October 14th, 2016 - Posted in

Brian is the firm’s General Counsel and practices in the areas of Ethics and White Collar Defense, representing law firms as well as future, current, and former lawyers and legal professionals in matters before the Florida Bar and Board of Bar Examiners as well as in civil and criminal courts.

Specific ethics matters include Bar Admission Hearings, Grievance Defense from the initial complaint to argument before the Florida Supreme Court, Reinstatement and Readmission matters, Sanctions Hearings, Legal Malpractice Defense, partnership disputes and dissolutions as well as ethics opinions. He has been counsel in over 50 Florida Bar matters at The Florida Supreme Court level and has been appointed in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida as a Special Master.

Professional Associations/Committees

• Chair, Innocence Project Of Florida Board Of Directors
• President, Florida Association of Bar Defense Lawyers, 2010-Present
• Member, Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers
• Member, Ad Hoc Committee on Attorney Admissions, Peer Review and Attorney Grievance for the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, 2007–2010
• President, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2010-2011
• Member, Board of Directors, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2001-Present
• Legislative Chair, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2003-2007
• President, Miami Chapter, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2005-2006
• Executive Council, Florida Bar Criminal Law Section, 2008-present
• Member, Board of Directors, Dade County Bar Association, 2002-2005
• Member, Florida Bar Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, 2006-2012
• Chair, Florida Bar Traffic Rules Committee, 2003-2004
• Vice-Chair, Florida Bar Grievance Committee, 2002-2003
• Member, Florida Bar Grievance Committee, 2000-2003
• Member, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Community Organizations

• Chair-Elect, Board of Directors, Florida Innocence Project
• Past Chair, Historical Museum of Southern Florida 11th Circuit Judicial Historical Society
• Past President, Ambassadors of Mercy Hospital Board of Directors

Publications

• Book: The Practice: Brutal Truth about Lawyers and Lawyering, (ABA Publishing, 2014)
• Defending The Lawyer Before The State Bar, Exec Sense Publishing e-book chapter, 2013. (Available on Amazon.com)
• Article: How Far Should You Go For A Client, American Bar Association GP Solo Magazine, 2011
• Columnist at Above the Law.com
• Author at My Law License (honored in the ABA Blawg 100)
• Author at Criminal Defense Blog
• e-book: I Got A Bar Complaint, 2012
• e-book: The Truth About Hiring A Criminal Defense Lawyer, 2008
• Article: The Constitutionality of Racial Profiling, Florida Defender, Volume 13, No.4, Winter 2001
• Article: Random Thoughts and assorted articles including “The Florida Bar Grievance Process,” Florida Defender, 2001-2011.

Awards/Recognition

• Florida Super Lawyers, Professional Liability: Defense, 2019
• Best Lawyers In America– Listed in Criminal Defense: White-Collar, 2018
• Florida Trend, Florida’s Legal Elite, 2019
• President’s Appreciation Award, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – 2009
• President’s Appreciation Award, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – 2007
• Extra Mile Award, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – 2006
• Top 10 Defense Verdicts, National Law Journal – 2004
• President’s Award, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – 2004
• President’s Appreciation Award, Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – 2000
• Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated, listed in Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers Best Lawyers in America 2016-2019

Recent Speaking Engagements

• Building Relationships, Defense Research Institute – 2016
• Ethics in Marketing, National Employment Lawyers (FL Chapter) – 2015
• Lawyers Behaving Badly, Lawyernomics (Avvo) – 2015
• Advertising/Trust Accounts, Florida Justice Association – 2015
• Economics of Law Practice, Dade County Bar Association – 2015
• Building Your Practice, Dade County Bar Association – 2015
• “The Practice,” Philadelphia Bar Association – 2014
• Ethics and Marketing, Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – 2014
• The Bar Grievance Process, Dade County Defense Bar Association – 2014
• FL Bar Advertising & Trust Account Rules, NEFACDL – 2014
• Client Retention and Accompanying Ethical Issues, NACDL White Collar College – 2014
• Florida Criminal Law Update, Florida Bar Annual Meeting – 2014
• New Florida Bar Ad & Trust Account Rules, Aventura Marketing Council – 2014
• Developing Relationships Ethically, Stetson Solo Practice Institute – 2013
• Ethics in White Collar Criminal Cases, NACDL White Collar College – 2013
• Ethical Pitfalls for Young Lawyers, Jumping the Gun: Giving Young Lawyers a Head Start on Success – 2013
• Florida Criminal Law Update, Florida Bar Annual Conference – 2013
• Do I Have A Conflict?, Arkansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – 2013
• Ethics in Entertainment Law, American Bar Association, Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries – 2013
• Handling Bar Grievances, Dade County Bar Monthly Lunch – 2012
• Unauthorized Practice, American Immigration Lawyers Association – 2012
• Florida Criminal Law Update, Florida Bar Annual Meeting – 2012
• Strategic & Ethical Business Development, FAMU Law School – 2012
• Ethics and Online Marketing, Radius of Influence – 2011
• How Not To Get Into The Florida Bar, Stetson College of Law Florida Bar Preparation – 2011
• Criminal Law, Florida Bar Annual Meeting – 2011
• Responding To The Florida Bar Complaint, DCBA Ethics Seminar – 2011
• How Not To Get Into The Florida Bar, Stetson College of Law – 2011
• Responding To The Florida Bar, DCBA Ethics Seminar – 2011
• Ethics and Online Marketing, Avvo (Avvocating) – 2011
• Criminal Law Update Florida Bar Annual Meeting – 2010
• Criminal Law Update Florida Bar Annual Meeting – 2009
• Criminal Law Update Florida Bar Annual Meeting – 2008
• Ethics in White Collar Cases, NACDL White Collar College – 2008
• Ethics and Online Marketing, Radius of Influence – 2011/2012

Personal

Born: Miami, Florida.

Married, 2 children.

Certified Sommelier.