Stephen Bernhardt has been an attorney since he was 25 years old. Now, nearly a decade later, Bernhardt has extensive trial experience in both criminal and civil law. He began his legal career as a prosecutor, first handling misdemeanor offenses such as DUI, Battery, Possession of Controlled Substance, Violation of Injunction and many others. Bernhardt was quickly moved to a felony division and become the State Attorney’s Office’s representative for the county’s Drug Court Program. In this role, Bernhardt learned many techniques to help individuals overcome addictions as well as the differences between the many rehabilitation establishments throughout Florida. Prior to leaving the State Attorney’s Office, Bernhardt was the lead prosecutor in his division. Bernhardt conducted several jury trials that ended in convictions and sentences of more than thirty years, including a mandatory life in prison sentence. After leaving the State Attorney’s Office, Bernhardt began practicing civil law for one of the largest creditors’ rights firms in the United States. Bernhardt quickly became the lead litigating attorney for the firm’s Florida office and handled countless civil hearings and trials before leaving to start Bernhardt Law, PLLC. Bernhardt Law focuses on the practice areas of Criminal Defense, Personal Injury and Debt Defense. Using the knowledge gained throughout the years, Bernhardt Law is dedicated to making sure each client’s specific situation is handled with the utmost professionalism, attention to detail, and integrity. How did you build a successful practice? I was fortunate enough to begin my legal career having great mentors and practicing in front of great judges. Having that foundation and always continuing to work hard has helped me build a successful practice. What should clients look for in a lawyer? Clients should look for a lawyer that has a strong work ethic and that conducts himself/herself with integrity. How important is local knowledge to the success of your cases? Having knowledge of the local judges and attorneys for the other side in very important in all areas of law. What information can you provide in a free phone consultation? I’m happy to discuss an individual’s legal matter for free over the phone or at one of our locations. I would review their case, discuss the strengths and weaknesses and determine what options may be available for the client What information do you need in a free phone consultation? I would like to review any paperwork they’ve received from the other attorney/party as well as contact information for following up. What differentiates you from other lawyers in your community? The two things that separate me from other lawyers are (1) my trial experience and (2) my experience on the opposing side. I have handled more trials in my first decade as an attorney than most attorneys will handle in their entire career. Additionally, as it pertains to criminal defense and debt defense, I have been the head attorney in my respective divisions for the sides I now go against. This gives me a big advantage in those cases. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? When someone comes to me, it usually means they’re going through a tough time. Either they’ve been hurt, arrested or sued. Helping someone get through that difficult time by putting these legal issues behind them is very rewarding. What are your other interests in addition to law? I am a big sports fan and I also love to travel.

Our goal at Ludwig & Associates, P.A. is to provide cost effective, quality legal representation. We have the distinct privilege of helping and enabling our clients’ successes through focused and cost effective legal representation. Every client brings to us unique personalities, sensitivities and preferences. Our goal is to be aware of these differences as we develop the relationship and engage in our client’s representation. Whether it’s the personal, hands on approach taken in our client interactions or legal arguments made on behalf our clients, our focus remains on attending to the distinctive needs of each and every client. Across our practice areas, we strive to develop sound legal strategies consistent with our client’s objectives. We realize that this endeavor involves a thorough understanding of both the legal and business needs of each client. At Ludwig & Associates, P.A., we endeavor to provide skillful, timely legal solutions and advice to our individual and business clients. We look forward to the opportunity to see if we can help you.

We focus our practice exclusively on consumer protection and class action law. We work on behalf of consumers whose rights had been violated by advertisers, banks and other lenders, auto dealers, credit bureaus, debt collectors and landlords. Consumer protection laws are designed to protect consumers like you from predatory lenders, overzealous debt collectors, careless credit bureaus and other harmful business practices. At our firm, we work to enforce existing consumer protection statutes to resolve consumer problems with: Unfair collection practices/debt collection harassment Unwanted telemarketing calls (robocalls) and spam texts Junk faxes Identity theft Credit reporting problems Mortgage problems

Stefano D. Portigliatti is a trial attorney specializing in commercial motor vehicle cases at Coker Law, PA in Jacksonville, FL. He is a renowned Jacksonville truck accident lawyer who has represented clients in over a hundred trucking cases and helped obtain millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements. Stefano is one of only 20 attorneys in the United States to pass a rigorous exam on trucking laws, an intensive background check and prove that his practice is dedicated to protecting victims of truck crashes. He is also one of the youngest attorneys to be included among Super Lawyer's Rising Stars and the National Trial Lawyers' Top 40 Under 40. Stefano often presents on topics related to trial and trucking litigation. He is on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys. He is also the founder of truck.law™, which assists other plaintiffs' attorneys handling trucking cases with forms, resources, and seminars available at www.truck.law. Stefano was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to a hard-working Italian family. Before becoming a lawyer, Mr. Portigliatti was engaged in diverse business ventures across multiple continents. Mr. Portigliatti is still the Vice President of SOAR Global Institute a laboratory that researches human behavior and development. Stefano speaks all over the world in the areas of emotional intelligence, innovation and human development. He is a certified master coach and trainer and has developed several courses and systems that apply psychology and behavioral analytics to management and trial strategies. Stefano is a musician and likes to sail, golf, cook and travel with his wife, Brittany. They are the proud parents of two young boys Luca and Leo. Stefano and Brittany like to volunteer with New Beginnings Global Outreach to provide services and resources for emotional, physical and spiritual health to the needy.