Ben practices in the areas of general commercial, product liability and other civil litigation in federal and state courts, criminal defense and property tax appeals. He has been involved in approximately 60 jury trials, over 45 of which he has been the lead trial lawyer. Ben is a former Assistant Public Defender and has wide-ranging jury trial experience. He is on the Board of Directors of the Dade County Bar Association, a Member of the Florida Bar Code and Rules of Evidence Committee, and a former Chair of the Florida Bar Standing Committee on Professionalism. Ben has presented the Professionalism portion of the Florida Bar's Practicing with Professionalism Seminar on numerous occasions, and is the former Vice President of the Board of Directors for Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc.
Areas of Concentration
· General commercial and civil litigation
· Criminal defense
· Product liability litigation
· Trademark litigation
· Commercial and residential ad valorem property tax appeals and litigation
Significant Representations
· Represented professional basketball player in federal lawsuit in New York against major sports agent and premier Russian basketball team; obtained eligibility for the player to sign with any NBA or European professional basketball team.
· Defended State Circuit Court Judge in sanction proceedings before the Florida Supreme Court.
· Obtained agricultural classification for property used for boarding and training racehorses in State Circuit Court proceedings and successfully defended the judgment on appeal, including oral argument, before the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida.
· Represented national watch company in obtaining federal court injunctions precluding the distribution and sales of gray market watches.
· Represented students arrested while protesting the FTAA conference in Miami and obtained dismissals of criminal charges.
Professional & Community Involvement
· Member, Florida Association for Women Lawyers
· Member, American Inn of Court, 1999-present
· Member, American Bar Association
· Dade County Bar Association (DCBA)
- Board of Directors, 2009-present
- Member, Long Range Planning Committee, 2009-present
- Member, Professionalism Committee, 2009-present
- Miami-Dade County Young Lawyers Professionalism Committee, 2001-2002
- Miami-Dade County Young Lawyers Schools Committee, 2001-2002
· Florida Bar
- Member, Code and Rules of Evidence Committee, 2008-present
- Chair, Standing Committee on Professionalism, 2007-2008
- Vice-Chair, Standing Committee on Professionalism, 2006-2007
- Member, Standing Committee on Professionalism, The Florida Bar, 2002-2008
- Chair, Master's Seminar on Professionalism, 2004
- Member, Media and Communications Law Committee, 2000-2002
· Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc.
- Vice-President, 2009
- Executive Committee, 2009
- Board of Directors, 2009
· University of Miami Hurricane Club,
- Member, National Council, 2009-present
- President, Broward County Chapter, 2009
- Board of Directors, Broward County Chapter, 2005
- Vice-President, Broward County, 2007-2008
Previous Employment
· Assistant Public Defender, Office of the Public Defender, Twelfth Judicial Circuit, Florida
- Participated in approximately 58 jury trials
- Obtained "Not Guilty" verdicts for several clients on trial and facing a potential sentence of life in prison if convicted
- Supervised the Habitual Felony Offenders and Serious Crimes Division
- Represented indigent criminal defendants accused of misdemeanors and all degrees of felonies except Capital Murder
- Supervised the Misdemeanor Division
- Researched, drafted and argued an appeal from County Court to Circuit Court successfully
Articles, Publications, & Lectures
Article
· "Alaska's Men's Rea Requirements of Statutory Rape," Alaska Law Review, 12/92
Lectures
· Lecturer and presenter, "Practicing with Professionalism," Seminar, Florida Bar, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, and West Palm Beach, FL, 2003-present