Scott D. Sheftall is the President of Sheftall & Torres, P.A., and now heads the firm’s Jacksonville, Florida office, which the firm opened in 2010. Mr. Sheftall founded the firm in Miami in 1996 after spending twenty years in civil trial and appellate practice at Frates Floyd Pearson Stewart Richman & Greer (now known as Richman Greer, P.A.) During his legal career, which spans more than thirty years, Mr. Sheftall has established a track record as a lawyer who finds a way to achieve success in difficult cases which other firms may choose not to handle. He has achieved outstanding results for clients in both complex commercial litigation and the catastrophic personal injury areas of civil trial practice. Integrity, diligence, and courtesy are the hallmarks of his code of professional conduct.

Mr. Sheftall is a versatile advocate whose achievements span a wide range of subject areas. He has litigated cases in over twenty distinctly different practice areas in state and federal courts and obtained significant recoveries of over a million dollars for various clients in a number of them. Just since 2005, for example, Mr. Sheftall won settlements or judgments of $10 million in a wrongful death/auto negligence case; $8 million in an action to enforce a prior judgment in construction litigation; $2.5 million for the breach of distributorship agreement; and a $2.2 million in a legal malpractice case. Mr. Sheftall believes that preparation, passion, and perseverance are the keys to his record of success as an advocate for a client's cause. A relationship of genuine trust and confidence, established with clients and the courts through exceptional competence, candor, and compassion, is the foundation on which every winning case is built by Mr. Sheftall and the firm.

Mr. Sheftall was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and was edu- cated at Davidson College (B.A. 1973) in North Carolina. In 1972, the Davidson faculty selected him as one of three students from his junior class to pursue special studies in government in Washington, D.C. His devotion to Davidson has been evident from his ten years of service as President of the Alumni Association (South Florida Chapter), chairman of the Davidson Alumni Admissions Program in South Florida, and as the recipient of the Alumni Leadership Award in 1997. He received his legal training at the University of Florida (J.D. 1976), where he was Vice-Chairman of the National Moot Court Team. He completed additional courses of legal study abroad at Trinity College, University of Cambridge and at the Institute for Legal Studies, Warsaw, Poland. Mr. Sheftall is currently the sponsor of the Trial Practice Book Award at the University of Florida Law Center.

Mr. Sheftall's wife Regina, also from the Jacksonville area, is a graduate of Barry University in Miami and is an elementary school educator. The Sheftalls are raising twins in Jacksonville.

Bar Admissions:

• Florida, 1977
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1982
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 1981
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1977
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, 1983

Bar Affiliations:

• Florida Justice Association, Director, 1994-99; Member, 1977-2010
• American Board of Trial Advocates, Member, 2000-10
• Jacksonville Bar Association, 2010
• Dade County Bar Association, 1977-2010

Published Works:

• Author, "Expert Witnesses," Chapter 12, Florida Civil Trial Practice, Florida Bar, 4th ed. (1990), 5th ed. (1998), 6th ed. (2001), and 7th ed. (2005)
• Author, "Orders and Judgments," Chapter 20, Florida Civil Trial Practice, Florida Bar, 4th ed. (1990), 5th ed. (1998), 6th ed. (2001), and 7th ed. (2005)

Representative Cases:

• James P. Driscoll, Inc. v. Gould, 967 So.2d 369 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)
• Colonial Penn Ins. Co. v. Magnetic Imaging Sys. I, Ltd., 694 So.2d 852 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)
• Perlman v. Valdes, 575 So.2d 216 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
• Ford v. Rowland, 562 So.2d 731, 17 Media L. Rep. 2121 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
• Avis Rent-A-Car Systems, Inc. v. Abrahantes, 559 So.2d 1262 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
• Avis Rent-A-Car Systems, Inc. v. Abrahantes, 517 So.2d 25 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
• American Motors Corp. v. Abrahantes, 474 So.2d 271 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
• Parker v. Murray, 429 So.2d 790 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
• Fireman's Fund Ins. Co. v. Vordermeier, 415 So.2d 1347 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)
• H. K. Corp. v. Miller's Estate, 405 So.2d 218 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
• Alves v. Adler Built Industries, Inc., 366 So.2d 802 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)

Past Positions:

• Frates, Floyd, Pearson, Stewart, Richman, Greer, et. al., Partner, 1982-96, Associate, 1977-82

Education:

• University of Florida, College of Law, Gainesville, Florida (J.D., 1976)
• Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina (B.A., 1973)

Community Affiliations:

• Co-Chair, Children First Fund, University of Miami, Department of Pediatrics 2006-07
• Pillar Trustee, Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce 2006-08
• Trustee, United Way of Miami-Dade
• Member, Alexis de Toqueville Society, Ordre de Liberte 1998-2008
• Member, St Mark's Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, Florida

Brian M. Torres joined Sheftall & Torres, P.A., as a founding member in 1996 and practices in the firm's Miami, Florida office. Mr. Torres's law practice focuses on the prosecution of complex civil litigation in state and federal trial courts and related appeals. His practice has included the representation of clients in a variety of areas, including contract litigation, partnership/LLC disputes, shareholder disputes, business torts, non-compete agreements, unfair trade practices, condominium litigation, property damage, judgment enforcement and collection, defamation, professional malpractice, fiduciary litigation, class actions, and catastrophic personal injury. Mr. Torres has received Martindale-Hubbell's highest peer review rating ("AV") for his legal ability and adherence to ethical standards, and in 2009 was named a "Rising Star" in Business Litigation by “Florida Super Lawyers” Magazine.

Mr. Torres is experienced in litigating and arbitrating substantial disputes involving business firms, contract partners, entrepreneurs, corporate officers and shareholders. Mr. Torres has represented firms and entrepreneurs in industries as diverse as telecommunications, sports management, wholesale distribution, transportation, and real estate development. Mr. Torres, along with Scott Sheftall, also has significant experience in pursuing post-judgment collection activities after judgments have been secured at trial for the firm's clients, including in proceedings supplementary against third parties responsible for the judgment.

Mr. Torres also has significant experience in the representation of consumers and health care providers in class action litigation. Mr. Torres has litigated as lead counsel or co-counsel over 40 class action cases in state and federal courts. Mr. Torres has litigated a wide array of issues in trial courts and on appeal, including class certifications, standing, federal jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA), discovery, adequacy of class notice, class-wide damages, arbitrability of class claims, settlement fairness, and objections to class settlements. The total value of the class settlements in which Mr. Torres represented the plaintiff class exceeds $15 million.

Mr. Torres has significant experience in other areas, as well. He has successfully represented clients against newspaper and broadcasting interests in cases involving defamation and invasion of privacy and has achieved approximately $1.5 million in settlements in such cases. Mr. Torres participates actively in the firm's personal injury practice, and has represented clients in products liability, medical malpractice, and wrongful death cases. Mr. Torres has also represented and counseled heirs, trustees and trust beneficiaries in probate and trust litigation, and he has represented divorced spouses seeking to enforce marital settlement agreements in family court litigation.

Mr. Torres is a 1994 graduate of the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. At Berkeley, Mr. Torres honed his legal research and analytical skills as an associate editor from 1992-94 of the law school's flagship law journal, California Law Review. Prior to law school, Mr. Torres attended Williams College, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1991. Mr. Torres also was inducted into the Williams chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Mr. Torres was born September 11, 1969, and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia. He resides in Miami Beach with his wife and three children.

Bar Admissions:

• Florida, 1994
• U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit, 1999
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1995
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, 1998
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Florida, 2000

Bar Affiliations:

• Member, Dade County Bar Association (DCBA), 1994-2010
• Chair, Appellate Courts Committee (DCBA), 2001-02
• Member, Miami Beach Bar Association, 2007-10
• Member, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, 1996-2005
• Member, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, 1996-2001
• Member, American Bar Association, 1994-2001

Published Works:

• Co-Author, "Expert Witnesses," Chapter 12, Florida Civil Trial Practice, Florida Bar, 5th ed. (1998), 6th ed. (2001), and 7th ed. (2005)
• Co-Author, "Orders and Judgments," Chapter 20, Florida Civil Trial Practice, Florida Bar, 5th ed. (1998), 6th ed. (2001), and 7th ed. (2005)

Representative Cases:

• James P. Driscoll, Inc. v. Gould, 967 So.2d 369 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)
• Blackstone Calling Card, Inc. v. American Digital Networks, Inc., 892 So. 2d 1036 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005)
• Sweeney v. Integon General Ins. Co., 806 So.2d 605 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)
• Consortium for Diagnostics, Inc. v. Cigna Ins. Co., 781 So. 2d 1128, rev. den., 799 So. 2d 216 (Fla. 2001)
• Magnetic Imaging Sys. I, Ltd. v. Auto-Owners Ins. Co., 775 So. 2d 348, rev. den., 796 So. 2d 595 (Fla. 2001)
• Belfort v. Falowski, M.D., et al., 749 So. 2d 520 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)
• USA Diagnostics, Inc. v. Rosales, et al., 740 So. 2d 598 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)
• Fortune Ins. Co. v. USA Diagnostics, Inc., 736 So.2d 1279 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
• Orion Ins. Co. v. Magnetic Imaging Sys. I, Ltd., 696 So.2d 475 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)
• Colonial Penn Ins. Co. v. Magnetic Imaging Sys. I, Ltd., 694 So. 2d 852 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)

Past Positions:

• Gallwey Gillman Curtis Vento & Horn, Miami, Florida, Associate, 1996
• Kurzban Kurzban Weinger & Tetzeli, Miami, Florida, Associate, 1994-96

Education:

• University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, Berkeley, California (J.D. 1994)
• Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts (B.A. 1991)

Community Affiliations:

• Co-Chair, Children First Fund, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, 2006-07
• Member, Committee on Quality Education, City of Miami Beach, 2007
• Member, Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, 2005-08
• Pillar Trustees Board of Directors, 2007-08
• Member, Business Networks International, South Beach Chapter, 2006-08
• Member, United Way of Miami-Dade, 1998-2008
• Alexis de Tocqueville Society, Ordre de Liberte, 1998-2008

Margarita (Maggie) Rodriguez is the firm's legal assistant and office manager. Maggie joined Sheftall & Torres in 2005 and has over 30 years experience in the legal profession as an administrator and as a legal assistant in civil trial work. Among her many other achievements, Maggie is the Past President of the Miami Dade Legal Support Association. Maggie is an integral part of our team and brings to bear on her work not only considerable case management experience, but also exceptional communication skills with the clients and court personnel with whom she interacts on a daily basis.

Maggie has lived in Miami most of her life. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.