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    board certified

    Florida Bar Board Certified Appellate Lawyer.

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    rated AV

    Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell.

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    track record

    More than 200 reported appellate decisions over the last 24 years.

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    contact

    Tel: 954.217.5123
    david@pakulalawfirm.com

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Florida Appellate Lawyer
David B. Pakula is a premier Florida appellate lawyer handling complex civil appellate litigation in state and federal courts. He also provides strategic counseling and litigation support to trial lawyers. Keywords:appellate lawyer, appellate law firm, appellate law, attorney, attorneys, appellate lawyers, appellate, civil appellate litigation, appeal, appeals, appellate mediation, florida, FL, palm beach, broward, dade, pembroke pines, davie, plantation, fort lauderdale, weston, hollywood, hallandale, miami, boca ratonJust 25 years ago, there were few Florida attorneys who were regarded as "appellate lawyers." In fact, not so long ago the designation "appellate lawyer" did not even exist in Florida. In generations past, an attorney who gravitated toward the intellectual side of litigation -- researching legal precedents, writing legal briefs and memoranda of law, arguing legal points to judges, and providing support to trial lawyers -- might have been referred to by a colleague as a "law man" or "law woman."

During the past 25 years,as legal specialization has increased, so has the number of Florida lawyers engaging in what is now known as "appellate practice." Since the mid-1990's the Florida Bar has designated qualified appellate attorneys as "board certified" specialists in appellate practice. Board certification by the Florida Bar in appellate practice requires the attainment of certain standards of knowledge and experience in the handling of appeals. For more information and a listing of Florida Bar board certified appellate lawyers, visit the Florida Bar's website.

The goal of this website is to provide information, news and commentary about appellate practice in Florida. We feature blogs that discuss legal writing tips, recent Florida case law, and "random thoughts" related to Florida appellate practice. The site also contains information about our firm and the legal services we provide. We hope you find it useful and interesting.

Articles
  • [2011/10/3] Fee Driven Litigation: the "Bridge to Nowhere...

    The idea behind fee shifting statutes is a noble one: to level the playing field so the little guy can have access to the courts.  But in the world of PIP no-fault litigation, sometimes you...

  • [2011/9/24] Things To Do While Waiting For a Ruling

    Months have passed since the oral argument.  Still no ruling.  Every week, with great anticipation you check the court's website at the moment the court releases its decisions.  Each...

  • [2011/5/20] Oedipus Hex: Our "Children" Rise Up Agai...

    Seasoned appellate lawyers are rightfully proud of their hard earned appellate victories.  We feel as though our efforts have contributed toward the development of the...

  • [2011/12/15] Fourth DCA Weighs In On Harmless Error in Civil Cases

    The Fourth District Court of Appeal recently issued a lengthy en banc opinion with two special concurrences on the harmless error doctrine as appliced in civil cases.  In Special...

  • [2011/11/22] State Farm Adjuster Must Attend Deposition in Broward

    The county court compelled State Farm's Tampa-based claims adjuster to attend a deposition in Broward County.  The circuit court denied State Farm's "first-tier" petition for writ of...

  • [2011/11/2] Third DCA Declines Discretionary Review of Fee Sch...

    On November 2, 2011, the Third District Court of Appeal declined discretionary review of a county court decision certified to be of great public importance in U.S. Security Ins. Co. v. Professional...

  • [2011/10/10] PIP Fee Schedule Update: Third DCA Panel Hears Ano...

    We are still awaiting a decision from the Third District Court of Appeal in U.S. Security Ins. Co. v. Professional Medical Group, Inc., case no. 3D10-2881, which we argued on April 27, 2011 before...

  • [2011/10/3] Attorney's Fees: You Can't Win If You Do...

    In State Farm Fire & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Best Therapy Ctr., 36 Fla. L. Weekly D2072 (Fla. 3d DCA Sept. 21, 2011), the Third District Court of Appeal quashed a circuit appellate order awarding...

  • [2011/7/27] Third DCA Affirms Coverage Ruling

    In an appeal handled by our firm, Martinez v. U.S. Security Ins. Co. 3D10-1893 & 3D09-2677, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirmed a declaratory judgment on coverage in favor of...

  • [2011/5/23] PIP Fee Schedule Update: Fourth DCA First to Rule

    On May 18, 2011, the Fourth District Court of Appeal issued the first decision in the ongoing debate about the PIP fee schedules.  The dispute has been raging in the county courts for over...

  • [2011/10/8] More on Transitions: the Logical Link

    In a previous article, I discussed transitions as the glue that holds paragraphs together.  The article focused mainly on word choice.  But there is much more to say about transitions,...

  • [2011/10/1] Paragraph Theory: The Rule of Three

    A paragraph can be thought of as a unit that communicates a packet of thoughts.  It is composed of smaller units: words and sentences.  The paragraphs are linked together by means of...

  • [2011/9/24] Using the Royal "We" In Brief Writing

    Opinions issued by multiple-judge appellate panels frequently use the words "we," or "our," as in "we hold today that...", or "our decision should not be construed as..."  Using the royal "we"...

  • [2011/9/23] Transitions: Don't Forget the Glue!

    Writing is in some ways like constructing a building.  Words, sentences, paragraphs and larger units like sections constitute the raw materials.  An able writer knows how to arrange these...

  • [2011/5/23] Legal Writing Tip: Alternate Short and Long Sentences

    You may have heard this writing tip: use short sentences.  It's true that many writers use overly long and complex sentences.  This is generally to be avoided.  Shorter sentences...