Christina E. Unkel, J.D., M.B.A. is a litigation attorney focusing her practice primarily in complex commercial, business and construction litigation with a specialized focus in sports law. Mrs. Unkel zealously advocates for her clients having been extensively trained in business and advocacy at nationally ranked Stetson College of Law and through her unique background.

Her substantial experience representing construction industry clients, business disputes, telecommunication matters, and federal takings has put her in charge of handling complex commercial civil litigation matters, arbitrations, class actions, multi-district litigations and multi-million dollar settlements.

Mrs. Unkel also specializes in sports law and is well equipped to deal with the reality of today’s business industry and the sports world through her experiences at IMG Academy, as an NCAA scholarship athlete (soccer), her international experience as a FIFA Referee, inaugural CEO of the Women’s Sports Museum, owner of Scorch Fitness and the Deadlift Effect, and her broadcasting duties covering the 2019 Women’s World Cup at Fox Sports and European Football (UEFA Champions League and Europa Leage) at CBS Sports. Mrs. Unkel was born in San Diego, California and raised in Cape Coral, Florida. She now resides with her husband and daughter in Sarasota, Florida. Mrs. Unkel is fluent in Spanish.

Dennis McCarthy is a Principal in Military Experts, LLC, a consulting firm that since 2011 has advised hundreds of attorneys nationwide on military issues. Dennis began his Marine Corps service as a platoon leader in Vietnam, and completed it as Commander of Marine Forces Reserve, having led that force for four years during the Corps’ largest reserve mobilization in history. He retired in 2005 as the Marine Corps’ senior Lieutenant General with over 40 years of active and reserve service.

After completing his service in uniform, he was Executive Director of the Reserve Officers Association of the United States, a 60,000 member professional association in Washington, D.C. In 2009, he was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense. As Assistant Secretary of Defense, he was responsible for policy development and execution for over one million members of the National Guard and Reserves of all services.

He was also responsible for the activities of the National Committee for Employer Support of Guard and Reserve, a Department of Defense entity tasked with establishing and maintaining positive relationships with the nation’s large and small employers whose support is so essential to members of the Guard and Reserve. His office also supervised activities relating to reserve mobilization, training, and facilities. He worked closely with key administration officials, with Members of Congress and with Congressional Committee staffs.

In 2013-2014, Dennis was appointed by the President to the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force, where he served as its Chair. From 1978 to 1999 while serving in the Marine Corps Reserve, Dennis was a civil trial lawyer in Columbus, Ohio and was managing partner of his own firm. He was Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy; an Adjunct Faculty member at Capital University Law School; a leader in state and national legal organizations; and a frequent CLE lecturer and contributor.

He is currently of counsel to McCarthy Law Offices, LLC in Columbus, Ohio. Dennis graduated from the University of Dayton and the Capital University Law School. In 2010, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Capital University Law School, and was named the Distinguished Alumnus for 2011. He currently serves on several advisory boards.

After leaving active duty and before to his return to government service, Dennis was Vice Chairman of the Board of Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) and was a member of the Board of Directors of Rivada Networks, Inc.

Michael McCarthy is a Principal in Military Experts, LLC, a consulting firm that advises businesses and attorneys nationwide on military issues. He is also the Managing Member of McCarthy Law Offices, LLC in Columbus, Ohio. Mike is an expert on matters relating to military compensation and the disability evaluation system and has extensive experience with the laws governing the employment of serving military members and veterans.

Mike began his professional life as an officer in the Marine Corps, spending most of his time in infantry and anti-terrorism units. He left active duty to attend law school, and immediately joined the Marine Corps Reserve. In 2009, Mike was selected as a Congressional Fellow and assigned to serve as a military advisor to the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

His advisory portfolio included defense and veterans’ policy issues. Mike continues his military service today as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve. Mike is a small business owner who has been mobilized multiple times in support of operations abroad. He keenly understands the challenges employers face when hiring military members.

His training and experiences give him unique insight and a superior ability not only to assess the ground-truth of a situation and to provide sound counsel to his clients, but also the credibility to effectively testify to his findings.

Mike is admitted to practice law in Ohio and the District of Columbia.

Dr. Synder is a 2009 Touro University of Nevada Osteopathic Medical School graduate and a current assistant adjunct professor of Radiology and Neuroradiology at Touro.

He completed his Radiology residency at McLaren Macomb (Michigan State) in Michigan and his Neuroradiology fellowship at the University of Miami and returned to Las Vegas to practice at SimonMed Imaging in Las Vegas. He has special interest in teaching rotating medical students, lecturing, and research on advanced imaging techniques for traumatic brain injury and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Education:

Undergraduate Florida State University Psychology, Biology, Chemistry, 2003
Medical School Touro University Osteopathic Medical School NV DO, 2009
Internship Michigan State University McLaren Macomb 2009-2010
Radiology Residency Michigan State University McLaren Macomb 2009-2014
Neuroradiology Fellow University of Miami/Jackson Hospital 2014-2015
Licenses and Certifications:
State of Michigan Medical License 2009 (No. 5101018335)
State of Florida Medical License 2013 (No. OS 12448)
State of Nevada Medical License 2014 (No. DO 1831)
State of Arizona Medical License 2015 (No. 006637)
State of California Medical License 2015 (No. 20a 13840)
State of Colorado Medical License 2017 (No. DR.0059522)
State of New Mexico Medical License 2018 (No. A-2154-18)
Board Certified Radiologist, AOBR 2014 (No. 1329)
CAQ Certified Neuroradiology 2015 (No. 1329)

Professional Experience:

Wellington Hospital, Florida, Jan 2015 –Summer 2015 (part time)
– General hospital and Emergency Room Radiologist
Nevada Imaging Center, Las Vegas, Jun 2015 – Jan 2016
– Diagnostic Radiologist
– MRI specialist
SimonMed Radiology Las Vegas, Feb 2016- Present
– Diagnostic Radiologist
– Neuroradiologist

Academic Appointments:

Clinical Instructor, Michigan State University 2009-Present
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Neuroradiology, Touro University Nevada College of
Osteopathic Medicine 4/1/16-Present
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Neuroradiology, Touro University California College of
Osteopathic Medicine 11/1/16-Present
Cleveland Clinic Center for Brain Health Interdisciplinary Clinical Neuroscience Seminar
Faculty member 12/06/2017-Present
Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology UNLV School of Medicine 12/14/2017- Present
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Radiology University of Nevada Reno 10/01/2017-Present
Touro University 3rd and 4th year curriculum advisory board member
Memberships and Affiliations:
American Osteopathic Association (AOA)
American Board of Radiology (AOBR)
American Osteopathic College of Radiology (AOCR)
Florida Osteopathic Medical Association (FOMA)
The American Society of Functional Neuroradiology (ASFNR)
Radiologic Society of North America (RSNA)

Titles and Awards:

Vice President/Chief Financial Officer DO09 class Touro University NV (2005-6)
Parliamentarian, OMSGA Touro University NV (2006-7)
National Director of Political Affairs, Student Osteopathic Medical Association: 2008-2009
Chief Radiology Resident, McLaren Macomb 2013-14
Dorthy V Kraft Scholarship, McLaren Macomb 2014
SimonMed Nevada Radiation Safety Officer 2017-Present
SimonMed Nevada Registered Laboratory Director 2017-Present
Alumni Generosity Award, Touro University NV 10/14/18
Benefactor William Werner Orison, Jr., M.D. Post-Doc Neuroimaging Research Fund UNLV
2018-19
Vegas HealthCare Quarterly Top Doctors (Radiology) 2019

Jesse Van Sant’s practice focuses exclusively on helping people who have been injured due to the negligence of others, with a special emphasis on nursing-home neglect. Before joining Eric J. Hertz, PC, Mr. Van Sant primarily represented insurance companies and local governments on the defense side in personal-injury litigation, civil-rights litigation, and appellate matters, and he also gained extensive litigation and trial experience on the plaintiffs’ side in the areas of medical malpractice, nursing-home neglect, and personal injury.

Originally from Dunwoody, Georgia, Mr. Van Sant received his Juris Doctor degree in 2007 from the University of Georgia School of Law, where he finished as a Robert E. Knox Scholar. He was named a 2016-2018 Georgia Rising Star by Super Lawyers magazine and has been invited to speak at legal seminars sponsored by the State Bar of Georgia and several public risk-management organizations. He has also served as the prosecutor for the Magistrate Courts of Forsyth County and Cherokee County, Georgia, and he has contributed to law review articles on topics relating to the doctrines of qualified immunity and official immunity in actions against government employees.

Mr. Van Sant is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Georgia, the Court of Appeals of Georgia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Georgia, and in all of Georgia’s trial courts. He is represented by Weaver Literary Agency in connection with his work of fiction.

Dennis McCarthy is a Principal in Military Experts, LLC, a consulting firm that advises
businesses and attorneys nationwide on military issues.

Dennis began his Marine Corps service as a platoon leader in Vietnam, and completed it as
Commander of Marine Forces Reserve, having led that force for four years during the Corps’
largest reserve mobilization in history. He retired in 2005 as the Marine Corps’ senior Lieutenant
General with over 40 years of active and reserve service.

After completing his service in uniform, he was Executive Director of the Reserve Officers
Association of the United States, a 60,000 member professional association in Washington,
D.C. In 2009, he was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to be an
Assistant Secretary of Defense.

As Assistant Secretary of Defense, he was responsible for policy development and execution for
over one million members of the National Guard and Reserves of all services. He was also
responsible for the activities of the National Committee for Employer Support of Guard and
Reserve, a Department of Defense entity tasked with establishing and maintaining positive
relationships with the nation’s large and small employers whose support is so essential to
members of the Guard and Reserve. His office also supervised activities relating to reserve
mobilization, training, and facilities. He worked closely with key budget officials, with
Members of Congress and with Congressional Committee staffs.

In 2013-2014, Dennis was appointed by the President to the National Commission on the
Structure of the Air Force, where he served as its Chair.

From 1978 to 1999 while serving in the Marine Corps Reserve, Dennis was a civil trial lawyer in
Columbus, Ohio and was managing partner of his own firm. He was Board Certified by the
National Board of Trial Advocacy; an Adjunct Faculty member at Capital University Law
School; a leader in state and national legal organizations; and a frequent CLE lecturer and
contributor.

He is currently of counsel to McCarthy Law Offices, LLC in Columbus, Ohio.
Dennis graduated from the University of Dayton and the Capital University Law School. In
2010, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree by Capital University Law School,
and was named the Distinguished Alumnus for 2011. He currently serves on several advisory
boards. Prior to his return to government service, he was Vice Chairman of the Board of
Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) and was a member of the Board of Directors of Rivada Networks,
Inc.

Steve Watrel is a Shareholder of Coker Law, a civil trial litigation firm located in Jacksonville, Florida. Steve is an A.V. rated civil trial lawyer in Jacksonville, Florida. Steve is rated in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Healthcare, Super Lawyers in the area of Plaintiff ‘s personal injury, and Florida Legal Elite in the area of civil trial.

Steve’s areas of expertise are nursing home and assisted living facility abuse and neglect cases. He is a long-time EAGLE member of the Florida Justice Association. He currently serves on the Florida Justice Association’s Board of Directors, Chair of the Florida Justice Association’s Nursing Home Task Force, and Co-Chair of the Continuing Legal Education Committee.

Steve attended college at Tulane University, A.B. Freeman School of Business, and graduated with a B.S.M. focusing in finance in 1989. At Tulane, Steve was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He attended law school at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York and graduated with his law degree in 1992.

After graduating law school in 1992, Steve became a member of the Florida Bar and U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. In 1993, after one year in practice with a large litigation firm, he founded his own law firm, Steve Watrel, P.A. where he practiced for 27 years until he merged with Coker Law in January of 2020.

In 2003, he applied and was selected to attend the Trial Lawyer’s College, a 3 ½ week intensive trial program held at Thunderhead Ranch in Dubois, Wyoming. The Trial Lawyer’s College was founded by famed trial lawyer, Gerry Spence, whose vision was to train lawyers for the people using cutting edge methods. Steve has been back to the Trial Lawyer’s College to attend numerous graduate courses.

In 2015, he attended the first Trojan Horse Method seminar, founded by two of his colleagues from Trial Lawyers College. Trojan Horse Method is an advanced trial skills program focused on the principle of emotional congruence. Steve has attended numerous THM seminars and has utilized the techniques both in depositions and trial.

Steve is committed to his community and donates a significant amount of time and money to various charitable organizations including Seniors on a Mission.

Miriam’s dream was to build a law firm dedicated to both providing exceptional representation and client service. Every team member at Airington Law is personally dedicated to the firm’s value of treating clients and families the way we would want our own families to be treated.

The firm has two practice areas: criminal and immigration. Miriam handles serious criminal matters in Virginia state and federal courts, and complex immigration matters. Miriam is most passionate about defending criminal cases where her clients have been wrongfully charged or convicted. The firm has successfully overturned unjust convictions. The immigration side of the practice is devoted to reuniting families through the immigration process and helping clients achieve their own American dream. She is experienced in state and federal appeals and post-conviction proceedings in the Virginia Court of Appeals, Supreme Court of Virginia, and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Miriam also serves as local counsel to foreign attorneys, and consults on matters related to Virginia criminal law, federal immigration law, and the impact of criminal convictions. The entire firm is bilingual.

Miriam graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in Miami, Florida and George Washington University in Washington, DC. After beginning her career in criminal defense and immigration law, she moved to Virginia in 2009. Miriam worked in the public and private sectors, and was the managing partner of Airington, Stone & Rockecharlie before establishing Airington Law to focus her energy on the types of cases about which she is most passionate. She lives with her husband and three children in the Richmond area.

Diana Santa Maria attended the University of Miami where she received both her undergraduate and law degrees. During law school she represented the school in Mock Trial and Moot Court Competitions on the state –wide level winning the Best Brief Award on behalf of the University of Miami at the (1983) Robert Orseck Memorial (State) Moot Court Competition. Upon graduation she was awarded and inducted into the Order of Barristers awarded to the top ten graduating law students based on leadership in trial and appellate advocacy.

Since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1985, she has devoted her practice to the representation of persons injured as a result of the negligence of others. From 1985 until 1991 she practiced with one of the country’s top personal injury law firms in the areas of Plaintiff’s Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice and Wrongful Death, both on the trial and appellate levels. In 1991 Diana formed her own practice specializing in Plaintiff’s Personal Injury and Wrongful Death. She is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates as well as a past President of its Fort Lauderdale Chapter (www.abotafll.org); she is a Sustaining Member of the American Justice Association, a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association and is AV rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

Throughout her law career and in addition to her practice, Diana has served the legal profession with distinction. She served a 4 year term as Commissioner on the State of Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission and she served as adjunct Professor of Law at Nova Southeastern University Law Center. She is an active member of The Florida Bar and its Trial Bar, having lectured and written on numerous legal topics within her field, to include Seven Steps to Effective Mediation published in the June, 1997 TRIAL magazine as well as Guideline for Handling Sexual Abuse of a Minor by a Public School Teacher, published as part of a National Conference by the National Crime Victim Bar Association in Washington, D.C.

From 1996 – 2006 she served on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers ( n/k/a the Florida Justice Association) as well as on the Board of Directors for the Broward County Bar & Broward County Trial Lawyers Assn. ( n/k/a Broward Justice Assn.) . She was appointed by the Florida Bar in 2004 to the Florida Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism and since 2013 has served on the Florida Bar Board of Governors for the 17th Judicial Circuit. Diana has been listed in Who’s Who in American Law, The International Who’s Who of Professionals and Outstanding Young Women of America. She has also been named to Florida’s Super Lawyers and is listed among the Best Lawyers in America. Aside from being a lawyer, Diana is a parent and has a particular interest in and sensitivity to protecting and preserving the rights of children and enhancing all aspects of public safety.

Seth Stoughton is an Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, where he is affiliated with the Rule of Law Collaborative. He studies policing, including officer training, agency culture, and the use of force, and his scholarship has appeared in the Minnesota Law Review, the North Carolina Law Review, the Virginia Law Review, and other leading journals. He has written multiple book chapters and is the principal co-author of Evaluating Police Uses of Force (NYU Press, 2020). He is a frequent lecturer on policing issues, regularly appears on national and international media, and has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, TIME, and other news publications. He teaches Police Law & Policy, Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, and the Regulation of Vice.

Seth served as an officer with the Tallahassee Police Department for five years. In that time, he trained other officers, helped write policies to govern the use of new technologies, earned multiple instructor and operator certifications, and taught personal safety and self-defense courses in the community. In 2004, he received a Formal Achievement Award for his role as a founding member of the Special Response Team. After leaving the police department, Seth spent three years as an Investigator in the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General, where he handled a variety of criminal and administrative investigations. In 2008, he received a statewide award for his work investigating private school tuition voucher fraud.

Seth earned his B.A. in English from Florida State University. He attended the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an Articles Editor on the Virginia Law Review, an Elsie Hughes Cabell Scholar, and the recipient of the Thomas Marshall Miller Prize. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Kenneth F. Ripple of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Prior to joining the faculty at South Carolina, Seth was a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School.