciplinary. We are well versed in construction, business, and law, resulting in attorneys that are up to speed. You need to spend your time teaching us about construction, because we are already familiar. Instead of getting caught up in jargon, we are able to keep up to speed with both your construction issues and the current laws. This keeps us ahead of the curve and far ahead other attorneys in Palm Beach.

The Law Offices of Place & Hanley represents individual and institutional investors in stock broker & securities fraud. Our attorneys have filed claims against major Wall Street institutions and the nation's most prestigious brokerage firms. Most securities disputes are resolved in arbitration before the New York Stock Exchange or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.Our firm also represents investors in arbitration and mediation as well as clients in the North Carolina and Florida state courts where they resolve financial disputes among brokerage firms, customers, and other financial institutions. Our Secutirites Attorneys have experience in all the following cases: stocks, bonds, "penny" stocks, "junk" bonds, commodities, mutual funds and other investments.

The Law Offices of Place & Hanley have been successful in recovering our client's out of pocket losses and our client's have even received punitive damages and the reimbursement of their attorneys' fees in multiple cases.

Hard work, client dedication, and in-depth knowledge of the securities industry are the secrets to our success. At Place & Hanley our primary goal is to represent investors who have had their brokerage accounts mishandled. We would love the opportunity to put our knowledge and skill to work for you. If you're in need of Securities Attorneys in Florida or have any questions related to securities or commodites fraud, contact our office today.

One of the men who authorities say was at the center of a scam to use a veterans charity as a front for an illegal gambling operation worth nearly $300 million was a well-known attorney who once ran a marathon in a suit as a publicity stunt.

Another man involved in the case was described by friends as a small-town “pool hustler” in South Carolina. Jacksonville attorney Kelly Mathis was identified by authorities as the man at the center of the alleged racketeering scheme. Two other men charged as co-conspirators had experience running gaming parlors, including Johnny E. Duncan, who was charged more than 20 years ago with creating a fake charity to sponsor bingo gaming, which allowed the games to operate tax-free. The other man, Jerry Bass, had previously worked as general manager of a video poker parlor in South Carolina.

Authorities said Mathis made about $6 million from the operation. During a news conference Wednesday, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi unveiled a poster with a photo of Mathis in the center and linked to dozens of alleged gambling operations. Officials said he was the registered agent for 112 businesses related to the investigation. Nearly 60 people have been arrested so far.

The Florida business law firm Berger Singerman is pleased to announce that attorney James C. Cunningham, Jr. has been named a shareholder.  He is a member of the firm’s Dispute Resolution Team, resident in its Miami office.

Cunningham joined the firm in 1998 and focuses his practice to commercial litigation with a concentration in labor and employment law.

“James is an extremely talented attorney with a wealth of commercial litigation experience, as well as a strong labor and employment law background, and we are pleased to announce that he is now a shareholder,” said Mitchell W. Berger, Chairman of Berger Singerman.

Mr. Cunningham has been in private practice as a litigator since 1981.  He has been involved in significant litigation, including John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Inc. v. Bludworth, 452 So.2d 921 (Fla. 1984), by which the Supreme Court of Florida first recognized and set standards for living wills, and Telesat Cablevision, Inc. v. The City of Riviera Beach, Florida, 773 F. Supp. 383 (S.D. Fla. 1991) in which the trial court rejected First Amendment challenges to cable television regulations and recognized a municipality’s compelling governmental interests in regulating use of public rights-of-way.  He has also been lead counsel in a significant case of securities fraud.  Mr. Cunningham has litigated cases under the Americans With Disabilities Act and federal labor and employment statutes.  He also was on the litigation team of a fired CEO of an international holding company. The litigation, claiming breach of contract, invasion of privacy, conspiracy to invade privacy, defamation and conspiracy to defame, resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement for the CEO.

The Florida business law firm Berger Singerman is pleased to announce that fifteen lawyers were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the recently released edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Since its inception in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 25,000 leading attorneys cast almost two million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their specialties, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

The Berger Singerman attorneys included in the 2009 edition are:

·        James L. Berger - Real Estate Law

·        Mitchell W. Berger - Commercial Litigation

·        John D. Eaton - Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law

·        Brian K. Gart - Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law

·        Jordi Guso - Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law

·        Melanie Ann Hines - Administrative Law

·        Charles H. Lichtman – Commercial Litigation

·        Daniel D. Mielnicki – Tax Law

·        Sheldon S. Polish - Tax Law

·        Leonard K. Samuels - Labor and Employment Law

·        John “Jack” C. Shawde - Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law

·        Paul Steven Singerman - Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law

·        Arthur J. Spector - Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights Law

·        Daniel H. Thompson - Administrative Law, Environmental Law

·        Bruce L. Udolf - Non-White-Collar Criminal Defense, White-Collar Criminal Defense

McDonald Clark was the marketing genius behind Alamo-Rent-a-Car’s glory days.    When Alamo was taken over by Republic Industries in 1996, Republic entered into a new employment contract with Clark which provided for certain payments to Clark for 10 years if his contract was not renewed.  Republic later changed its name to AutoNation and spun off Alamo into a separate company.  When Alamo went bankrupt, AutoNation refused to make the payments.

Clark hired the attorneys at Kelley / Uustal to fight to enforce the agreement.  After six years of litigation, the jury found that Clark was entitled to $1,098,800.  The jury deliberated for only a few minutes after the four-day trial, which included testimony from a host of former Republic executives, including Steve Berrard and Michael Karsner.

“McDonald had a contract which was negotiated by Republic, written by Republic on Republic letterhead, and signed by Republic’s CEO, Steve Berrard,” explained John Uustal, who tried the case with his partner, Todd Falzone.  “Republic tried to use Alamo’s bankruptcy as an excuse to avoid responsibility.  But the jury didn’t buy it.  A deal’s a deal.”

Clark’s five-year contract with Alamo included a 10-year, $100,000-a-year salary continuation benefit that would begin at the end of the contract.  One year into the contract, Alamo was sold and Republic, now AutoNation, renegotiated the contract.  In 2000, the contract was not renewed, and Clark began receiving his salary continuation payments.  By November of 2001, however, Alamo filed bankruptcy and the payments stopped.

“AutoNation’s CEO gave Mr. Clark his word that this contract would be fully honored.  But when it came time for them to make good on that promise, AutoNation turned its back,” said Falzone.  “Thanks to the Judge and Jury, we had a fair trial and a just verdict.”

Mr.  Clark’s claim for attorney’s fees is still pending.