English-Speaking Attorneys

L. Dante' diTrapano

Charleston, WV

Dante' diTrapano began his career in the legal industry in 1990 as an investigator for his late father's law firm, DiTrapano & Jackson. His father, Rudolph L. DiTrapano (1928-2017), was a highly respected and successful lawyer in West Virginia who inspired Dante' to go to law school through a number of high-profile trials, including a case the elder DiTrapano successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court. Dante' attended John Marshall Law School, where he graduated summa cum laude and was the 1994 Valedictorian. Dante' successfully represented the law school in trial advocacy competitions across the country. Dante' is AV Preeminent Peer Rated, an honor bestowed by Martindale-Hubbell for achieving the highest level of professional excellence for his legal knowledge and experience, analytical capability, judgment, communications, and ethical standards. Dante’ was appointed to serve on the Executive Committee of the West Virginia Association for Justice for the 2025-2026 term. Previously, Dante' served on the Board of Governors of the West Virginia Association for Justice for the 2023-2024 term. WVAJ is a volunteer bar association for West Virginia attorneys and paralegals to protect access to state and federal courts, the civil justice system, and the 7th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which is the right to a jury trial. Dante' has extensive courtroom and trial experience and enjoys the reputation of being a tenacious litigator in the representation of his clients. Dante's negotiation skills have also served his clients well over the years, yielding results in the hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2000, Dante' negotiated a $75 million contract for former client and NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss. At the time, it was the largest salary negotiated for a wide receiver in NFL history. More recently, as lead negotiator, Dante' impressively resolved three separate class action/mass tort cases with financial recovery totaling, in the aggregate, more than $375 million. Dante' has tried cases to verdict for serious injuries and wrongful deaths in the following areas of practice: prison abuse, civil rights violations, commercial trucking accidents, parcel service trucking accidents (UPS), waste disposal trucking accidents (BFI), medical malpractice, products liability, premises liability, property flooding, breach of fiduciary duty, dog bites, and auto accidents. In addition to West Virginia, he has litigated cases across the country in numerous states, including Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas. As lead counsel, Dante’ took an inmate injury case to trial for the estate of a man who died while incarcerated at Huttonsville Correctional Center in Huttonsville, West Virginia. The trial took place in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia, in November 2022. The jury returned a verdict, in favor of the estate, in the amount of $711,000 against the WV Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The jury determined that corrections officials were “deliberately indifferent” to the inmate’s medical needs, ultimately causing his death. More recently, in November 2024, Dante’ was lead trial counsel in a medical malpractice, wrongful death case in the 8th Judicial Circuit in and for Alachua County, Florida. The Gainesville jury returned a verdict, in favor of Dante’s client, for $1.5 million, finding there was a failure to diagnose an internal hernia and small bowel ischemia on an abdominal CT Scan. Dante' is a native of Charleston and resides there with his wife, Teri. They have four children and six grandchildren. Dante’ enjoys vacationing with his family and extended family. Because he previously conquered his own difficulties with substance abuse and has become an inspiration to others, Dante' spends a considerable amount of his free time helping members of the community who struggle with substance abuse. He has spoken to numerous recovery groups, jail populations, patients at treatment facilities, and professional assistance programs. In February 2025, Dante' was asked to speak during the West Virginia Association for Justice's Mid-Winter Convention & Seminar. His presentation, 'Resilience in Recovery: A Story of Addiction, Redemption, and Rebuilding a Legal Career,' was met with extraordinarily positive feedback. Dante’ was also the keynote speaker at the inaugural West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program (WVJLAP) retreat in April 2019. The WVJLAP also recognized Dante’ in 2022 with the Chief Justice Award for his Peer Volunteer Service. He has also visited Mount Olive Correctional Complex as part of a Prison Ministry and brought his message of faith, hope, and perseverance to the inmates. Dante' regularly supports Maranatha Fellowship, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Kanawha Valley Fellowship Home, youth sports, and various local 12-step recovery groups. He also competes in local tennis events and has a standing game every Saturday morning.

Tucker Richardson

Lexington, KY

Randolph Tucker Richardson, III is a founding member and managing partner of Baldani Law Group, specializing in state and federal criminal defense, including capital murder and DUI defense. He earned his B.S. in accounting from the University of Kentucky in 1985 and his J.D. from the University of Louisville College of Law in 1988. Admitted to the Kentucky Bar Association in 1988, he is also admitted to the U.S. District Court for both the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky, and the United States Supreme Court (1994). Tucker was elected to the American Board of Criminal Lawyers in 2015 and received the AV Preeminent® Award from Martindale-Hubbell in 2012. He is a past president of the Kentucky Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers (KACDL), selected as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Association, and rated 10.0 Superb by AVVO. He lectures on criminal law, especially DUI defense and drug detection. He is an executive board member of the Children’s Charity Fund of the Bluegrass and volunteers in the nursery program at Crossroads Christian Church.

Matthew D. Pardy

Orlando, FL

Licensed for over 20 years, Matthew D. Pardy is an experienced Orlando personal injury attorney and President of The Law Offices of Pardy & Rodriguez, P.A. Mr. Pardy is a proud alumni of Colgate University, where he graduated with honors. He then furthered his studies at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1994. Community involvement plays a large role in Mr. Pardy’s everyday life, as he recognizes the importance of supporting a city such as Orlando, and the individuals in it. He remains active in the Orlando community through various avenues of service, including as a current Executive Committee member of Central Florida Quail Forever, and leadership positions with Calusa Camping, a parent-youth tent camping group, and including past positions as Trustee and Chairperson of the Orange County Library System, and a member of the Orlando Nuisance Abatement Board. Mr. Pardy is passionate about representing injured Florida victims in a variety of personal injury cases and has done so successfully for over 20 years.

Geoffrey B. Dashner

Irving, TX

As the driving force behind Dashner Law Firm in Texas, Attorney Geoffrey Dashner combines relentless dedication with extensive legal expertise, offering personalized and effective representation to each client. His commitment to justice and deep understanding of personal injury law ensure that those impacted by accidents receive not only expert legal guidance but also the compassion and support they deserve during their time of need. Geoffrey graduated Cum Laude from Southwestern Adventist College with a BBA in Business Management in 1992. He attended The University of Tulsa College of Law where he obtained his Juris Doctorate in 1995. He has handled well over twelve thousand personal injury cases and has more than 27 years of experience.

David Pittman

Bonita Springs, FL

David Pittman has dedicated more than 30 years to advocating for injured individuals and families across Southwest Florida. Motivated by his own childhood experience of a traumatic car accident that left his parents seriously injured, David brings unmatched compassion and determination to every case he handles. As the founding attorney of Pittman Law Firm, P.L., he has represented thousands of clients, combining his deep legal knowledge with a personalized, client-centered approach. David is deeply committed to his community. He has served as an Attorney Guardian ad Litem for Voices for Kids of Southwest Florida, ensuring vulnerable children have strong legal advocates. In addition, he has contributed to numerous legal education platforms, volunteered with local organizations, and supported charitable initiatives throughout Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, and Naples. Outside of the courtroom, David enjoys boating, volunteering, and spending time with his wife, Kristin, and their family.

Michael Jaffe

New York, NY

Michael Jaffe is a longstanding leader in personal injury litigation and a partner at Pazer Epstein Jaffe Fein & Gozenput, P.C. He is known for his dedication to clients, treating them like family, and providing both legal and emotional support. Michael is a sought-after trial counsel, frequently advising colleagues on trial and litigation strategy. His practice focuses on catastrophic accident cases, including construction law, worksite accidents, premises liability, and automobile accidents. He has been recognized as a Best Lawyer, Top Personal Injury Attorney on Avvo, and Super Lawyer since 2011. Michael is also actively involved with the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, having served as President and currently Co-Chair of its Labor Law Committee.

Deirdre E. Barkley Frank

Ventura, CA

Deirdre Frank is a compassionate and dedicated attorney focusing on personal injury and workers’ compensation law. She has litigated personal injury and workers’ compensation cases on behalf of the injured since 1984, with over 40 years of experience. She is committed to fighting for the rights of those who have suffered due to someone else’s negligence, seeking justice and compensation. Her experience extends to a wide range of cases, including workplace injuries, car accidents, and slip-and-fall incidents. She provides personalized representation and has recovered millions in compensation for her clients.

Laura Rosenberg

New York, NY

Ms. Rosenberg has been licensed to practice law in New York and New Jersey since 2001. Her primary area of expertise is personal injury law. She graduated from the University of San Diego in 1997 with a major in Political Science and from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2000. She is a member of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, and New York State Bar Association, and is admitted to practice in both State and Federal Courts. She was recognized for Excellence in the Practice of Law by the Lawyers of Distinction, received the Gold Client Champion Award from Martindale-Hubbell, and holds an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell. She was selected as a Super Lawyer of 2019.

Amal Laassel

Orlando, FL

Amal Laassel, originally from Marrakesh, Morocco, immigrated to the U.S. at 16. She earned her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Central Florida in 2004 and her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida in 2007. After gaining experience in personal injury and insurance defense, becoming a partner at a large firm, she transitioned to plaintiff's attorney in 2014. She focuses on personal injury and immigration law. Amal is recognized as Florida Legal Elite and a "Women Who Mean Business" nominee. She is fluent in Arabic, French, Spanish, and English, and is admitted to practice in Florida State courts and federal courts.

Johnathan D. Silva

Pearland, TX

Johnathan D. Silva is the Founder and Managing Partner of Veteran-Owned Law Firm J.D. Silva & Associates. He is a personal injury lawyer, primarily handling motor vehicle accident cases. A Navy veteran, he served as a medic and traveled to 36 countries. He earned his JD from Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law in 2014. He founded J.D. Silva & Associates in 2018 and has been recognized by Texas Super Lawyers since 2023. He is bilingual, fluent in Spanish.

Ramin Hariri is a distinguished attorney based in San Diego, California, and the founder of the Hariri Law Group. With over 17 years of legal experience, he has built a reputation for providing personalized and effective representation in various areas of civil litigation. As the principal attorney at Hariri Law Group, Mr. Hariri focuses on personal injury, employment law, and class action/mass torts. His firm is dedicated to fighting for the rights of negligence victims, ensuring they receive the justice and fair compensation they deserve. He is fluent in English and Farsi.

Philip S. Schlesinger

New York, NY

Philip S. Schlesinger is a founding partner of Apicella & Schlesinger, established in 1973. He graduated from Hofstra University in 1966 and Brooklyn Law School in 1970. He focuses on DSNY Sanitation Worker Injuries, Personal Injury, and Civil Rights matters. He has served as Legislative Counsel in the New York State Senate and Assembly and is currently an arbitrator for the New York City Civil Court, Small Claims Court in Queens County.

Charles W. Hinnant, III

Charlotte, NC

Charles "Chip" Hinnant grew up in Anderson, South Carolina. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the College of Charleston (2005-2009) and his Juris Doctor degree from the Charlotte School of Law (2009-2012). He served as Associate Justice of Finance for the Charlotte Law Moot Court Board and interned at the North Carolina Court of Appeals and Business Court. He is a recipient of the Charlotte Law Scholar award and graduated with Pro Bono Highest Honors Distinction. As a trial lawyer with Dr Ted Injury Law, he represents Plaintiffs in matters involving catastrophic personal injuries, wrongful death, worker’s compensation, nursing home abuse and neglect, medical negligence, sexual abuse, retaliatory employment discrimination, and cases implicating State and Federal Torts Claims Acts, qui tam whistleblower actions, and ERISA benefits. He is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.

Ilya Lerma

Phoenix, AZ

Ilya Lerma is an Arizona native and trial attorney since 1999, specializing in complex personal injury cases, particularly traumatic brain injuries. She is the current President of the Arizona Association for Justice and a national trial consultant.

Peter Goldberg

Hyannis, MA

Attorney Peter M. Goldberg is the founder of Goldberg Law Group, in private practice since 1986. He focuses on personal injury, motor vehicle accidents, workers' compensation, premises liability, and medical malpractice. He is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and federal courts and is a member of several bar associations.

Laura M. Jimenez

South Pasadena, CA

Laura M. Jimenez is an associate with The Carrillo Law Firm, where she brings a diverse legal background and broad experiences in civil litigation, immigration, family law and criminal defense. Since joining The Carrillo Law Firm, Mrs. Jimenez’s practice has been focused on representing victimsof childhood sexual abuse, molestation, sexual harassment and violations of civil rights. Mrs. Jimenez also brings several years of civil litigation experience as a plaintiff’s attorney involved in wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits. Many of the cases she has worked on have resulted in favorable multimillion dollar verdicts and settlements. Laura Jimenez also has wide-ranging experience in both immigration and family law. She has successfully defended clients in removal proceedings and has represented clients before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Servicesin family-based petitions for permanent resident status, naturalization, hardship waivers, Violence Against Women Act, U-Visa petitions and Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals. She has also secured dismissals of cases based on favorable exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion by the Department of Homeland Security. Also well versed in family law, Mrs. Jimenez has extensive experience representing clients in the litigation of contested family law matters involving divorce, custody, visitation, spousal and child support, property division and restraining orders. In addition to practicing law, Mrs. Jimenez is a licensed real estate broker. She has actively negotiated residential real estate transactions. Her broad knowledge and background in law and real estate has enabled her to effectively assist homeowners overcome the foreclosure process by negotiating loan modifications with lenders and attorneys that meet the diverse needs of her clients. Before obtaining her Juris Doctorate, Mrs. Jimenez was a legal extern for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Sex Crimes Division and the Western Law Center for Disability Rights.

Nicholas F. Stein is the founder of Stein Law, a lifelong resident of New Albany, Indiana, and a veteran. He served as a Prosecuting Attorney for Floyd County and now focuses on personal injury law. He has represented thousands of injured people and successfully argued before the Indiana Supreme Court. He is active in community service.

Chong H. Ye is a Federal Way, WA personal injury trial lawyer dedicated to protecting clients' interests, especially those from immigrant communities, ensuring they receive fair compensation from insurance companies. He has recovered millions for clients and has extensive experience in various auto accident cases. He is active in the community, a board member for Nest Mission, and recognized as a National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Lawyer and by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys.

Sean W. O'Connell

Arlington, VA

Sean W. O'Connell is a solo practitioner with over 25 years of experience, specializing in family law, personal injury, and civil litigation. He earned his Juris Doctor from Antioch School of Law in 1986 and a Master of Comparative and International Laws from Georgetown University Law Center in 1988.

Brian C. Ellis

Temecula, CA

Brian C. Ellis is a founding partner at Ellis Helm, APC. Mr. Ellis graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business/Economics and a minor in Spanish in 2003. He graduated with his Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts in 2006. Mr. Ellis was admitted to the California Bar and began practice in February 2007. Prior to founding Ellis Helm, APC, Mr. Ellis worked for large insurance companies as a defense attorney. He spent many years on The Major Case Team for a national insurance company; working on personal injury and wrongful death cases viewed by the insurance company to be high value cases. During his time as a defense attorney, Mr. Ellis learned the strategies and goals of the insurance companies, and gathered invaluable insight into what it takes to maximize case value. After growing tired of the insurance industry run around, Mr. Ellis established Ellis Helm, APC, to focus solely on the rights of the injured. Mr. Ellis now uses his experience, insight and knowledge gathered from his years as an insurance defense attorney to maximize settlements for injury victims. Mr. Ellis handles a variety of personal injury and wrongful death cases. He has secured millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for his clients. He is a trial attorney and has tried several cases to verdict. In 2015 alone my firm secured a seven figure jury verdict and a six figure jury verdict in arguably one of the most conservative counties in California. Due to his accomplishments, Mr. Ellis is recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2016 and 2017 (an honor bestowed on no more than 2.5% of attorneys in California).

Attorney Michael F. Mahoney graduated from Boston College Law School in 1996. Since opening his practice, he has argued before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and tried cases in Federal District Court, as well as courts throughout the state. Attorney Mahoney has obtained multi-million dollar settlements, arbitration awards and judgements in multiple complex personal injury cases and has been featured and profiled in The Boston Globe, Fox News, WBZ Radio, Lawyer's Weekly, Daily Lynn Item, ABC News, The Washington Post and New Mobility Magazine, amongst others. Additionally, Attorney Mahoney recently completed his 10th year as an adjunct professor teaching litigation skills at Boston College. He founded The Law Offices of Michael F. Mahoney and staffed it with skilled personal injury attorneys who share his mission: to help clients recover from terrible situations. Michael F. Mahoney was recognized as a Super Lawyer for 2017-2021, a designation awarded only to top-rated practicing attorneys after an extensive evaluation. He also experienced a life-altering accident at 22, which gives him a unique understanding of his clients' situations.

Michael E. Bergman

Hicksville, NY

Michael E. Bergman is a co-founder and partner of Bergman, Bergman, Fields & Lamonsoff, focusing on motor vehicle negligence, construction accidents, slip/trip and fall, wrongful death, medical malpractice, and product liability. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and his Juris Doctorate from Touro Law School in 1995. He is admitted to the New York State Bar and federal courts. He has litigated thousands of personal injury cases and negotiated over $150 million for clients, recognized by New York Magazine for top settlements.

Alexandria Zant

El Paso, TX

Alexandria Zant is the founding attorney of Zant Law Firm P.C., born and raised in El Paso. She earned her Bachelor's degree and Juris Doctorate from Texas Tech University in 1999. With over two decades of experience, she has been helping personal injury victims in her community. She is a past president of the El Paso County Trial Lawyers Association and the El Paso Women’s Bar Association, and a current member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, Texas Watch, and National Trial Lawyers.

Miller Jackson

Huntsville, AL

Born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. University of Alabama for undergrad, graduated cum laude. Cumberland School of Law (National Negotiation Team). Personal Injury, Wrongful death, workers compensation, defective products, liquor liability, 18 wheelers accidents, premises liability, nursing home abuse and animal attacks.