BULLETIN BOARD
BULLETIN BOARD
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Professional Announcements
Lesser, Landy, Smith & Siegel, PLLC is pleased to announce that Ryan M. McCarthy has joined the firm as a partner in the West Palm Beach office. McCarthy will oversee the firm’ s growing Contingency Business Litigation Division. McCarthy brings over a decade of experience litigating cases, and is known for his meticulous, clientcentered approach to resolving highstakes claims. He is licensed to practice in Florida and Massachusetts and has represented a wide range of clients, including individuals, corporations, financial institutions, and public figures. McCarthy will also focus his practice on representing individuals and families who have suffered serious personal injury. His background includes a J. D. from the University of Miami School of Law and a Master’ s Degree in Music Business and Entertainment Industries from the University of Miami Frost School of Music. McCarthy’ s professional involvement includes service on The Florida Bar Fifteenth Circuit Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee and the Palm Beach County Bar Association’ s Civil Rules Committee, Health and Wellness Committee and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. He is also active in the community, currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Wellington Historical Society.
Real Estate
Fully furnished law office for rent in West Palm Beach. Free parking, space for support staff, conference room, phones, copier, scanner, and internet available. $ 1,000 and up. Located at 1860 Forest Hill Blvd., West Palm Beach. Call Stuart Young at 561- 433-4200 or email syoung @ ybplaw. com.
Jones Foster is pleased to announce the expansion of its Complex Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group with the addition of attorneys Michael B. Habib and Peter J. Sitaras, who join the firm’ s West Palm Beach office. Mr. Habib’ s practice will focus on representing businesses and individuals in a wide range of complex commercial litigation matters. He brings extensive experience in the state and federal court system with the completion of three judicial clerkships, including serving as a Staff Attorney to Justice C. Alan Lawson of the Florida Supreme Court; a federal Pro Se Law Clerk to Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga and Judges Beth F. Bloom, Robert N. Scola, Jr., Robin L. Rosenberg, Aileen M. Cannon, and Kenneth A. Marra; and most recently as a Judicial Law Clerk to U. S. Magistrate Judge Marta F. Elfenbein of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Mr. Sitaras will focus his practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation and civil litigation. His previous experience includes litigating class actions, federal appeals, and real estate and business disputes, as well as handling matters related to intellectual property, international arbitration, medical malpractice, and personal injury law.
Veteran estate planning attorney
Chioma Deere has joined the South Florida office of Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP( SSRGA) as senior counsel. Deere focuses her practice on wills and trusts, probate administration, Medicaid planning, and nursing home protection. She operated her own firm, Deere Law Firm, for nearly four years before joining SSRGA. SSRGA’ s New York City office has a well-established Trusts and Estates practice group, and the firm is expanding those services in Florida. Deere will work alongside estate planning attorney Jennifer Fulton in the Boca Raton office. With a deep knowledge of electronic discovery and digital evidence in multiple legal applications, Deere provides a unique perspective on digital assets, cybersecurity, and information security in estate planning, probate and trust administration. She held the internationally recognized Certified Electronic Discovery Specialist( CEDS) designation from 2019-2023. A native of Jamaica who grew up in the Bronx, Deere earned her undergraduate degree from Wells College and her Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law. She began her career as a litigator, primarily handling insurance defense and civil matters. Deere is admitted to practice in Florida and the U. S. District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida.
Palm Beach County Value Adjustment Board Opportunity
The Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, as Clerk to the Value Adjustment Board
( VAB), seeks special magistrates for its 2025 hearings( October 2025- April 2026), to be held in person, telephonically, or by other electronic means. Special magistrates conduct hearings and prepare Recommended Decisions for consideration by the VAB. Special Magistrates hearing real estate valuation cases must be state licensed real esate appraisers. Special magistrates hearing tangible personal property cases must be disgnated members of a nationally recognized appriasers ' organization. Special magistrates hearing cases related to exemptions, classifications, portability, and other legal matters must be members of the Florida Bar in good standing with experience in ad valorem taxation. All special magistrate applicants must have at least three( 3) years ' experience and must have completed training and passed the examination provided by the Florida Department of Revenue. Please see Section 194.035, Florida Statutes and Rule 12D-0.010, F. A. C. Compensation is $ 125 per hour, within a minimum 4-hour per day guarantee. All special magistrates selected by VAB must also agree to the terms of the VAB ' s Special Magistrate Agreement. Please find the application and instructions at www. mypalmbeachclerk. com / vab.
PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 25