Seven Carlton Fields Attorneys Elected to Shareholder
Carlton Fields is pleased to announce the election of seven new shareholders in various offices, practice and industry groups at the firm’s 2018 Annual Meeting held in St. Petersburg, Fla. on January 26-27, 2018.
Associates elected to Shareholder:
Naomi M. Berry (Miami Office) is a member of the firm’s National Trial Practice Business Litigation section, and a member of the Consumer Finance and Banking, National Class Actions, and Health Care practice and industry groups. Her practice focuses on consumer finance and banking litigation. She handles residential and commercial mortgage foreclosure actions, as well as lender liability and loan servicing claims under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and their state law counterparts. In addition, she handles health care litigation matters involving quality, risk management and physician peer review, privacy concerns, and data breaches, as well as other civil disputes related to medical providers. Berry received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and her B.A. from Yale University.
Stephanie A. Fichera (Miami Office) is a member of the firm’s Life Insurance and Annuity Litigation, Life Insurance and Financial Lines, Property and Casualty Insurance, National Class Actions, National Trial Practice, and Appellate Practice and Trial Support practice and industry groups. Her practice focuses on defending insurance carriers and financial services companies in class actions, complex civil litigation, and appeals in federal and state courts across the country. She represents insurance companies in litigation relating to sales practices and post-sale administration of insurance products, including actions involving breach of contract, fraud, bad faith, breach of fiduciary duty, statutory consumer protection, financial elder abuse, and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claims. Her experience also includes matters involving defamation, misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference, and wrongful termination claims by or against insurance sales agents, investment adviser representatives, and insurance-company employees. Fichera received her J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Miami School of Law and her B.A. magna cum laude from Boston University.
Clifton R. Gruhn (Miami Office) is a member of the firm’s National Class Actions, Appellate Practice and Trial Support, Consumer Finance and Banking, National Trial Practice, Insurance, and Life Insurance and Annuity Litigation practice and industry groups. His practice involves defending financial institutions in complex litigation and class actions in federal and state courts. He litigates cases involving life, long-term care, and property and casualty insurance, including coverage disputes and bad faith allegations at the trial and appellate levels. He also litigates matters involving allegations of trade secrets, fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of federal statutes, including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), as well as state statutes governing unfair trade practices, suitability, sales and marketing, and debt collection. Gruhn received his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Miami Law School and his B.S. from Bellevue University.
Of Counsels elected to Shareholder
Kate S. D’Agostino (Hartford Office) is a member of the firm’s Real Estate and Commercial Finance practice and industry groups. Her practice focuses on all aspects of commercial real estate transactions. She represents clients throughout the lending cycle, including loan originations, collateral agent dealings, loan workouts and other modifications, intercreditor and servicer negotiations, loan sales, and, when necessary, foreclosure and bankruptcy. She represents institutional lenders, pension fund managers, national and local real estate developers, banks, individual investors, and other debt and equity providers in connection with transactions involving office buildings, shopping malls and other retail centers, hotels, apartment complexes, industrial and warehouse buildings, medical office facilities, age-restricted and other residential developments, residential and commercial condominiums, restaurants, manufacturing facilities, and other commercial projects. She also represents lenders in franchise financing transactions. D’Agostino received her J.D. summa cum laude from Quinnipiac University School of Law and her B.A. from Yale University.
Harvey W. Geller (Los Angeles Office) is a member of the firm’s National Trial Practice Business Litigation section; Intellectual Property; National Class Actions; Appellate Practice and Trial Support; and Technology practice and industry groups. He has extensive experience in intellectual property, technology, Internet, digital media, and entertainment matters, and has been at the forefront in developing and shaping new media and Internet law in the U.S. Geller’s broad experience further includes antitrust, business torts, insurance, contract disputes, accounting and royalty disputes, employment, products liability, and personal injury. He has litigated on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts around the country and is experienced in all aspects of litigation, including trials and appeals, and class actions. Geller received his J.D. from Loyola Law School.
Rahul P. Ranadive (Miami Office) is a member of the firm’s Business Transactions; Estates, Trusts and Probate; Executive Services; International; Real Estate and Commercial Finance; Taxation; and Technology practice and industry groups. He advises international high net-worth families on global estate and trust planning, private banking, and other personal tax matters. He advises closely held family businesses on a wide range of international and domestic tax and corporate issues. In addition, he counsels nonresident individuals and foreign corporations seeking to invest and do business in the United States. He further advises domestic clients on the formation of foreign operations, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions; analyzes the impact of local taxes and financial regulations in a given jurisdiction; and advises on the U.S. tax consequences of foreign activities, guiding negotiations where tax questions are paramount. Ranadive received his LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law, his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and his A.B. from Dartmouth College.
Joseph W. Swanson (Tampa Office) co-chairs the firm’s Privacy and Cybersecurity practice and is a member of the firm’s Securities and Derivative Litigation and White Collar Crime and Government Investigations practice groups. Swanson advises clients on a variety of issues related to privacy and cybersecurity. He investigates and responds to data breaches and similar cyber incidents. Swanson represents clients in litigation related to those incidents and advises on best practices for interacting with law enforcement, regulators, and other constituencies in the event of a cyber incident. Using his experience as a former federal prosecutor, Swanson represents companies and individuals in government and criminal investigations and conducts internal investigations. He also defends companies, executives, and directors in shareholder litigation and high-stakes commercial litigation. Swanson received his J.D. magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. magna cum laude from Georgetown University.
