Susan Lawson is a co-founding partner of Lawson and Simmons, PLLC and a Board-Certified Criminal Trial Lawyer. Board certification is the highest level of evaluation recognized by The Florida Bar and is held by only a small percentage of criminal defense attorneys statewide—particularly few women. Susan earned this distinction through demonstrated excellence in trial advocacy, professionalism, ethics, and credibility. Susan has devoted nearly 18 years exclusively to criminal defense, representing clients in serious state and federal criminal matters. She has served as lead counsel in more than 100 jury trials and has handled cases ranging from misdemeanors to complex felony prosecutions carrying substantial liberty and life consequences. While the majority of her career has been based in South Florida, Susan has also practiced in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Before founding Lawson and Simmons, Susan spent over four years as a partner at a prominent South Florida criminal defense firm. Prior to that, she dedicated more than a decade to the Public Defender’s Office, where she handled complex major-crime cases. She has represented both juvenile and adult clients across nearly every category of criminal charge. Susan co-founded Lawson and Simmons to build a firm grounded in thoughtful advocacy, meticulous preparation, and direct attorney involvement in every case.

With nearly a decade of experience in high-stakes litigation and public service, Mary E. Castillo brings a powerful blend of trial acumen, leadership, and strategic legal insight to Gilbert Garcia Group, P.A. As a former Assistant State Attorney for Hillsborough County, she has prosecuted some of the most serious felony offenses—including homicides, gang-related violence, and sex crimes—developing a reputation for integrity, meticulous preparation, and courtroom excellence. During her tenure at the State Attorney’s Office, Mary litigated more than 35 felony jury trials to verdict and led a felony division as Deputy Chief, supervising a team of attorneys and support staff while managing a demanding felony caseload. She has also handled juvenile, misdemeanor and traffic, domestic violence and violation of probation (VOP) dockets, making her an exceptionally well-rounded advocate with deep knowledge of Florida’s criminal justice system from intake to adjudication. A graduate of Notre Dame Law School, Mary served as Executive Articles Editor for the Notre Dame Journal of Legislation and published a scholarly note on Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law. She earned the Dean’s Award for Professional Responsibility and was active in leadership roles with the Hispanic Law Students Association and the Future Prosecuting Attorney’s Council. She also studied abroad at Notre Dame’s prestigious London Law Centre. In addition to her legal expertise, Mary is pursuing an MBA from the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business, with a concentration in Compliance, Risk, and Anti-Money Laundering—bringing valuable and practical business knowledge to her legal practice. Mary is passionate about justice, client advocacy, and delivering exceptional legal outcomes, making her an invaluable asset to our firm and the clients we serve. We are thrilled to have her join Gilbert Garcia Group as a Litigation Attorney and Commercial Collections Supervisor.”

Ydelmis Cutino is admitted to the Florida Bar (2024). She matriculated at the W.M.U. Cooley Law School (J.D., 2021), and the University of South Florida (B.A., Business Science Management, 2018) and is certified as a Florida Notary Signing Agent, Remote Online Notary Agent, and Microsoft Office Specialist. Ydelmis joined the firm in 2021, serving Gilbert Garcia Group as a law clerk and Sapphire Title & Escrow Company as a title processor. With a strong commitment to the field, Ydelmis actively contributes to the legal and real estate communities through her writing, regularly crafting insightful articles and blogs that educate, inform, and engage readers. Ydelmis credits her interest in real property law for leading to her involvement in real estate transactions, including that of title and escrow practices. Ydelmis is bilingual in Spanish and English. She was born and raised in Miami, Florida and is of Cuban descent. Ydelmis notes, “Faith, determination, and persistence are the three keys to my life.”

China Ikpeama received his Bachelor of Arts degree from The Columbia College-Chicago. During the course of his studies Mr. Ikpeama realized Columbia College was an excellent school, but not too far from campus in downtown Chicago was a homeless shelter with many people with many needs. Mr. Ikpeama made brown bag lunch packs and distributed them freely. Mr. Ikpeama then worked for the Circuit Court Clerk of the City of St. Louis Missouri and soon after, attended Florida A&M University College of Law where he earned his J.D.. While at Florida A&M University College of Law, he participated in the Housing Clinic by providing legal advice to citizens in the community who could not afford legal representation. After earning his law degree, attorney Ikpeama served his community by working as a prosecutor for the Office of the State Attorney in downtown Orlando. Today, attorney Ikpeama continues to serve his community by volunteering at The Coalition for the Homeless in downtown Orlando. The reoccurring theme in Mr. Ikpeama's life has been to attend to the needs of those around him by serving his community and the public interest. Attorney Ikpeama believes that there is a binding relationship between law and society, and that the work of the legal profession is inherently related to the public. Inspired by Justice Louis Brandeis, and his desire to help improve the everyday life of men and women, Mr. Ikpeama founded The United Law Firm. We are dedicated to defending you and defending your interests...it's about you, it's about us, United...You and Us.

ttorney Carlos Cabral is a Magna Cum Laude graduate (top 18% of his class) from Michigan State University College of Law, from where he was awarded 4 book awards for academic excellence and earned him the opportunity to intern for Judge Patrick Murphy Meter at the Michigan Court of Appeals, an opportunity only very few students are offered. While interning With the Michigan Court of Appeals, Carlos had the opportunity to draft an appellate decision for Judge Meter on a sensitive issue of housing discrimination in the State of Michigan. Carlos is an Experienced litigator with over 17 years of litigation experience in the areas of Family Law and Civil Litigation. His Family Law experience has included complex marital asset and alimony trials involving expert witnesses on valuation and apportionment of marital and non-marital valuations of assets and liabilities. His Civil Litigation experience has included Construction Litigation, Defamation Litigation and other Tort Litigation and Business Litigation. When Carlos isn’t in the office working hard at the practice of law, he enjoys the outdoors. Carlos is an avid hunter and fisherman. He also enjoys hiking and ATV off-roading during the off-season . Carlos is fluent in Spanish and conversational Portuguese.

As a civil litigator and trial attorney, I have devoted my legal career to serving the interests of the injured. I stand up for causes, not cases, and I value hard work. I’m committed to holding wrongdoers accountable, and treating others with kindness and compassion; traits I learned from my parents at a young age. I’m fueled today to succeed for my clients by the same competitive drive with which I grew up playing sports. At the end of the day, results matter, and that’s a responsibility I embrace. That is one of the many reasons why obtaining a Top 100 Jury Verdict for Civil Rights Violations in the United States (2022) for a deserving client remains one of my core trial accomplishments to date. Regardless of whether maximizing the value of my client’s claim means settlement or trial, I set out to do exactly that in every case that I’m involved. I am blessed and grateful to have recovered millions of dollars for clients who have suffered physical, mental, and/or emotional harms resulting from the wrongful death of a loved one, car and motorcycle crashes, trucking wrecks, slip and falls, negligent security, prescription medication errors and dental/medical malpractice. However, beyond the financial compensation awarded to my clients, it is the bonds that I’ve built with them, people from all walks of life who trust me in their times of need, that I cherish most. For that, I am forever thankful.

Thomas Grajek is a Lakeland criminal defense attorney at Grajek Trial Attorney at Law. We offer aggressive representation for various criminal defense cases in Florida. We handle misdemeanors, felonies, traffic violations, juvenile offenses, and more. With offices in Lakeland and Tampa, we are committed to protecting the rights of those accused of crimes throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Ben Baxter is a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor with the knowledge, experience, and skill to fight for the best possible outcome for his clients. Born and raised in Florida, Ben attended Florida State University before earning his law degree from Michigan State University. In law school, Ben focused his studies on Criminal Law and completed advanced seminars in Evidence, Applied Evidence, and Criminal Law Practice, building the foundation for a career dedicated to criminal justice. After becoming a licensed Florida Attorney in 2015, Ben began his legal career as a prosecutor in Brevard and Palm Beach Counties, where he represented the State of Florida at every stage of criminal prosecution from case intake and charging decisions to trial and appeals. As a prosecutor, Ben handled thousands of cases ranging from traffic offenses and DUIs to domestic violence and serious felonies. As a prosecutor, he was trusted to handle some of the most challenging and high-stakes cases, giving him invaluable insight into how the State Attorney’s Office investigates, builds, and prosecutes criminal charges. Today, Ben uses that experience to defend people facing serious criminal accusations throughout Central Florida. As a criminal defense lawyer, he has handled everything from non-criminal traffic infractions to felonies punishable by life in prison, bringing the same strategic, aggressive approach to every case while building a relationship with his clients based on trust and empathy. He has represented clients in tens of thousands of criminal matters, litigated hundreds of motions to suppress evidence, and taken 40 cases to verdict at trial, winning 36 of them. Ben understands that being arrested can be one of the most overwhelming and life-changing experiences a person can face, and he believes that every client deserves a knowledgeable and relentless advocate in their corner.

Allan L. Ziffra is a founding partner and president of Rue & Ziffra. For over two decades, Mr. Ziffra has litigated cases primarily involving catastrophic injury and death in the State of Florida. He has extensive experience in handling auto accidents, big truck accidents, and motorcycle accidents. Mr. Ziffra has successfully represented over 2, 800 individuals and recovered over 100 million dollars for his clients. Born in Chicago, IL, on February 23, 1964, Mr. Ziffra graduated from Elmwood Park High School in three years and attended DePaul University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce (Accounting) in 1985. He then attended Stetson University College of Law, where he graduated in December of 1987 at the age of 23. After law school, Mr. Ziffra attended the University of Miami, where he received a Master of Laws Degree in Taxation. After returning to the Daytona Beach area, he met John D. Rue, and together they started Rue & Ziffra, P.A. Over thirty years later, Rue & Ziffra has grown to ten attorneys and over sixty staff members. The lawyers at Rue & Ziffra have dedicated their professional careers to representing the citizens and visitors of the State of Florida. We have represented individuals visiting Florida from many different nations, including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Great Britain, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, and Russia.

Mr. Frantz Olivier, a highly skilled litigation attorney with over twenty years of state court experience. As Principal of the law firm Olivier & Associates, P.A. in Miami, Florida, he has successfully cultivated and expanded the private practice to provide multifaceted services in the areas of civil and criminal law. A stickler for community advancement, civic and social progress, Mr. Olivier has built a reputation for supporting important causes that aim to advance the community he serves. It was one of the reasons Mr. Olivier felt it important to provide active South Florida professionals the kind of private social club experience they deserve, with a relaxing, entertaining and stimulating environment to enj