Kara Phinney, serves as “Of counsel” to the firm. She is a third generation Floridian. She was born and raised in Miami and obtained her undergraduate degree from Florida State University. Kara graduated from the University of Miami School of Law and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1994.
Kara began her career with an insurance defense firm where she litigated personal injury and property cases for major insurance companies and the Miami Dade School Board. She has tried numerous personal injury and property damage cases to verdict. For the last 15 years she has devoted her practice to trial support, appeals and commercial litigation.
Kara has numerous reported appellate opinions. In 2017 she prevailed in the trial and appellate court in a highly contested case against Florida’s largest condominium developer over a condominium deposit. After winning the trial, Kara was awarded over $250,000 in attorney fees which included a multiplier partly due to the minimal chance of her client prevailing at trial. The underlying judgment as well as the attorney fee award were upheld by the Third District Court of Appeal. The Florida Supreme Court rejected the attempt by the developer to reverse the decision of the appellate court.
Kara has litigated a variety of complex business disputes. Recently she was retained by Florida’s largest coffee distributor in a case that ended up being tried in Illinois after Kara obtained a dismissal of the case in Florida. The dismissal was affirmed by the appellate court. The trial in Illinois resulted in a favorable decision for her client.