Litigation

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.

Kevin C. Ambler served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2002 to 2010, representing House District 47 encompassing most of Northwest Hillsborough County. During his 4 consecutive terms in elected office, he served on over 47 legislative councils and committees, including serving as Chairman of the Health Appropriations Committee in which he was responsible for nearly $20 billion dollars in appropriations for more than 3 million Medicaid beneficiaries and 80,000 health care providers and 15,000 health care facilities. During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Rep. Ambler received numerous awards and accolades from professional organizations, boards, and foundations as the top legislator of the year for his outstanding accomplishments for championing numerous important legislative issues. Representative Ambler attended Cornell University on a four-year Air Force ROTC scholarship where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Business Administration in 1983. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. In 1986, he received his Juris Doctorate degree from Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, California. Soon after, he was appointed as an Air Force judge advocate and assigned to the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, where he served on active duty for nearly 5 years in several positions including Chief of Claims, Chief of Legal Assistance, Chief of Military Justice and Chief of the Civil Law Divisions. During this same time, he also was appointed by the U.S. Attorney General as a Special Assistant United States Attorney and was responsible for prosecuting criminal cases in federal court against civilians arising on MacDill AFB. Later, his responsibilities expanded to defending the United States in federal court in medical malpractice and personal injury cases arising under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Representative Ambler entered private practice and transferred to the Air Force Reserves in 1991. During his first year as a reservist, he was awarded the Harmon Award by the Air Force Judge Advocate General as the Most Outstanding Reserve Judge Advocate in the U.S. Air Force. Representative Amblerʼs other military decorations include the Air Force Achievement Medal, two Air Force Meritorious Service Medals, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the National Defense Services Medal. He continued to serve as a Judge Advocate in the reserves until 2005. Representative Ambler began his career in private practice as a litigation attorney in 1991. In 1996, Representative Ambler opened his own firm, the Ambler Law Group, focusing in the areas of medical malpractice, products liability, wrongful death and personal injury litigation in both state and federal courts. His firm also handles complex business litigation and transactional matters as well as entertainment and sports law. Representative Ambler is a member of the Florida, Georgia and D.C. Bars and the American Bar Association, Hillsborough County Bar Association and the American Justice Association. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Court for the Middle District Court of Florida, and the U.S. Court of Military Appeals. He previously served as the Chair of the Florida Bar Military Affairs Committee (2002-2003) and Chair of the Hillsborough County Bar Association (HCBA) Military Liaison Committee (2002-2003). He has chaired the HCBA Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law Section (1999-2002) and he has been a regular and active participant in the HCBA “Ask A Lawyer” Pro Bono Program from 1995 to 2002. In 2002, he received the HCBA “Have a Heart” award for outstanding pro bono service. Representative Ambler and his firm hold an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell National Law Directory reflecting the highest possible rating for professional competence and ethical conduct. Representative Ambler served as President of the Board of Trustees of the Northdale Special Tax District for 7 years. He was Chairman of the Cornell University Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network Committee for West Central Florida as well as a member of the Board of Directors for the Cornell Club of the Suncoast for 5 years. For over 10 years, Representative Ambler served as president and a member of the Board of Directors of the Brentwood Park Homeownerʼs Association. In 2000, Representative Ambler was appointed to and served a one year term on the Hillsborough County Charter Review Board. In his youth, Representative Ambler served on the White House Conference for Children and Youth Task Force and was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement which awarded him the Golden Eagle Award of Excellence as the top student in the United States. Representative Ambler has been an adjunct law professor on the faculty for Stetson University College of Law for the past 8 years.

Practice Areas: Insurance Litigation, Bad Faith, Products Liability, Ciguatera Poisoning, Establishing Insurance Coverage As one of the few Triple Board Certified attorneys, Mr. Stewart’s practice involves complex litigation in both Federal and State Courts, including helping individuals and businesses who’s insurance companies have abandon them. Mr. Stewart also assists individuals who have been poisoned with a fish borne toxin known as Ciguatera. In addition to receiving dozens of multi-million dollar awards, he received the largest collectible punitive damage verdict in State history, the largest Ciguatera settlement in the Country, what was reported as the largest Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy verdict in Florida, and the largest personal injury verdict ever in Okeechobee County. He also took on the automobile insurance industry for its practice of under-reimbursing health care providers. Mr. Stewart was the first attorney in many years to defeat GEICO in a Powell type Insurance Bad Faith case. Mr. Stewart has been recognized with awards by many organizations for the work he has done, including as a Florida Super Lawyer (given to the top 5% of attorneys) since 2007, Top 100 Trial Lawyer by National Trial Lawyers since 2013, Top Lawyer in Florida by The Legal Network since 2013, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 1996 and he and his firm have attained the highest rating possible, AV, with the Martindale-Hubbell legal directory of exemplary lawyers. He has published and frequently speaks to lawyers, paralegals and law students across the Country. He has taught several courses at Stetson Law School. He also has served as an Adjunct Professor of Constitutional Law at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College. Mr. Stewart stays active in his community; including Harmony House, the Miami Project, Habitat for Humanity, The American Cancer Society and public television and radio. However, he has spent most of his time as a member of Palm Beach County Special Olympics’ Steering Committee, where he coordinated the community volunteers for more than ten (10) years. With a proven track record as a trial attorney and multiple a significant victories to his credit, Mr. Stewart’s career has been dedicated to the pursuit of justice. If you have any questions regarding a matter for which you believe Mr. Stewart can assist, he welcomes you to contact him at TStewart@ForTheInjured.com.

Ms. El Fadel is a Junior Partner with KS Attorneys at law and currently heads up our Firm’s business development, business structuring, business funding and commercial civil trial departments. As such, Ms. El Fadel is experienced in most all areas of commercial business development, commercial civil trial and appellate representation and is licensed to practice in the Federal and State Courts of Florida and the State Courts of New Jersey. Ms. El Fadel’s educational accolades range from graduating summa cum laude from the Shepard Board Law School at Nova Southeastern University to serving as the past Notes and Comments Editor for the Nova Law Review, to serving as the Chairperson for Problem Research and Development committee for the law schools moot court program. Upon entering into the practice of law with our Firm, Ms. El Fadel quickly distinguished herself as a respected and tenacious trial advocate for our clients and most recently is noted for overturning a local government ordinance through her thorough and effective constitutional law representation of one of our Firm’s clients. Accordingly, Ms. El Fadel’s primary focuses of practice are business representation, complex commercial trial, mediation and arbitration, corporate finance and structuring, corporate funding and banking, finance, corporate disputes, employment discrimination, real property litigation and insurance disputes, medical office operations, policies and organization, medical collections and insurance billing disputes, medical PIP claims and litigation, foreclosure defense and pre-bankruptcy planning as asset structuring, family law, divorce and pre and post estate litigation. On her personal time Ms. El Fadel enjoy spending time with her family, reading the latest bestselling novels and participating in community events and hot yoga. Ms. El Fadel is licensed to practice law in the States of Florida and New Jersey in addition to being a licensed attorney to practice before the Federal Courts of the Middle and Southern District Courts in Florida.

Mr. Dettman has tried 57 cases through verdict. He has handled thousands of Kentucky personal injury matters and helped recover millions for his clients. Simply put, Brian fights for his client's interests. He focuses his practice on all things injury including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, wrongful death, products liability. Mr. Dettman also handles slip and fall, catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, insurance bad faith, and consumer rights cases. Brian prides himself on client communication, hard work, and successful results. As a Louisville trial attorney he has the skill, ability, and knowledge to protect your rights.

Attorney Ryan T. Fasso was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2002 after having attended New England School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts where he graduated with his Juris Doctorate. Mr. Fasso now concentrates his practice in the areas of criminal law, family law, and civil litigation. He also handles quiet title actions. Prior to, he began his legal career as Dependency Attorney with the Circuit 10 | Florida Department of Children and Families. He gained immediate courtroom experience after having conducted numerous adjudicatory bench trials amidst the most controversial of cases. Thereafter, Mr. Fasso continued his legal career as an Assistant State Attorney with the Polk County State Attorney’s Office. During his tenure there, he quickly excelled from County Prosecutor to Senior Felony Prosecutor. He furthered his courtroom experience by routinely prosecuting felony cases and arguing many jury trials. He often prosecuted DUI’s, Drug Crimes, White Collar Crimes, Violent Crimes, and Fraud Cases. In late 2004, Mr. Fasso entered the private sector and joined forces with a major Tampa-based law firm. There, he focused his practice on criminal law, personal injury, and worker’s compensation. In short order, he was named partner and managed a steady caseload of diverse areas of law. He also handled both civil and criminal appeals. In 2006, he received his first written decision from the 2nd District Court of Appeals. Mr. Fasso now manages his own law practice and maintains a diversified caseload. He provides legal services in the greater Tampa Bay Area and in all surrounding counties. His mission is simple – “To find the truth and use it in the courtroom to get justice for his clients.”

Sharon T. Diamant has been working as an attorney for over twenty-five years. In October 2000, she became a prosecutor in the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office. She left the state's attorney's office in 2002 and practiced Criminal Law in Hillsborough County, Florida for two years before returning to the state's attorney's office in 2004. Ms. Diamant remained at the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office until 2010, when she opened her own office and went into private practice. While a prosecutor, she handled a wide variety of matters in the District Court Unit, including bad checks, burglary, theft, drunk driving and other traffic offenses, assault, and violations of protective orders (Gazette). In the Juvenile Division, she handled sexual abuse cases involving juvenile offenders. She handled one famous juvenile matter involving a youth who had molested several children in his neighborhood which ultimately led to the first-ever sexual offender legislation which would require juveniles engaged in sexual offenses to register as sex offenders (Washington Post). In 2007, Ms. Diamant joined the white-collar crime team in her office, where she handled the prosecution of a myriad of crimes, including large-scale thefts, embezzlements from employers and the federal government, misappropriations, as well as the investigation of police officer-involved shootings and crimes involving public officials. For the past fifteen years, Sharon has focused her practice on criminal law and domestic law. She appears regularly before Magistrates and Judges on all issues surrounding criminal law and domestic law, to include: contested and uncontested divorce, child custody, child support, peace and protective orders, and post-judgment issues. Sharon also handles cases that cross over between criminal and domestic law. Sharon was featured on WJLA 7 News in a case involving a grandparent's right to custody of a grandchild where the mother is deceased and the father is a convicted criminal. Sharon also handled a case of a woman accused of attempted murder but who never intended to hurt anyone. That client is now receiving mental health treatment, as opposed to being locked up in a jail. Sharon is a client's biggest advocate and at the same time acts as a mentor and friend. She personally answers her phone calls, answers all emails and texts, and is always available to her clients. She is an experienced litigator with 25 years of trial experience, but she also mediates for clients and promotes non-litigation strategies, where appropriate. Sharon is a 1999 graduate of the University of Dayton School of Law and is licensed to practice law in the State of Maryland, the State of Florida, and the US District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland. Sharon was also admitted to the US Supreme Court. She has been selected to the Super Lawyers list for the State of Maryland in 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. She is a member of the Montgomery County Bar Association, the Women's Bar Association, the Sobeloff Society, the Collaborative Divorce Law Society, the National College for DUI Defense, the Montgomery County Ethics Committee, the Montgomery County Criminal Law Society, and the Inns of Court. Sharon also sits on Montgomery County's Judicial Nominating Commission and is a board member with the Sobeloff Society. She has won Avvo's Client Choice Award and has a "superb" rating on Avvo.com. We are open 24/7, so give us a call today at 301-560-2685.

Dane Steffenson is a nationally recognized employment litigator, trusted advisor, and skilled problem solver with unique insight into the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) enforcement strategies, policies and procedures. Dane spent more than 17 years litigating some of the DOL's most complex, novel and high-profile cases.

James Moore is a true Wilmington native. His parents, who own a construction company, have been building in the area for decades. A graduate of Hoggard High School, James decided to stay close to home and attend the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. While an undergraduate, James kindled a passion for law by taking a part-time job at Shipman & Wright as an office clerk. After earning his degree in business administration in 2003, James became a paralegal at the firm, and two years later entered Campbell University School of Law where he received numerous awards and honors. Upon graduation, James returned to his Wilmington roots and rejoined the Shipman & Wright team as an attorney. James focuses his practice in the areas of Personal Injury, Wrongful Death, Business Litigation, Construction Litigation and Mass Torts in both the state and federal courts. James’ impact as a lawyer and professional hasn’t gone unnoticed. He has been recognized by his peers as a “Super Lawyer Rising Star” in the legal profession and is also ranked as one of the Top 40 Lawyers under the Age of 40 by the National Trial Lawyers. James was recently recognized as one of the Top 10 Attorneys under the Age of 40 in North Carolina by the National Academy of Personal Injury Attorneys. James is also a registered Athlete Agent in North Carolina and a certified contract advisor for the NFL. He has represented and advised numerous professional athletes in contract negotiations and litigation matters. James is married to his beautiful wife, Rebekah. Outside of the office, James enjoys traveling, sports and spending time with his family.

Sam Roberti is an experienced trial attorney who focuses his practice in the area of business litigation, business transactions, estate litigation and personal injury litigation. Samuel Roberti was born in Long Island, New York in 1951. He was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1975 and is licensed to practice before all North Carolina State Courts, the U.S.Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, the US Court of Military Appeals and the US Court of Veterans' Appeals .