Becker & Poliakoff

Mr. Levine is a shareholder and is in charge of the Firm's statewide civil litigation practice. He is AV rated (the highest level attainable) by Martindale Hubbell, and has extensive trial and appellate experience in many areas of the law. Mr. Levine has significant experience in the areas of class action litigation, wrongful death litigation, products liability litigation, and personal injury litigation. He has represented numerous business owners in shareholder and partner dispute resolution, as well as complex commercial litigation. He represents multi-national businesses, domestic businesses, developers, community associations, contractors, and suppliers in business litigation. His experience includes representation of employers in discrimination and sexual harassment claims, disputes involving shareholder agreements, operating agreements, stock purchase agreements and "covenants not to compete," and other contractual matters. He also is experienced in the areas of construction lien and payment bond law.

Mr. Friedman is the shareholder in charge of the Firm's Government Relations Department. He represents a wide variety of businesses, non-profit organizations, developers, and trade associations before local governmental bodies throughout South Florida, the Florida Legislature and Executive Agencies in Tallahassee. He has had great success securing millions of dollars in government grants and contracts on his clients' behalf, often guiding clients through the arduous task of responding to Requests for Proposals (RFP) - from the early stages of team building through project submittals and presentations to ultimately, selection and negotiation. Recognized as one of the area's most influential attorneys, his years of experience, knowledge of the government process, and access to key decision makers are extremely valuable to his clients. A life-long history of involvement in the political and governmental arena sharpened Mr. Friedman's skills as an excellent spokesman and negotiator. As National President of the College Democrats of America, he addressed the Democratic National Convention, testified before U.S. Congress, appeared on the "Good Morning America" television show and traveled the country on behalf of the Democratic Party. He also spent ten years working on Capitol Hill as Chief-of-Staff to a U.S. Congressman.

Joe Adams is an attorney with Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., Fort Myers. This column is not a substitute for consultation with legal counsel. Past editions of this column may be viewed at becker-poliakoff.com.

Marni Becker-Avin provides Trial Consulting and Litigation Strategy services to trial attorneys and clients, in cases ranging from multi million dollar personal injury cases to employment discrimination cases, real estate transaction cases, complex construction cases, intellectual property cases, breach of contract cases, insurance disability cases, and many more. Marni Becker-Avin is the in-house Trial Consultant for Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., and has worked for many other large law firms and well-known attorneys around Florida. She has worked on a variety of cases, large and small, civil and criminal, state and federal. She is qualified to practice as a Trial Consultant in that her background includes graduating from the University of Miami School of Law with a JD and graduating from Nova Southeastern University with a Master's degree in Mental Health Counseling. She is a member of the Florida & DC Bars, as well as the NO. & SO. Districts of FL. Federal Courts. She has authored an article regarding the intricacies of jury selection and trial consulting which was published in the ABA Trial Techniques Fall Newsletter, and was a student editor for the Psychology, Public Policy, and Law Review. She has given seminars on the topic of Trial Strategy and Consulting, as well as taught a CLE Course in the Jurors' Perspective.

Mr. Lesser is Board Certified in Construction Law by the Florida Bar. He devotes his practice exclusively to construction law and litigation and has substantial experience representing owners, developers, contractors, design professionals, and government entities in a variety of construction cases. He successfully represented homeowner Phillipe Moransais in a landmark case before the Florida Supreme Court (Moransais v. Heathman, et al.) which in effect, reshapes construction law in Florida by retreating from the economic loss doctrine and forcing architects, engineers and other professionals to be accountable for their own negligence. In addition, Mr. Lesser serves as special construction litigation counsel to The School Board of Broward County handling delay claim litigation and is a certified arbitrator on construction issues for the American Arbitration Association.

Once a practicing litigator, Yolanda joined Becker & Poliakoff to launch a lobbying and government relations practice. She is now considered one of Tallahassee and South Florida's most powerful lobbyists and recognized community leaders. Click here for a message from Yolanda Cash Jackson.