Mr. Cruz Carino achieved his Doctor of Jurisprudence, from Stetson University College of Law. Before that, he received his Bachelor of Arts, finishing in the top ten percent of his class, from The University of Florida. He served as a Certified State Intern in the State’s Attorney’s Office, where he tried more than ten cases, and was also privileged to serve as a Federal Judicial Intern to the Honorable District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich, of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Upon graduation, Mr. Cruz worked as a Judicial Staff Attorney for four years in the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court. From there, he served as a Senior Assistant Attorney General from 2001-2012, handling criminal appeals and collateral petitions on behalf of the State of Florida. Mr. Cruz has argued before the Second District Court of Appeal, the Fifth District Court of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court. He is admitted to practice in all Florida State Courts, and is also admitted to practice in the Middle District of Florida. He is fluent in Spanish, and has taught as an adjunct professor at Saint Petersburg College. He currently heads the Appellate Section of The Pendas Law Firm and is the (interim) Managing Attorney for the Tampa office. He oversees all appellate matters and provides litigation support to attorneys throughout the firm. Additionally, he handles his own litigation case load. His practice focuses on general civil litigation, appeals and trial support. Mr. Cruz guides all appeals from the filing of a notice of appeal through the filing of a motion to recall mandate.

Patrick Hale is the managing partner of Hale Law, P.A. Patrick is a 5th generation Floridian who cares about the people of this great state. His experiences have positioned him to be an advocate for you in your time of need. Patrick attended the University of Central Florida for his undergraduate studies, receiving a degree in Political Science with a focus in Legal Studies. He graduated with the distinction, Summa Cum Laude, as one of the top students in his class. While at the University of Central Florida, he also served on the cabinet of multiple student organizations and was a UCF Student Government Association Senator representing the College of Sciences, the University’s largest college. Patrick went on to attend and graduate with a Juris Doctorate degree from the Stetson University College of Law, Florida’s oldest law school and the most-awarded #1 Trial Advocacy program in the nation. While at Stetson Law, he was elected as a Calvin Kuenzel Student Bar Association Representative by his peers. During this time, Patrick also clerked for the Florida Attorney General’s Office and the Sixth Judicial Circuit Of Florida Civil Appellate Panel, where he had the opportunity to write Orders that were published by the panel of Judges. Additionally, Patrick worked for a prominent Florida insurance defense law firm and learned the strategies insurance companies employ to pay you as little as possible when making claims. After graduating law school, Patrick proceeded to work as an Assistant State Attorney where he prosecuted both misdemeanor and felony cases, learning to feel at home in the courtroom in the process. In his prosecutorial career, he completed over thirty trials to verdict on behalf of the people of the State of Florida. In the spirit of representing the people of Florida, Patrick founded Hale Law, P.A., a firm that would represent people who have been wrongfully injured by the negligence of others, as well as uphold people’s constitutional rights. He has already fulfilled this dream through the handling of hundreds of cases, but he is still constantly working every day to ensure that every one of his clients receives the best possible outcome. Let him put his experience to work for you.