Dr. Fred L. Cohen, M.D., J.D., is a member of Gary Roberts & Associates and concurrently is a Board Certified Neurosurgeon. Dr. Cohen is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed his residencies at Boston University Hospital, SUNY Upstate Medical Center, and became the Chief Resident of Upstate Veterans’ Administration Hospital in 1975. He had an active staff appointment at St. Mary’s Hospital and Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center.

While also practicing neurosurgery, Dr. Cohen attended Nova Southeastern University School of Law and graduated in June of 1999, and has been an attorney with Gary Roberts and Associates since his graduation. Dr. Cohen was the Chairman of the Animal Law Committee of the Florida Bar between 2004 and 2008. He was a member of a number of professional societies, including the Florida Society of Healthcare Risk Managers; The American Hospital Association for Healthcare Risk Management; The American College of Legal Medicine; and The Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Dr. Cohen has litigated cases involving catastrophic injuries and wrongful death on behalf of victims. These cases include severe vehicular collisions, product liability and medical negligence.

Please click here to view Dr. Cohen’s full CV.

Dr. Nancy E. Epstein went to Barnard College, Columbia University NY as an undergraduate and attended Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons (1972-1976) graduating AOA.

After an internship in general surgery (1976-1977), she pursued a residency in Neurosurgery (1977-1981) at New York University Hospital-Bellevue Medical Center. She was the first female neurosurgeon to be trained at NYU by Joseph A. Ransohoff MD.

She then joined her father, Dr. Joseph A. Epstein MD, in neurosurgical practice and became a partner of Long Island Neurosurgical Associates P.C. (1982-2014). She later joined the full time staff of neurosurgery at Winthrop University Hospital (2014-2018)/ NYU Winthrop Hospital (2018-2019).

She has been a department Chief (1991-2001) and Chief of Neurosurgical Spine/Education at Winthrop University Hospital (2005-2018)/NYU Winthrop Hospital (2018-2019), President of the Cervical Spine Research Society 2001-2002, has published over 400 peer reviewed papers, has been on the editorial boards of multiple major spine journals, some since 1990, (see below) and is now Editor-in-Chief of Surgical Neurology International. She is a Clinical Professor of Neurological Surgery, School of Medicine, at the State University of New York at Stony brook, having been a prior Clinical Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

She has actively participated in the education of medial students, residents, physician assistants, and nurses and from 2003-2019 ran a course twice a year entitled “Update in Neurosurgery”.

She continues to see neurosurgical consultations, teach/lecture, write, and edit for Surgical Neurology International (SNI). As SNI is a free download journal, you can go to the web site and download without charge multiple articles on different neurosurgical topics. Additionally, www.sni.global can be readily accessed and going to the Menu, Under Videos, you can choose to listen to multiple lectures again on different neurosurgical topics.

Present Academic Position: Clinical Professor of Neurological Surgery, School of Medicine, State University of New York at Stony Brook
Editor-in -Chief: Surgical Neurology International
Editorial. Boards: Spine (since 1990), J Spinal Disorders Techniques/now Clinical Spine Surgery (since 1990), The Spine Journal (since 2003) Surgical Neurology (until 2009), Spinal Surgery (Japan), Spinal Cord (England: Emeritus) and others
Publication: Over 400 peer-reviewed publications.
Positions: President of the Cervical Spine Research Society (2001-2002), and positions leading up to that Presidency.
Chief of Neurosurgery: North Shore University Hospital 1991-2001
Chief of Neurosurgical Spine/Education: Winthrop University Hospital 2005-2019
Awards: 1985 Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), 1984 Fellow of the International College of Surgeons; 1975 Alpha Omega Alpha Society
Member of Multiple Professional Societies: Cervical Spine Research Society, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgeons
Board Certification: 1984 Neurosurgery

Please click here to view Dr. Epstein’s full CV.

Betsy Jo Baggs currently works as a litigation paralegal for the O’Donnell Law Offices in Kingston, Pennsylvania. Betsy has been a paralegal for 25 years specializing in personal injury litigation. Her case load includes, motor vehicle collisions, nursing home litigation, wrongful death actions and aiding victims of the priest abuse scandal with their claims against the victim’s compensation fund.

Betsy graduated from Central Penn in Harrisburg Pennsylvania in 1996 with her degree in Paralegal Studies. While at Central Penn she was chosen as the top attorney for her class during the Mock Trial Competition and went on to compete in the national competition.

Betsy began her career at the Law Offices of Glassberg and Klemow and Cefalo and Associates where she mastered her skills as a personal injury paralegal. Betsy then spent the next 14 years working for as a paralegal for in-house counsel at Nationwide Insurance Company. Working for in-house counsel, Betsy was able to learn the policies and procedures of insurance law and claim adjusting while managing insurance defense cases in litigation. Betsy has also worked as a Paralegal Manager where she managed the day to day workloads of 10 paralegals. However, Betsy realized that she wanted to do what she enjoyed most, helping the injured and joined O’Donnell Law to pursue her passion.

Betsy is a 2020 graduate of the Leadership Wilkes-Barre Core Program. Her class project assisted the Keystone Mission start a program that will assist grandparents who are raising their grandchildren in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Betsy is also a supporter of the Ukulele Kids Club project that provides music therapy to children in hospitals throughout the United States. Betsy is also the Vice Chairperson for the Pennsylvania Association of Justice’s (PAJ) paralegal committee.

Lisa Cox is a civil litigation paralegal and notary public. For the past 30 years, she has specialized in personal injury, employment law, class actions, medical malpractice, commercial litigation and complex business litigation. She has worked at the law firms of Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann; Chapin Fitzgerald & Sullivan; Latham & Watkins; Gordon & Rees; U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California; Grace, Brandon, Hollis & Ramirez; Monaghan & Strauss; and Ault, Deuprey, Jones and Gorman.

In 1990, Lisa obtained an AA Degree in Paralegal Studies from Kelsey-Jenney Business College, where she was selected as the outstanding graduate, graduating number one in her class.

Lisa is a member of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego, Lawyers Club of San Diego, and San Diego Paralegal Association. In 2015, she was the recipient of the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego President’s Award. Lisa currently serves on the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego’s Membership Committee and is co-chair of the Events’ Committee. Lisa organized the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego’s first educational programming specifically designed for paralegals and legal support staff, and spearheaded the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego’s Annual Toy Drive, providing toys for children who would not otherwise have a Christmas. She previously served on the San Diego Met High School Mentor Advisory Board and San Diego County Bar Association Children At Risk Committee.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, taking bootcamp and spin classes, and playing softball.

Danielle Martens is an Advanced Certified Paralegal and a Florida Registered Paralegal. She works at Romano Law Group in West Palm Beach, Florida as a Senior Litigation & Managing Paralegal.

Danielle’s current caseload includes traumatic personal injury and wrongful death matters. She is regularly involved in settlement strategy meetings; preparation of all documents for demands; detailed preparation for and attendance at mediations; comprehensive trial preparation; she is responsible for the training and mentoring of all new legal assistants/paralegals; and she assists the Chief Operating Officer with standard operating procedures for legal assistants/paralegals.

Danielle started her legal career at the Broward County State Attorney’s Office. Since then, she has gained over 13 years of experience in the areas of family law, criminal law, construction litigation, bankruptcy, foreclosures and personal injury.

Danielle earned her Bachelor’s degree in General Management from Palm Beach State College and a Paralegal Certificate from the University of Miami – Paralegal Program. She is currently a member of the Paralegal Association of Florida – Palm Beach Chapter.

When Danielle is not working, regularly enjoys all outdoor activities with her favorites being tennis, bike riding and paddleboarding. She commits to maintaining a healthy, vegan lifestyle and exercising 6 – 7 days a week.

Janet Varnell, Varnell & Warwick, PA, is a consumer class action expert leading over 50 cases and serving on plaintiff steering committees in MDL litigation, but also handles a variety of other high-impact public interest litigation. Her firm has won a multitude of appellate victories in state and federal courts including a 2019 United Supreme Court win in a consumer class action. Varnell was awarded “Consumer Lawyer of the Year” in 2019 by the Florida Bar, 2009 “Consumer Advocate of the Year” by NACA and 2018 “Trial Lawyer of the Year” by Public Justice.

Alonso Palencia is the Senior Paralegal at the Dordick Law Corporation, a Plaintiff Civil Litigation Firm, that handles catastrophic Personal Injury cases. Alonso enjoys working everyday with the staff and the attorneys at the firm to better assist their injured clients. In 1991, after graduating high school, Alonso joined Gary A. Dordick as a file clerk in the area of Personal Injury. Alonso has been employed now with Gary A. Dordick for 29 years.

Alonso has experience in all aspects of the litigation and prelitigation process, from the inception of the case to its finalization, including case intakes, drafting of all pleadings, preparing appellate briefs for filing, preparing and responding to discovery, trial preparation, dealing with insurance companies, and communicating with clients. Alonso is currently part of the TBI MedLegal Staff Committee and in the past has been a Legal Staff Support speaker at the annual CAALA Convention Seminar in Las Vegas.

Over the years, Alonso has assisted Mr. Dordick who has obtained multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements for clients who have suffered catastrophic injuries or have lost a loved one as a result of an automobile, pedestrian, product liability, and/or premises accident. In his spare time, Alonso enjoys watching, playing and coaching sports. In the past he has coached for the National Junior Basketball League and the YMCA. Alonso also enjoys volunteering for the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers’ Charities and spending time with his family and friends.

Georgia Kent is Senior Litigation Paralegal at Douglas R. Beam, P.A., where she works on an active caseload in a wide range of personal injury case types: traumatic brain injuries, wrongful deaths, trucking, premises liability, civil rights, negligent security, and more.

After graduating high school and spending some time at Mississippi State University in the field of computer engineering, Ms. Kent moved to sunny southern Florida and found her passion in the legal field. She received her Associate Degree in Business Administration from Palm Beach State University and went on to become an Honors graduate of the Florida Atlantic University Paralegal Studies Program and as a Microsoft Office Master Instructor.

During her 25 plus years in the legal field, Ms. Kent has gained experience as both a plaintiff paralegal and defense paralegal though her work at such prominent firms as Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley and Butler Pappas Weihmuller Katz Craig. This dual background offers Ms. Kent well-rounded perspective and creative thinking when it comes to management of her files and working with clients.

Ms. Kent has spent decades serving the legal community and helping people who have suffered injuries from serious automobile accidents, catastrophic pedestrian incidents, defective products, and medical negligence. In her off time, Ms. Kent devotes her time to her family and mentoring to those affected by alcohol, drug and food addiction.

If you would like to contact Ms. Kent, she is available at georgia@dougbeam.com or by phone at (321) 723-6591.

Sach Oliver is a trial lawyer and partner with the Bailey & Oliver Law Firm in Rogers, Arkansas. The Bailey & Oliver Law Firm has a regional practice focusing exclusively on catastrophic injury and death cases. Sach primarily works on 18 wheeler and construction work site cases.

His role on the team involves litigation strategy, depositions, negotiations, and all aspects of the trial. Sach recently received the 2015 Outstanding Trial Lawyer award from the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association. He is a guest speaker for AAJ and numerous other state conventions throughout the U.S.

Sach gives back to his community by volunteering as an auctioneer for various local charity events and to date has helped raise over two million dollars for northwest Arkansas charities.

Sach and his wife Codi have two young daughters, Reesa and Reagan and enjoy life away from the office with his family on their horse and cattle ranch in beautiful northwest Arkansas.

Destiny Barbosa is an attorney with the Romano Law Group in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her passion for helping others has focused her practice area to civil litigation, criminal defense, and business litigation.

As a plaintiff’s trial lawyer she fights for those who have been catastrophically injured in semi-truck and car crashes. She understands that drivers and companies need to be held responsible when their actions cause injuries.

Destiny earned her Juris Doctorate from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida. Impressively, she graduated in just two years with Cum Laude Honors and received a certificate in Civil Litigation. During law school she was a member of the Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Society, received multiple Deans List honors, and earned book awards in for Contracts II and Dependency. Opting for practical experience, Destiny maintained internships throughout law school. She worked as a clerk for the Honorable Waddell Wallace III, in Duval County’s Repeat Offender Court where she conducted research on complex issues such as Florida’s Habitual Felony Offender Statutes and Ineffective Assistance of Counsel cases. Following her clerkship, Destiny became a Certified Legal Intern with the State Attorneys’ Office in Jacksonville where she enjoyed being in the courtroom and assisting as an advocate for victims in North Florida. Her interest in criminal law continues today and she handles misdemeanor and felony matters in Palm Beach County.

In her spare time, Destiny enjoys volunteering with the local animal rescue organizations and spending time with her family.

ADMISSIONS

• Florida Bar, 2017
• Federal Court, Middle District of Florida, 2018
• Federal Court, Southern District of Florida 2019

MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS

• American Association for Justice, Member
• Florida Bar Association
• Florida Justice Association, Member
• Palm Beach County Bar Association, Member
• Palm Beach County Justice Association, Young Lawyers Section Board Member, 2020

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

• Top 40 Under 40, National Trial Lawyers Association