“Malpractice & Ethical Perils for Law Firms to Avoid,” will be presented by Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company’s Cathy M. Sargent, Esq., Executive Vice President & COO, and Margaret “Peggy” Hewitt, Esq., Resources and Services Manager, and moderated by Renée E. Thompson, Upchurch Watson White & Max. Live GoToWebinar. Course number 5406. Approved for 1.0 General; 1.0 Ethics CLE credit. Section members register for only $50. REGISTER

Even the best lawyers can be sued for malpractice, and in our litigious environment, lawyers can face a number of risks from clients due to real or perceived errors.  No one single error accounts for the majority of claims against attorneys from a myriad of possibilities: substantive law error, administrative mistakes, client relations faux pas, and intentional wrongs are at the top.  Join Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company’s Executive Vice President & COO Cathy M. Sargent and Resources and Services Manager Peggy Hewitt to understand from where and why claims happen to help you take proactive steps to reduce the likelihood a claim will be successfully made against you.

Cathy M. Sargent is Executive Vice President & COO of Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company, responsible for overseeing the Company’s day-to-day operations.

Prior to joining FLMIC, Ms. Sargent led for 34 years at Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company of California, serving as Vice President of Development and Outreach, Vice President of Underwriting & Marketing, and General Counsel for Claims. She was a founding member of the California Lawyers Association Lawyer Well-Being Committee, reflecting a personal passion for lawyer well-being and personal and professional happiness — a passion she brings to FLMIC in furtherance of our commitment to serving our member lawyers.

Additionally, Ms. Sargent served as a guest speaker at the international 2019 NABRICO conference. She is currently a nominee for the ABA Standing Committee on professional liability insurance.

Ms. Sargent is a graduate of the Loyola Law School, where she worked in the Domestic Violence Clinic and served as Certified Student District Attorney, a trial advocate, and as a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals extern. After graduating with a Juris Doctorate, she served as defense counsel in a California law firm handling legal malpractice claims and coverage disputes. Prior to entering law school, Ms. Sargent graduated Magna Cum Laude from Loyola Marymount, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and was recognized as part of the University Honors Program during each of her four years. While enrolled at Loyola Marymount, she served as Vice President of Tri Sigma and was a member of distinguished scholarship society Alpha Sigma Nu.

Before coming to Florida Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company, Margaret “Peggy” Hewitt, Esq. was a 20-year partner of Jones, Hurley & Hand, P.A.  Before joining a law firm, Ms. Hewitt was in-house counsel for the Walt Disney Company; before Disney, she was Counsel to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and an Assistant State Attorney.  Her practice experience included over 120 jury trials, and countless administrative hearings and appeals in the areas of Insurance Defense, Employment and Labor Law, and Workers’ Compensation.  She has been designated an “AV” Peer Review Rated Lawyer by Martindale Hubbell.

Ms. Hewitt has an extensive library of articles and advisories for legal and risk management publications, including the National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association News and LinkedIn.  Her Florida Bar CLE manuals and presentations include “Trying a Difficult Liability Case in Florida.”  She has been an accredited CEU presenter for the Florida Department of Finance since 2002, has created and presented dozens of Power Point assisted seminars both for the CEU Institute and for her self-insured and self-administering clients, and has presented at the ABA Annual Conference and the NRRDA National Conference.

Ms. Hewitt was raised in Florida.   She received her BA in History and Music from the University of Florida in 1980, while working full time and participating in the UF Band.  She also earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida in 1983.  She was recently nominated by the City of Winter Park Chamber of Commerce for Volunteer of the Year, for her years on the Winter Park Autumn Art Festival Committee as their Entertainment Committee Director.

321-663-9017
peggyh@FLMIC.com

Nov. 17, 12 – 1 PM, free Wednesday Wisdom Zoom webinar for Solo & Small Firm Section members.* Presented by Patrick Russell, Salmon & Dulberg Dispute Resolution and Meaningful Mediation. Moderated by Solo & Small Firm Section Executive Council member Joshua Hertz of Law Office of Joshua J. Hertz, P.A. and Business and Professional Development Coach Paula Black.

Course number and 1.0 General; 1.0 Ethics CLE credit pending. *Registration will be approved when section membership is confirmed. REGISTER

Learn the mediation approach that rests on the powerful foundation of tactical thinking, ethics, and diplomacy from ADR Section Chair, Mediator, and former Florida Bar Ethics counsel and trial lawyer, Patrick Russell. His mediation goal is to unleash peace to have less conflict and more resolution. When parties mindfully listen, speak and act during mediation, they can better understand one another, trust one another, and are in a better position to resolve their differences.

Many litigators leave behind a legacy of conflict. Throughout his entire career, Patrick has maintained mutual respect with opposing counsel, many of whom are and remain friends. With courtesy, honesty, and respect as his guiding principles, Patrick prides himself on having a reputation as a relationship-builder who looks to the lessons of history to guide solutions for the future.
Patrick Russell has been a Florida Supreme Court Certified Civil Circuit Court Mediator since 2009 and has been practicing law since 1994. Before joining Salmon & Dulberg, he was a Trial Partner at Lydecker | Diaz, where he also created and led the firm’s first statewide Mediation Division. Before Lydecker | Diaz, Patrick managed his own law firm for almost twenty years and then worked with The Florida Bar. Patrick’s diverse legal experience includes insurance law and first-party property claims, high-exposure personal injury claims and premises liability matters, ethics and professional responsibility issues, and commercial litigation.

EDUCATION:

University of Miami School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1993
Marquette University, Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, 1990

PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:

• Member, The Florida Bar
• Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator
• Chair: The Florida Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Section (2021)
• Secretary: The Florida Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Section (2019)
• Executive Council: The Florida Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Section (2019 – present)
• Chair of the Health & Wellness Committee: The Florida Bar Alternative Dispute Resolution Section (2018 – present)
• Member, The Florida Bar Trial Lawyers Section
• Member, Miami-Dade County Bar Association
• Member, Broward County Bar Association
• Florida Academy of Professional Mediators
• Director for the Making History Project, a non-profit oral history project that preserves the experiences of combat veterans and studies the impact that combat trauma can have on military service members.
• Member, Windstorm Insurance Network
• Former Member, Florida Grievance Committee, 11th Circuit
• Former Partner, Lydecker | Diaz
• Former Ethics Trial Lawyer, The Florida Bar
• Founding Lawyer, Russell | Law

Live GoToWebinar presented by General Magistrate Jennifer Kuyrkendall Griffin and moderated by Theresa Jean-Pierre Coy. Course number 5673 is approved for 1 General; 1 Technology CLE credit. Section members register for only $50. REGISTER

Learn pro tips that let you skip trial-and-error tutorials and find out how to fully integrate Microsoft Word into your law practice. Magistrate Jennifer Kuyrkendall Griffin will teach you exactly what you need to make your practice more efficient and will walk you through, step-by-step, how to set up and use Microsoft Word effectively. Practice with your PC or laptop while you listen. Learn Word features that can make formatting nightmares go away—and master shortcuts that will take your efficiency in Word to new levels.

Jennifer Kuyrkendall Griffin has presided over more than 20,000 hearings and trials since 2010. First as the Third Judicial Circuit Child Support Enforcement Hearing Officer and now as the General Magistrate. Jennifer currently presides over domestic relations, probate, guardianship and foreclosure cases.

Jennifer obtained her J.D. from the University of Florida, where she graduated Cum Laude. Jennifer received her B.S. from the University of South Florida, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Jennifer’s extensive service within The Florida Bar includes: Past Chair of the Solo and Small Firm Section; Executive Council member of the Solo and Small Firm Section (past secretary, treasurer); Chair of the Solo and Small Firm Technology Conference 2015, 2016, 2017; Family Law Section of The Florida Bar – Magistrate and Hearing Officer Committee Chair 2014-15, 2015-16; Third Judicial Circuit Young Lawyer’s Division Board of Governor’s Representative 2009-2015; Vision 2016; Statewide Advertising Grievance Committee; and The Florida Bar Ad Hoc Committee to Study SCOPE Program.

Jennifer has served her local bar as the President of the Third Judicial Bar Association, as the Vice Chair of the Third Circuit Grievance Committee and as the President and founder of the Young Lawyer’s Section.

Jennifer holds the maximum rating, AV Preeminent® by the Martindale-Hubbell® Law Directory. Jennifer’s pride and joy is her four-year-old daughter, Kendall.

Live GoToWebinar presented by Debra J. Davis, CPA, Esq. and moderated by Bill Curphey. Course number 5705 is approved by The Florida Bar for 1.0 General CLE credit, all of which may be applied toward Ethics. REGISTER

Debra Davis, a CPA and former Florida Bar Auditor and Lawyer Regulation Department Assistant Staff Counsel before joining Smith, Tozian, Daniel & Davis, P.A., will discuss the ethics of lawyer trust accounts and provide practical tips to establish, manage and maintain a compliant trust account to avoid fearing a Bar Audit.

Debra J. Davis (“Debbie”), a Florida attorney and Certified Public Accountant, graduated from the University of Tampa with honors and then studied at the Australian Graduate School of Management in Sydney, Australia.  After working years in public accounting and as accounting manager for a large OEM company, Debbie earned her law degree with honors from the University of Florida College of Law.  From 1996 to 2005, Debbie worked in the Tampa Office of The Florida Bar’s Lawyer Regulation Department, first as Branch Auditor conducting compliance examinations of attorney trust accounts, then as Bar Counsel on several high-profile cases.  Debbie has taught Ethics School and Practicing with Professionalism programs for The Florida Bar and lectured on a variety of ethics topics, including trust accounts and advertising, at local bar associations and law schools.  Debbie is a member of the American Bar Association, Center for Professional Responsibility, the Hillsborough County Bar Association, and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers.  In 2005, Debbie became associated with the law firm now known as Smith, Tozian, Daniel and Davis, P.A. where she practices with her partners in the areas of legal ethics, Bar defense and Bar admissions.

Contact Information

109 N. Brush Street, Suite 200
Tampa, Florida 33602
813-273-0063
813-221-8832 (fax)
DDavis@smithtozian.com

Free Wednesday Wisdom Zoom CLE open to all Florida Bar members. Presented by Jay Kim of Kim Vaughan Lerner LLP and Kevin Johnson of Johnson Jackson PLLC. Course number 5712; CLE credit pending approval. REGISTER

This webinar will identify ways to enhance your leadership skills and develop professionally by getting more involved in The Florida Bar, local voluntary bars, providing pro bono service or obtaining Florida Bar Certification. You will hear from two highly active and successful smaller-firm attorneys about the benefits of making time and the different ways to get involved through committees, sections, programs, local bar associations and pro bono service.

A Florida Bar Board of Governors member, former Solo & Small Firm Executive Council member, Leadership Academy inaugural class fellow, founding member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of South Florida, and Florida Bar Pro Bono Award Recipient, Jay Kim, Managing Partner at Kim Vaughan Lerner LLP will share his path.

Florida Bar Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law and a Founding Partner in Johnson Jackson PLLC, Kevin Johnson, former chair of Solo & Small Firm Section and The Florida Bar Technology Committee, member of the Strategic Planning Committee, and Technology Committee, as well as a past President of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, will talk about his involvement and becoming Florida Bar Certified.

“Pivoting Your Practice” was presented as a live GoToWebinar on Friday, February 11, 2022. Course number 5622 is available through The Florida Bar InReach catalog as an Online Seminar (on-demand) and Downloadable Audio (podcast) and will soon be available in CD and DVD formats.  It is approved for 1.0 Technology, 1.0 Mental Illness Awareness and 5.0 General CLE credits, 2.0 of which may be applied toward Ethics and 1.0 of which may be applied toward Professionalism. Visit the conference web page.

“Pivoting Your Law Practice: The Resilience & Grit You Need to Survive” is designed to meet the needs of lawyers who understand the importance of transforming their law practices to address the new demands of virtual and hybrid business models. Our diverse roster of experienced presenters will address topics such as technology transformations, working as outside counsel, managing stress with recovery, ethics of online payment systems and fee-sharing with nonlawyers and managing the ethics of law with second income streams.

Thank you to conference co-chairs Jacina Parson and Camara Williams.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

8:00 AM – 8:10 AM
Welcome by Solo & Small Firm Section Chair & Conference Co-Chair Jacina Parson and Conference Co-Chair Camara Williams with a welcome by Florida Bar President Michael Tanner.

8:10 AM – 9:00 AM
“The Transformation of Technology Usage, Adoption, and Expectations” by Ari Kaplan, Ari Kaplan Advisors of New York

9:00 AM – 9:50 AM “Bidding on Billions: Pro Tips for Working as Outside Counsel on Corporate Client Files”
Panel discussion moderated by Diriki T. Geuka, Associate, Townsend Lockett, LLC, of Atlanta
Panelists: Jennifer Branham, Director & Corporate Counsel, L3Harris Technologies, Inc. of Melbourne, FL, Shannon Finucane, Director of Legal Business Affairs, Hornets Sports and Entertainment of Charlotte, NC, D. Tennell Lockett, Managing Partner, Townsend & Lockett, LLC, of Atlanta

9:50 AM – 10:40 AM “How to Be Your Best Professional Self by Managing Stress With Recovery” by Rebecca Bandy, Director of the Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism The Florida Bar, Tallahassee

10:40 AM – 10:55 AM Break

10:55 AM – 11:45 AM “Ethically Accepting Payments via Online Apps and Fee-Sharing with Nonlawyers” by D. Culver (Skip) Smith, III, Culver Smith, III, PA, of West Palm Beach

11:45 AM – 12:35 PM “Ethical Aspects of Combining Lawyering by Day with Second Streams of Income”
Panel discussion moderated by Camara Williams, Smith and Williams Trial Group, PLLC, of Orlando
Panelists: Jordan Ostroff, President of LegalEase Marketing, & Managing Partner of Jordan Law of Orlando, Fl, Shannon A. Ligon, Attorney, Ligon Law Group, LLC d.b.a. PrettySMART Law | PrettySMART, LLC | Legacy Entertainment & Arts Foundation Inc. (L.E.A.F. Inc.) of Miami, Jacina Parson, Chair Solo & Small Firm Section, Senior Assistant County Attorney, Pinellas County Attorney’s Office, and Realtor, Coldwell Banker of Clearwater

Live GoToWebinar presented by Stephanie Cagnet Myron of Cagnet Myron Law in Wellington, Florida, and moderated by Jennifer Kuyrkendall Griffin.

This CLE will provide lawyers with detailed information regarding Florida laws protecting victims of Stalking and Sexual Cyberharassment. We will also discuss important factors to consider when representing victims of trauma. Attendees will also be provided with information regarding the use of technology to harass victims and what evidence is helpful to support a case. Course number 5713 is approved for 1.0 General; 1.0 Technology CLE credit. REGISTER

Stephanie Cagnet Myron is a victim’s rights lawyer with her firm Cagnet Myron Law, where she represents victims of stalking, cyberstalking, revenge porn and sexual violence throughout Florida.

She has served for several years as an elected representative from Palm Beach County on the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors. She served several times as a Florida Delegate for the ABA-YLD, where she helped draft and spoke in support of the Parental Leave Rule, which passed without opposition. She currently serves on the executive board of the Florida Bar Solo and Small Firm Section. She served on the board for FAWL-Florida Association for Women Lawyers, and has even served as the FAWL representative to NAWL – the National Association of Women Lawyers.

Free Wednesday Wisdom CLE for Solo & Small Firm Section members* on Zoom. “Successfully Balancing Family, Life and Practicing Law” will be presented by Theresa Jean-Pierre Coy, Seffner; and Travis Coy, Assistant State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, Tampa; Joshua Hertz will serve as moderator. Course number 5714 is approved for 1 General CLE credit. REGISTER

*Registration will be approved when section membership is confirmed.

A married criminal defense lawyer and prosecutor will share their experiences and perspectives on how they have balanced their marriage, being parents, and dealing with medical challenges, all while practicing law and serving as leaders in the legal community.

Theresa Jean-Pierre Coy is an experienced criminal defense and personal injury attorney who began her career as an Assistant Public Defender in Pinellas County, Florida. In that role, she relied on her own personal experience with the criminal justice system to help defend clients and empathize with their families and loved ones. She defended a full range of cases—from traffic citations to misdemeanors to felonies punishable by life. She has taken well over 50 cases to trial and has argued countless motions on behalf of her clients.

In 2010, she opened her own law firm to zealously represent individuals involved in the Family Unified Court and those hurt or injured in various types of automobile/motorcycle accidents.

She is fluent in Haitian-Creole and prides herself on being able to help the surrounding Haitian community with their legal needs in a language that they are comfortable and familiar with.

Additionally, she is extremely active in the legal community in Tampa Bay and holds numerous leadership roles in various organizations. Theresa was named the 2019 Candidate for Woman of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and raised $15K for cancer research.

Travis Coy is the Juvenile Division Chief & Assistant State Attorney for the  Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Tampa (Criminal and Civil Litigation). He is a trial attorney with extensive criminal and civil litigation experience as well as a record of prosecuting a caseload of 1,000+ first, second, and third-degree felony cases with a track record of chairing over 75 jury trials. Prior large firm experience in a wide range of civil litigation matters (from inception through settlement), including insurance defense, commercial litigation, administrative, real property, and personal injury. Graduate of Stetson Law School and Florida State University.

Memberships & Community Involvement:

• President, George Edgecomb Bar Association
• Judicial Nominating Procedures Committee, The Florida Bar
• Member, Tampa Bay American Inn of Court
• Minister and Sunday School Superintendent, The Pentecostal Church of God of Jesus Christ, Inc.

Live GoToWebinar presented by F. Scott Westheimer of Syprett Meshad, Sarasota, and moderated by Cristina Alonso. Course number 5723 is approved by The Florida Bar for 1 General CLE credit, all of which may be applied toward Professionalism. Section members register for only $50. REGISTER

The need to improve the level of attorney professionalism continues to be expressed by members of the bench and bar.  Join Scott Westheimer, Past Chair of The Florida Bar Board of Governors Disciplinary Review Committee (2020-2021) to hear about more recent professionalism initiatives, to look at how professionalism is regulated and to discuss ways to avoid the disciplinary system.

F. Scott Westheimer is is a trial lawyer and commercial litigator in Sarasota. He graduated from the University of Florida with high honors in 1993 and from the UF College of Law with high honors and as a member of the Order of Coif in 1996. He has been practicing law for 25 years at Syprett Meshad, PA, where he is a managing partner. He is an AV-rated attorney, has been named as a Florida Super Lawyer and among Florida’s “Legal Elite” by Florida magazine.

He served his local Bar, the Sarasota County Bar Association, as co-founder and chair of its Diversity Committee, President of its Young Lawyers Division, and ultimately as President of the Sarasota County Bar Association. He was then elected to The Florida Bar Board of Governors as the Twelfth Circuit Representative in 2013. He served on the Executive Committee for five consecutive years from 2016 to 2021 and served as Chair of the Program Evaluation Committee, Communications Committee for two consecutive years, and just finished his term as Chair of the Disciplinary Review Committee. He received the President’s Award of Merit in 2017 and 2019; and received another President’s Award this year.

During his time on the Board of Governors, Scott has pioneered and developed many of the Bar’s tangible tools and resources that lawyers use in their daily practice, including the complete rebuild of The Florida Bar website, spearheading and leading the team that created LegalFuel.com, and the Tech Support Helpline.

Scott is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida College of Law where he taught a Lawyer Regulation & Discipline Course (Spring 2021).

Free Wednesday Wisdom CLE for Solo & Small Firm Section members.* Presented by Judge Lody Jean, Circuit Court Judge for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami; and Judge Fabienne E. Fahnestock, Circuit Court Judge for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Fort Lauderdale. Moderated by Jennifer Kuyrkendall Griffin. Course number 5716 is approved for 1.0 General CLE credit. REGISTER

Join us for this Solo & Small Firm Section Wednesday Wisdom on Zoom* to hear from Circuit Court Judges Jean and Fahnestock as they share their experiences and observations on how attorneys can most effectively appear before the court to cultivate a stellar reputation. You will hear about what sets the most successful attorneys apart from those who are less skilled as well as sources of irritation for judges so you will never find yourself being identified as THAT lawyer.

*Registration will be approved when section membership is confirmed.

The Honorable Jody Lean

Judge Lody Jean was appointed to the Miami-Dade County Court on November 16th, 2018. She became the first Haitian-American woman to serve on the Miami-Dade County Court. Born and raised in Haiti to Lebanese parents, she attended college at the University of Miami where she double majored in Political Science and International Studies with a minor in Foreign Languages.

She obtained her Juris Doctor from St. Thomas University. While in law school, she was the recipient of the Haitian Lawyers Association law school scholarship. Also, while in law school, Judge Jean interned at the Legal Services of Greater Miami working with a staff attorney on the Haitian Citizenship Project applying for naturalization for those primarily of Haitian descent. Judge Jean also interned at the Third District Court of Appeal (3DCA), at the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office and Broward State Attorney’s Office. While at the 3DCA, Judge Jean was a summer clerk for the Honorable Melvia Green who was the first African American woman to be appointed to the Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

From May 2013 through December 2018, Judge Jean served on the Florida Bar’s Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee. She served as the Chair of that committee in the year 2018. The committee is a voluntary committee comprised of non-attorneys and attorneys who investigate the unlicensed practice of law in Miami-Dade County. The Florida Bar has an office in Miami and investigates a wide range of matters but the Committee the Judge served on was assigned immigration related cases.

From August 2004 to June 2012, she served with the State Attorney in Miami-Dade County, first as an Assistant State Attorney, and then as a Felony Division Chief. As a Deputy Chief, she prosecuted homicide cases and supervised many Assistant State Attorneys. From June 2012 through the date of her Judicial Commission, she was in private practice specializing in immigration and criminal defense with a focus on deportation related matters. While in private practice, she spoke at many forums and community gatherings on the topic of immigration law and deportation. She also volunteered her time through the Haitian Lawyers Association and other organizations at clinics dealing with many different legal issues ranging from eviction, small claims suits, citizenship and TPS (temporary protected status).

She is a member of many Voluntary Bar organizations and a past member of the Judicial Diversity Initiative that is dedicated to the election and appointment of qualified minority jurists to the bench. She is a past director of the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce of Florida, Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center and a Past President of the Haitian Lawyers Association.

From January 3, 2019 through November 5, 2019, Judge Jean served in the North Dade Justice Center for the Miami-Dade Courts. This is a branch court that offers a variety of services to the residents of northern Miami-Dade County. Judge Jean had a hybrid division where she presided over a primarily civil docket consisting of small claims and county court cases. She also presided over a Domestic Violence docket composed of final hearings on filed injunction cases.

Judge Jean was promoted to be an Associate Administrative Judge for County Court; affectionately known as the “People’s Court”. Miami-Dade County is the most populous County in the State of Florida with the most diverse backgrounds. She handled a civil docket, which comprised of small claims and county court cases. She also worked closely with the Miami-Dade County Clerk’s Office on administrative issues to help keep the County Court running efficiently to serve the community.

On April 17, 2020, Governor Ron DeSantis elevated Judge Jean to the Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County. She became the first Haitian-American to serve in the Circuit Court. She is currently assigned to the Circuit Criminal division.

The Honorable Fabienne Fahnestock

Judge Fabienne E. Fahnestock grew up in Broward County. She attended the University of Miami and obtained her bachelor’s degree in English. She earned her law degree from the University of Florida, Levin College of Law, and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1998. Judge Fahnestock was subsequently admitted to the United States District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, the Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. While in private practice, Judge Fahnestock also earned her Master’s in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University in 2001.

Judge Fahnestock had the privilege to clerk for the Fourth District Court of Appeal of Florida. There, she worked on a variety of appeals. Judge Fahnestock was responsible for critically analyzing the parties’ legal arguments and relevant case law, and making recommendations to the appellate panel for each case. At the end of her clerkship, she joined Ruden McClosky, and in 2002, she joined Gunster and was elevated to Shareholder in 2007.

Over the course of her career, Judge Fahnestock has been recognized for her outstanding legal achievements. To name just a few, she has been honored with an AV Preeminent ranking by Martindale-Hubbell, and selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2013 and 2014 in the field of Trusts & Estates Litigation. She has also been listed among the “100 Outstanding Women of Broward County” and recognized as a Florida Super Lawyer, as well as a “Top Lawyer” and “Up & Comer” by South Florida Legal Guide.

But Judge Fahnestock’s accomplishments were not solely related to her legal skills. As a resident of  Broward County for over 30 years, Judge Fahnestock felt compelled to invest her passion and dedication in our community with a focus on families and children. Her commitment is evidenced by her work with the Children’s Cancer Caring Center, the Jack and Jill Children’s Center, and the Early Learning Coalition. Judge Fahnestock also devoted her time mentoring young men and women at her firm, as well as in the community through the Annual Kozyak Minority Mentoring Picnic and as the co-chair for Leadership Broward’s Women Leading Broward. She was also very active in many voluntary bars and in the Florida Bar. For example, Judge Fahnestock was a member of the Board for the Broward County Women Lawyers Association, participated in Class IV of the Florida Bar Leadership Academy, and served as a member of the Executive Council for the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section for the Florida Bar, where she was Chair of the Membership Diversity Committee.

On February 14, 2017, Judge Fahnestock was appointed as a circuit judge in the Seventeenth Circuit Court, serving Broward County, Florida. She was assigned to the Family Division of the Unified Family Court for 4 ½ years, where she was the assigned Chair for the division for 3 years. In July 2021, Judge Fahnestock was assigned to the Circuit Civil division where she presides over a variety of civil disputes, including breach of contract cases, insurance disputes and personal injury cases.