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Jump to Practice Area
• Litigation
• Real Estate
• Corporate
• Dispute Resolution
• Intellectual Property
• Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
• Insurance
Attorneys & Staff Michael J. Higer, Esq.
David H. Lichter, Esq.
J. Joseph Givner, Esq.
Esther Meisels, Esq.
Janessa Wasserman, Esq.
Michelle Casares
Valorie S. Chavin, Esq.
Christina Guzman, Esq.
Christopher J. Maranges, Esq.
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Practice Areas Litigation  All of the firm's members handle a wide variety of commercial litigation matters in state and federal court and on appeal. These include, but are not limited to, real estate, contract, corporate, shareholder and partnership disputes, intellectual property (patents, trademarks, trade secrets and copyright), convenants not to compete, RICO, securities, common law fraud and insurance disputes. Messrs. Higer, Lichter and Givner have over 60 years combined litigation experience.
Real Estate  Jacob (Joey) Givner heads the real estate department. Mr. Givner has successfully handled commercial real estate transactions valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars including, without limitation, acquisition and financing of commercial properties. Mr. Givner has also successfully represented clients in leasing and brokerage transactions. Mr. Givner along with his partners, Michael J. Higer and David H. Lichter also have extensive experience in litigation of real estate disputes where they have brought and defended foreclosure actions, actions for specific performance, eviction actions, brokerage disputes and related matters.
Corporate  Jacob (Joey) Givner heads the real estate department. Mr. Givner has years of experience representing clients in a broad spectrum of corporate transactions including mergers and acquisitions, financing, joint ventures, strategic alliances, licensing and concessions. Mr. Givner has represented a wide array of corporate clients ranging from private individuals and start-up enterprises to publicly traded companies. Messrs. Higer, Lichter and Givner have litigation experience in this area as well.
Dispute Resolution
David Lichter anchors the firm's alternative dispute resolution services.
Mediation and Arbitration
Mr. Lichter has mediated and arbitrated more than 650 cases pre-suit, pending in state and federal courts, the America Arbitration Association and before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA, formerly the NASD and NYSE). Mr. Lichter regularly travels throughout Florida and has traveled around the country and to Puerto Rico to mediate matters.
Private Judging
Private Judging is an alternative dispute resolution procedure in which the parties agree to have someone other than a sitting judge hear and decide the case. The private judge presides over the pretrial litigation and the trial in the same manner as a Circuit Judge with authority to enter orders on discovery and dispositive motions. Once the private judge rules on the dispute, judgment is entered upon application by the prevailing party to the assigned Circuit Judge. The private judge's legal conclusions are appealable as of right, but the judge's factual determinations are subject to limited review. Private judging is more efficient than traditional litigation and affords the parties more control over the process.
Case Management/Special Master Services
Mr. Lichter has served as a Special Master appointed by judges and/or selected by the parties in both state and federal court. In this capacity, he has also resolved a variety of procedural and/or legal issues while litigation progresses. In such instances, Mr. Lichter acts as a third party neutral who can render decisions more quickly than might otherwise be possible in a judicial or arbitral forum. This procedure is applicable to all types of disputes, but is particularly helpful for multi-party, multi-issue disputes involving complex discovery problems. This procedure can save the parties time -- and money -- by more quickly disposing of a variety of issues while the parties share the cost of Mr. Lichter's services.
Early Neutral Evaluation
Early neutral evaluation allows a party to hire a third party neutral like Mr. Lichter to evaluate a case prior to trial. The parties may present argument and witnesses and then obtain Mr. Lichter's evaluation and discuss those findings in a roundtable forum.
Intellectual Property  Messrs. Higer and Lichter run the firm's intellectual property practice. Their experience includes years of trademark, copyright and patent litigation on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants. The firm also acts proactively in pre-suit matters, protecting its clients' intellectual property rights by issuing cease-and-desist letters and negotiating settlements on their behalf.
Personal Injury/Wrongful Death
Mr. Higer anchors the firm's personal injury and wrongful death practice. He has recovered millions of dollars for his clients who have been the victims of negligence. He has successfully represented clients who have suffered serious injuries and the families who have lost loved ones due to the negligence of another
Insurance
Mr. Higer leads the firm's insurance group which represents property owner (Commercial and residential) in conforming their rights against their insurance companies. Mr. Higer has recovered millions of dollars for property owners who were forced to assert claims against their insurance companies who refused to issue payment for damages suffered to their insured's property.
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