Mr. Nelson’s experience includes over thirty (30) years of practice in Circuit and County Courts in Florida. Mr. Nelson’s experience also includes representing clients in arbitration and mediation. Mr. Nelson is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar Association, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the Manatee County Bar Association. Mr. Nelson is a past President and a past Director of the Manatee County Bar Association. Mr. Nelson is also a Florida Supreme Court certified Circuit Court Mediator. Mr. Nelson attended the University of Florida from 1979 – 1981 before transferring to the University of Notre Dame where he majored in Government and International Relations and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1984. Mr. Nelson obtained a Juris Doctorate Degree from Stetson University College of Law in 1987. In 1987 Mr. Nelson moved to Bradenton, Florida from St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife, Margie and he joined the law firm of Harllee, Porges, Hamlin & Brownell, P.A. (n/k/a Porges, Hamlin, Knowles & Hawk, P.A. ) where he was a shareholder from 1993 – 2002. Mr. Nelson was a shareholder in the law firm of Ozark, Perron & Nelson, P.A. from 2002 to 2014, until he formed his own law firm in July of 2014. Mr. Nelson has previously served as President of South Manatee Sertoma Club, Chairman of the Board of Gulf Coast Marine Institute, Director and Chairman of the Agency Relations and Allocations Committee of the United Way of Manatee County, Governmental Affairs Chair and Director of the HomeBuilders Association of Manatee County, Chairman of the Young Children Priority One Committee and Vice President of the Bradenton Kiwanis Club. Mr. Nelson was a Manatee High School Mock Trial Team Coach for eight years from 2004 through 2012.Mr. Nelson’s experience includes over thirty (30) years of practice in Circuit and County Courts in Florida. Mr. Nelson’s experience also includes representing clients in arbitration and mediation. Mr. Nelson is a member in good standing of The Florida Bar Association, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and the Manatee County Bar Association. Mr. Nelson is a past President and a past Director of the Manatee County Bar Association. Mr. Nelson is also a Florida Supreme Court certified Circuit Court Mediator. Mr. Nelson attended the University of Florida from 1979 – 1981 before transferring to the University of Notre Dame where he majored in Government and International Relations and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1984. Mr. Nelson obtained a Juris Doctorate Degree from Stetson University College of Law in 1987. In 1987 Mr. Nelson moved to Bradenton, Florida from St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife, Margie and he joined the law firm of Harllee, Porges, Hamlin & Brownell, P.A. (n/k/a Porges, Hamlin, Knowles & Hawk, P.A. ) where he was a shareholder from 1993 – 2002. Mr. Nelson was a shareholder in the law firm of Ozark, Perron & Nelson, P.A. from 2002 to 2014, until he formed his own law firm in July of 2014. Mr. Nelson has previously served as President of South Manatee Sertoma Club, Chairman of the Board of Gulf Coast Marine Institute, Director and Chairman of the Agency Relations and Allocations Committee of the United Way of Manatee County, Governmental Affairs Chair and Director of the HomeBuilders Association of Manatee County, Chairman of the Young Children Priority One Committee and Vice President of the Bradenton Kiwanis Club. Mr. Nelson was a Manatee High School Mock Trial Team Coach for eight years from 2004 through 2012.

Attorney Kimberly Hamel Wochholz is from Kissimmee, Florida. She graduated with honors from the University of Central Florida in 2004. While enrolled at the University of Central Florida she interned with the Legal Aid Society of Orange County Florida; whose principal undertaking is to provide professional legal services for the disadvantaged. Mrs. Wochholz then enrolled in the College of Law at Stetson University. During law school she completed the Honors Program and served as an editor on the Stetson Law Review. She also served as an intern with the family law division of the 13th Judicial Circuit, Hillsborough County, Florida, and later joined the Consumer Rights Law Group as a law clerk. Mrs. Wochholz graduated magna cum laude from Stetson Law and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2011. Since that time, Mrs. Wochholz has proudly litigated against banks, bill collectors, and other companies on behalf of hundreds of consumers. Mrs. Wochholz practices exclusively under consumer protection statutes that require businesses to pay the attorney’s fees of prevailing consumers. These statutes allow attorneys to represent consumers, who often can’t afford to pay an attorney out of pocket, on a contingency basis whereby leveling the playing field between businesses and consumers. She is passionate about holding businesses accountable and protecting her clients.

Richard Ruhl (Rick) grew up in Charlotte County and was admitted to practice in Florida in 2002, and has been in private practice in southwest Florida since 2003. He attended elementary, junior high, and high school in Englewood and college in Fort Myers, graduating from International College, with a Bachelor's degree, summa cum laude. After this, he finished his Juris Doctorate at St. Thomas University School of Law in Miami in 2001. After admission to the bar, Rick accepted a job with the Public Defender's Office, and from there, accepted a job offer from the Law Office of Robert Distefano in Fort Lauderdale. After spending a year with Robert Distefano, he moved back to Charlotte County to open his own practice. In 2011, Rick joined the firm of Ruhl Law. Contact Rick at Rick@ruhllaw.com or by phone at (855) RUHL-LAW.

I am a veteran of the United States Air Force and served as an Assistant State Attorney for over three years in both Lee and Charlotte County. During these years, I handled thousands of criminal cases ranging from DUIs and other misdemeanors to complex felony economic crimes and sex crimes. This afforded me invaluable trial experience as well as allowing me the ability to learn the inner workings of the Judicial System. I have since decided to refocus my efforts on serving the community by protecting the rights of those accused of criminal offenses. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems from City University of Seattle and an M.B.A. from the University of Colorado. After years of work as a software engineer, I chose to pursue a degree in law and graduated with Honors from Ave Maria School of Law in 2017. While in law school, I gained experience in Criminal Law through an internship with the US Attorney’s Office in Fort Myers and worked with a firm in Naples, focusing on litigation involving real-estate and investment disputes. I look forward to using my knowledge, experience, and determination to help you get past whatever legal hurdle happens to be in your way.

Mitchell Sherman is a practicing attorney in the state of Florida, handling Real Estate and Estate Cases.

Jerome B. Blevins is a partner in the Liability division in the St. Petersburg office. Over the past 20 years, Jerry focused his practice in several areas including civil trial, personal injury, automobile liability, premises liability, products liability, civil rights (both federal and state) and governmental sovereign immunity. In addition, he has extensive litigation experience in commercial trucking and insurance defense. Currently, Jerry primarily represents insurance companies and self insured entities. Throughout his legal career, Jerry has always strived to create a personal relationship with his clients built on mutual confidence and trust. He pursues each case with diligence and above all remains extremely dedicated to his client’s causes. Jerry earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Kentucky in 1982, graduating with high honors, and is a Phi Beta Kappa. He then went on to earn his Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law in 1986. Jerry is a member of the Florida Bar, United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, and is a certified circuit civil mediator. He is also a member of the Pinellas Trial Lawyers Association, St. Petersburg Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, Florida Defense Lawyers Association, and a member of the Trucking Industry Defense Association (T.I.D.A.).

Katelynn Gibbons is the eldest daughter of partner, E. Lynn Gibbons. In elementary school, Katie routinely reminded her Mom of the annual, "Take Your Daughters To Work Day". Some of her fondest childhood memories are of traveling to courthouses across the state at Lynn’s side through the years. Witnessing her mother's passion for justice and compassion for other people firsthand at a young age has had a lasting effect on her. She first started working at Jorgensen Gibbons, P.A. over the summer in middle school when she wasn't playing basketball. Katie graduated from St. Petersburg Catholic High School in 2012 and she earned a B.A. degree, Magna Cum Laude, in psychology from the University of South Florida in 2014. Between college and law school, she worked as the workers’ compensation paralegal at the firm. Since day one, she has treated the firm's clients as if they were family. In the Fall of 2015, she followed in her Mom's footsteps and started law school at Stetson University College of Law - a few blocks away from the firm. The proximity allowed her to continue working part-time at JG while she was in law school. She graduated a semester early and earned her J.D. from Stetson in December of 2017. Today, Katie works as an Associate Attorney for Jorgensen Gibbons, P.A., handling personal injury, workers' compensation, and social security disability cases. In her free time she enjoys boating, fishing, and traveling to watch her baby brother, Dillan, play football for the Florida State Seminoles.

Cory has spent his entire life in Florida, growing up in the small town of Chiefland, located about an hour west of Gainesville. He started attending college full-time before graduating high school, but then left school to try to pursue music and eventually settled into a career in auto paint and body, which was always a passion. During his time repairing vehicles, Cory often had to fight with insurance adjusters to get them to pay for all the necessary repairs—little did he know this experience would come in handy years later. After painting thousands of vehicles over the better part of a decade, Cory decided it was time to go back to school and finish his education. He enrolled at the University of Florida, and received his bachelor’s degree in 2013. Cory then went on to study at Stetson University College of Law, where he earned a spot on the nation’s top-ranked, championship-winning trial team. Cory graduated from Stetson in 2016 with a Juris Doctor degree and an LL.M. in Advocacy (legal master’s degree). After graduating law school, Cory began his legal career as a private criminal defense attorney and insurance dispute attorney, where he renewed his battles with insurance companies, now better-equipped to win those battles. In 2020, Cory took a position as an attorney for a massive insurance defense firm, so that he could expand his knowledge in the practice and see firsthand how insurance companies and their attorneys operate. It did not take him long to realize the extent that insurance companies will go to avoid paying their customers what they are owed. Cory left the big firm so he could go back to representing the people, not the problem. During his years in insurance dispute litigation, Cory began to realize that if certain actions had been taken earlier in the claims process, many claims could have been resolved without the need to file a lawsuit. Despite their best efforts, homeowners and services like public adjusters simply do not have the same abilities that a lawyer can use to get a claim resolved quickly. So, Cory founded Property Claim Advocates, where our goal is to keep you out of court, and get you paid what you deserve.

Admitted to the practice of Law in the state of Florida and the Federal Court for the Middle District of Florida, Trescot Gear is an aggressive litigator as well as an able legal counselor. Mr. Gear enjoys helping his clients find both legal and practical solutions for their short and long-term needs. Trescot Gear is a member of The Florida Bar, the Florida Bar Labor and Employment Law Section, and the Florida Bar’s Young Lawyers Division. He is a current member of the Hillsborough County Bar Association and the Hillsborough County Bar Association Ethics and Professionalism Committee. Mr. Gear was recently granted admission as a Florida Supreme Court-certified Arbitrator. Trescot Gear is also Of Counsel at Ayo & Iken, a highly respected Tampa/St. Petersburg area civil litigation firm. Mr. Gear holds a Juris Doctor degree from Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, FL and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He is a member of Phi Alpha Delta and Pi Sigma Alpha National Honor Society.

Daniel Hartpence was born and raised in Fayetteville, Georgia. As the son of a chiropractor and teacher, he was instilled with the drive and motivation necessary to succeed and excel. He went to Starr's Mill High School, then on to Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. At Eckerd, Daniel played baseball and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and a minor in Classic History.