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Florida A&M University is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access University
Tallahassee, FL 32307 | (850) 599-3000
Speakers
Continuing Legal Education Seminar
Strategic & Ethical Business Development for Lawyers
Speakers
Alisia Mary Adamson
Alisia Mary Adamson, Esq. was recognized as The Nations Best Advocate by the National Bar Association and IMPACT in its National Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 awards ceremony in July, 2012. Attorney Adamson is a partner at HAWM law and specializes in criminal defense. Ms. Adamson serves as a legal analyst for several national and local news stations and is one of the “legal experts” for CFNews13 commentating on various legal issues, most recently covering the Trayvon Martin case.
Attorney Adamson has represented clients in over 50 jury trials, including misdemeanor and felony cases. Prior to founding HAWM Law, she was a trial attorney with the Ninth Judicial Circuit of the Office of the Public Defender, zealously defending clients with a wide range of criminal matters. She left the Public Defender’s Office with reputation of taking cases to trial as opposed to forcing clients to enter into a plea. She developed wide-ranging expertise negotiating favorable outcomes for clients in difficult and complicated cases.
Attorney Alisia Adamson loves her alma mater and is a member of the Seminole Club of Greater Orlando. She serves on the executive board of the Young Lawyers Section for the Orange County Bar Association as the Co-Chair of the Backpack project (a school supplies drive for the one of Central Florida’s most economically disadvantaged schools). Ms. Adamson proudly coaches basketball for 3rd and 4th graders and dedicates most of her weekends to coaching and mentoring her team. Alisia is also a Title I sponsor with the Orange County Public School System and spends time speaking to youth at various schools about knowing their rights and staying out of the criminal justice system.
Mark Britton
Prior to founding Avvo, Mark was the executive vice president of Worldwide Corporate Affairs of InterActiveCorp Travel (IACT) and Expedia, Inc. In this position, Mark oversaw all finance, strategy, corporate development, legal, human resources and government relations functions for the IACT companies, including Expedia, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Classic Custom Vacations and Interval International. Today, Mark serves on the Board of Directors of Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: OWW).
Through his work with Avvo, Expedia and Orbitz, Mark has been a central figure at the intersection of the Internet and professional services for over a decade. Mark’s passion for helping consumers make better choices regarding professionals led to him being named one of Seattle’s “Top 25 Innovators” by Seattle Business Magazine in 2007. Mark is also a frequent commentator on consumer issues, regularly appearing on programs such as ABC’s Good Morning America, Fox Business’ “America’s Nightly Scoreboard,” CNBC’s “Power Lunch,” CNN Money and Dow Jones MarketWatch.
Mark received his law degree from George Washington University. He holds a degree in finance from Gonzaga University and serves on Gonzaga’s Board of Regents.
Joan Bullock
Dean Bullock has over 20 years experience in law teaching. Relevant courses taught include Professional Responsibility, Law Office Management, and Accounting for Lawyers. She is also a CPA and attorney licensed in the State of Michigan who has practiced before the United States Tax Court and has assisted many start-up enterprises, including law firms, with legal, accounting, tax, and general business expertise. Dean Bullock has developed an expertise in law firm management and particularly in the area of the impact of management and performance measures on a firm's diversity and inclusion efforts. She currently serves as Chair of the ABA Law Practice Management Section.
Dennis Chen
Dennis Chen has been an attorney in Central Florida for 15 years. He began his career with a small law firm where he focused on workers' compensation, personal injury and employment discrimination law. His practice has evolved over the years to include bankruptcy, credit card defense, general civil litigation, and the bulk of his practice is in the area of landlord-tenant and real estate litigation. Dennis has an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell and a 10.0 rating with Avvo.
Dennis is admitted to practice in all Florida State Courts, all Texas State Courts, before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Middle and Northern Districts of Florida, and the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit. He is a member of The Florida Bar, the State Bar of Texas, and American Bar Association. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army and served in the first Gulf War during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
David Haenel
DUI, traffic ticket and criminal defense attorney David Haenel, Esq. of Finebloom, Haenel & Higgins has extensive experience litigating DUI, criminal and traffic-related cases in Florida courts. He rates a "Superb" (10 out of 10) rating by clients and other attorneys on the independent review site Avvo.com, and has been named a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine.
Formerly with the State Attorney's office, where he was named 2004 State of Florida DUI Prosecutor of the Year, David spent years training prosecutors and law enforcement to deal with all aspects of traffic-related crime. Now defending the rights of Finebloom, Haenel & Higgins' clients in cases involving license suspension, DUI, traffic tickets, habitual traffic offender status, criminal traffic charges and other offenses, his keen understanding of both sides of the courtroom is an asset to the clients he represents.
Haenel graduated in the top third of his class from Widener Law School and received a Master's of Law Degree (LLM) from SUNY Buffalo School of Law. He is a member of the Sarasota County Bar Association and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and is admitted to practice before the State Courts of Florida and New Jersey as well as the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Sherri DeWitt
Sherri K. DeWitt was born and grew up in Middletown, New York. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1982 and has been authorized to practice before the U.S District Court of the Middle District of Florida since 1983 and before the U.S. Court of Appeal since 1985. She received her B.A. Cum Laude in 1973 and Ph.D. in 1977 from State University of New York at Binghamton. Dr. DeWitt received her J.D. Degree from Cornell University in 1982. She was an editor of the Cornell Law Review and is the author of a book and numerous articles. Dr. DeWitt also is a certified mediator.
Heather Kirson
Heather Kirson is the managing member of The Elder Law Center of Kirson & Fuller in Orlando, Florida. Heather's legal experience is enhanced by her prior career in Geriatric Care Management. As an associate Geriatric Care Manager, she assisted elders and their families in securing Medicaid Benefits and VA benefits to pay for long-term care. Her experience and understanding of the sensitive issues facing elders and their families enhance her ability to properly analyze legal issues and offer individualized strategic legal advice.
Heather is a 2007 Florida A&M University College of Law graduate and a recipient of the Florida Legal Elite 2011 Up & Comers Award. She is a member of the Florida Bar, serving on the Real Property Probate & Trust Law and the Elder Law Sections. Heather is a member of the Orange County Bar Association's Estate Guardianship and Trust Committee and co-chairs the Elder Law Committee. Her resume includes membership in the American Bar Association, the Florida State Guardianship Association, the Central Florida Guardianship Association, the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc., and the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys.
Ronald Nesbitt
Ronald Nesbitt is a private practice attorney in Orlando, Florida. His areas of practice include business and tax planning, tax controversy, advising tax exempt organizations, estate planning, and probate. Prior to solo practice, Mr. Nesbitt worked at law a firm on Florida's Space Coast where he engaged in business and tax practices and served as legal counsel and a member of the Board of Directors for the Cocoa Beach Regional Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Nesbitt has also served as a member of the ABA's Tax Committee, Private Equity Venture Capital Committee and Securitization and Structured Finance Committee. In the community, Mr. Nesbitt is a member of Florida TaxWatch, Parramore Community Gardens, and he serves on the City of Orlando Chapter 57 Board, the Orange County Value Adjustment Board (as an alternate), and he recently joined the Board of the Christian Service Center.
Mr. Nesbitt holds an LL.M. in tax from the University of Florida Levin College of Law, a J.D. from Florida A&M University College of Law and a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Rich Sierra
Rich Sierra has represented hundreds of businesses and individuals with business related matters since 2004.The focus of his practice has been to serve the needs of the small business owner by providing effective representation at a reasonable cost. Before opening his law practice, Rich Sierra was the founder and CEO of Healthcarerecruitment.com, a national jobs database for healthcare professionals. His experience as owner of an internet-based national company, allows him to understand the many legal issues that can arise as a small business owner.
Brian Tannebaum
A newspaper reporter once wrote that Brian Tannebaum is "the lawyer that lawyers go to when they find themselves in hot water." For the past 17 years Brian has practiced state and federal criminal defense, and after a term on a Florida Bar Grievance Committee a decade ago, began representing lawyers and law students in Florida Bar admission and grievance matters. Brian also handles legal malpractice defense, and other matters where lawyers need a lawyer – from partnership disputes, to advice on conflicts, and lawyers facing alcohol and drug problems.
He is the Past President of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and current President of the Florida Association of Bar Defense Lawyers. He is a weekly columnist for Above The Law, and his professional ethics blog, mylawlicense.com was honored as one of the top 100 legal blogs by the ABA in 2011. He is AV rated, all those cute lawyer magazines love him even though he won't buy their plaques anymore, and he has proof on his wall that he is a graduate of the University of South Florida and Stetson University College of Law.