Practice Areas & Industries: Stephens Lynn Klein LaCava & Puya, P.A.

Practice/Industry Group Overview

The firm has devoted a substantial portion of its practice to the defense of professionals over the course of the past twenty years. One entire division of the firm is devoted to the defense of medical and pharmaceutical malpractice claims, including HMOs and nursing homes, while another unit specializes in the defense of legal malpractice and miscellaneous professional liability claims. In that regard, the firm has been in the vanguard of defense firms within the State of Florida in advancing or promoting new theories of defense, both at the trial court level and before the state and federal Courts of Appeal. The firm's appellate division has been instrumental in pursuing critical theories of defense as amicus curiae before the Florida Courts of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court, and has also written briefs on behalf of the American Medical Association, the Florida Hospital Association, the Florida Medical Association and the Florida Defense Bar Association in support of various forms of tort reform legislation. In that capacity, the firm was successful as amicus curiae before the Florida Supreme Court in limiting the liability of attorneys to non-clients and in securing strict compliance with Florida's pre-suit screening requirements in medical malpractice actions, and also took part in recent decisions which have upheld the current statutory cap on non-economic damages.