Wicker Smith

The results are in! ▶ 2 Lawyers of the Year Renee Brant, Rick Ramsey ▶ 16 Best Lawyers Jordan Cohen, Kevin Crews, Richards Ford, Charlie Garcia, Mandi Karvis, Joe Menello, Liz Messianu, Brandon Nichols, Robert Paradela, Baron Ringhofer, Kurt Spengler, Mike Tyson, Oscar J. Cabanas, Clay Coward, Nick Christin, and John Floyd, Sr. ▶ 19 Ones to Watch Marlene Brito, Krista Cammack, Ashley Elizabeth Ettaro, John Floyd, Kyle Fontaine, Kate Zucco Gaset, Kelley Godfrey, Alina Gonzalez, Jessica Gross, Summer Harcup, Caroline Kubovy, Jacob Liro, Luc Mazzini, Taylor McLeod, Amanda Ritucci, Sonny Romano, Jonathan Silverman, Bryan Yasinsac, J.D., and Andrew S. Yatkman, Esq. Congratulations to all 37 of the Wicker Smith lawyers named to Best Lawyers in America 2025!

The "Wickerlympics," our celebration of members of our firm who are also outstanding athletes, continues today with Fort Lauderdale paralegal, Deborah Rosenbaum. Debbie competes in indoor swimming, open water swimming, cycling, and golf. Just a few of her impressive accomplishments include: ▶ The Alcatraz Swim: A two-mile open water swim from Alcatraz to mainland San Francisco, through 54 degree water teeming with great white sharks. ▶ The Alligator Lighthouse Swim: An eight-mile swim from the mainland of Islamorada, Florida, to the lighthouse and back. Next up for Debbie is the Camino de Santiago, a 520 km trek from Lisbon, Portugal, to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, this August; next year, she and her son are planning a trans Euro/Asia swim, from the continent of Europe to the continent of Asia. In addition to her swimming accolades, Debbie cycles anywhere from 60-80 miles per week, and when Debbie is ready to relax, she golfs! Stay with us as the Paris Olympics wrap up this weekend, as we continue to share the stories of our incredible team and their accomplishments.

The Wickerlympics continues today with Tampa partner, Amy Ray. Amy's background includes several years as a competitive gymnast and later, a professional gymnastics coach. When Amy's stepdaughter took up artistic (synchronized) swimming, it wasn't long before her coach found out about Amy's gymnastics background and convinced Amy to become a judge. She has been certified through USA Artistic Swimming for the past ten years. When she's not judging, Amy competes in triathlons. Here, she is pictured riding in the Fort De Soto triathlon series. There's a few days of Olympics competition left. Make sure to stay tuned for more stories of how our amazing teams excel in and out of the office!

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Jacksonville partner, Rick Ramsey, and associate, Kyle Leigh Schmitt, Esq., secured defense verdicts on behalf of three doctors in a medical malpractice trial in Flagler County, Florida, this week.   Plaintiff sued our clients, alleging failure to diagnose and treat an aspirated iron pill. The Plaintiff allegedly aspirated the pill, spent 11 days in the hospital under our clients’ care, and was released. She returned to the hospital three days later with further complaints, became very ill and went on life support.    Rick and Kyle retained experts in various specialties who helped show the jury that Plaintiff’s claims of aspiration were not feasible. By way of a successful Daubert hearing, they were also able to exclude much of the testimony from Plaintiff’s pulmonology expert regarding how much iron he believed had been aspirated, as well as how much damage was done to the Plaintiff’s lung.   Efforts to settle this case failed, and the case proceeded to trial. After seven days of testimony, Plaintiff asked the jury for $4 million in future economic damages, plus a couple million more in pain and suffering. The jury returned a complete defense verdict for all three of our clients, triggering a PFS that was filed in October 2023. Congratulations Rick, Kyle, and the entire trial team on this excellent result.

"Wickerlympics" continues with Jacksonville associate, Kyle Leigh Schmitt, Esq.! When she's not trying cases, Kyle is serves as a competitive cheerleading judge, credentialed through both the IASF and USASF. For the past 15 years, Kyle has traveled all over the world judging events, speaking at seminars, and educating coaches and judges on the scoring system. This past April, she judged the Cheerleading Worlds at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, where 24 countries and thousands of athletes were represented. Kyle cheered competitively for 13 years before she transitioned into being a coach, and then finally a judge. She is especially excited that cheerleading has recently been made a provisional Olympic sport! Stay with us throughout the Paris Olympics for more profiles of our talented team!

Week 1 in Paris is over and we are enjoying every minute of the competition! If you have been following along this week, you know we are also celebrating the "Wickerlympics" by using this space to recognize our team members who excel in athletic endeavors outside of the office. Next up is Tampa law clerk Baylee Schumacher! Baylee has been figure skating for sixteen years. Prior to law school, she traveled the country for competitions in singles and ice dancing, but now that she is focused on her studies, Baylee skates for fun and stress relief. She says skating is her favorite thing in the world, and the place she feels most at home. There's one more week of Olympic competition to go, so stay tuned here next week for more profiles of our talented team!

Tampa partners, Kate Zucco Gaset and Lindsay Brigman, recently obtained summary judgment on behalf of Publix Super Markets in a premises liability case in Pinellas County, Florida.   Plaintiff alleged she slipped on liquid within the store, resulting in a hip fracture and over $223,000 in medical bills. The Court found that Plaintiff was unable to carry her burden to show that there was any type of substance on the ground that Publix had actual or constructive knowledge of, as the evidence supported a finding that Plaintiff fell on her own accord. Therefore, the Court granted summary judgment in Publix’s favor. Publix previously served Plaintiff with a Proposal for Settlement in 2022 and will now be entitled to recovery of attorney’s fees and costs.   Congratulations to Kate, who handled the file from its inception and wrote the motion, and Lindsay, who stepped in to argue the motion due to a scheduling conflict. This is great teamwork and an excellent result for our client. 

Wicker Smith is pleased to announce that Tampa Partner, David Wynne, is now a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil Mediator. David's clients have always appreciated his creative problem solving and his ability to bring parties together to resolve a case, and he is excited to bring those same skills to his professional mediation practice. David is available to mediate commercial litigation, general liability, and personal injury matters throughout the State of Florida. For inquiries or to schedule, email David directly at dwynne@wickersmith.com.