JLR Speakers

Seth Louis Rothstein has a  diverse real estate probate and civil litigation legal practice. He has received the distinction of an  Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating, awarded to only those lawyers with the highest ethical standards and professional ability. In addition to his position at Adams, Rothstein & Siegel, Seth also serves on the Board of Directors for Machinery Insurance, Inc. Seth is a frequent speaker at professional events where he has discussed legislative updates, and current legal issues of interest.  His father and his grandfather also worked at Adams, Rothstein & Siegel, where Seth works today.

Martha Barrett's years of service in politics, education and business give her great insight into our city. From 1979 to 1987, Martha was the Press Aide for Mayor Jake Godbold. During the Godbold administration, she worked as the Liaison to the Conference of Mayors. Among several accomplishments in the mayor’s office were Metropolitan Park, the Prime Osborn Convention Center, the south River Walk and the famous “Colt Fever” event at the Gator Bowl in August, 1979!

Zeina Salam Exilus, Esq. is an attorney with over 20 years of legal and business leadership experience. She is the owner and CEO of State of Mind Business Consultants, where she advises law firms, medical providers, and service-based businesses on sustainable growth and operational excellence. As the legal industry faces unprecedented change - marked by massive consolidation and the rise of AI-native firms, Zeina equips law firm owners with the tools, insights, and leverage to thrive in a shifting market. 

A retired Green Beret with over two decades of leadership in high-stakes environments, he has led teams in combat, managed multimillion-dollar logistics operations, and trained future military leaders at West Point. His ability to assess risk, develop long-term strategies, and execute precise plans translates seamlessly into helping families and business owners secure their financial legacies. 

Heather Waisanen is the founder of Coastal Maverick, an out-of-home (OOH) advertising agency that helps brands—and legal professionals—simplify and optimize their OOH campaigns. With experience across media vendors, agencies, and in-house marketing teams, Heather brings a 360-degree view of the industry to every project. Heather works with legal professionals locally and nationally, helping firms stand out through smart, effective outdoor advertising. She also serves on the board of the South Council of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce and is a member of DPAA Global.

​A long time friend of Doug, Andrew Rush started out as a patent attorney. He is currently the CEO and co-founder of Star Catcher, a company aiming to build the first space-based power grid, designed to supply satellites with additional energy in low-Earth orbit. He is also a NASA Advisory Council Member.

Christian George is the managing partner of Akerman’s Jacksonville office and on the firm’s national board of directors. In his bankruptcy practice, Christian focuses on the protection of secured and unsecured creditors, landlords, vendors, asset purchasers, post-petition lenders, and creditors’ committees in bankruptcy courts around the United States. Christian is very active in both the local and state bar associations, as a recent past President of the Young Lawyers’ Division of The Florida Bar, a former President of the Jacksonville Bar Association. In the community, he has been involved in various charitable groups and community organizations.

McDonald's All-American, high school state champion, two-time All-SEC honoree, 1,000-career point scorer, player in four NCAA tournaments for Florida, six seasons playing for teams overeas, writer of "Sit to Rise", ESPN Studio Host/Analyst, and creator of a foundation to help those facing life-altering-injuries. Former Gators basketball player Patric Young will come share a message that encourages, and inspires.

Joshua Askew started JMA Investigative Servics, Inc. over 15 years ago. The company focuses on mobile surveillance, fraud investigations, criminal defense, skip tracing, child custody, cheating spouses, and missing persons.

Della Sellers is the Founding CEO of Virtue Consulting, a full-spectrum automotive firm in Jacksonville. She is also the Founder, President, and Executive Director of Girls of Virtue, a program designed to empower and equip young women to be spiritually, mentally, physically, and financially grounded. In 2024, they initiated an Executive Program to equip qualifying girls with vocational trades, a mentor and one on one support in all four pillars. 

Greg Gutkowski is an AI strategist, bestselling author, and co-founder of AI Tsunami Group, LLC. With over 30 years of experience in marketing, sales, IT management, software development, AI, IoT, and advanced data analytics.  

Stephen Hudson is an AI Strategist, Author, and Consultant, and Co-Founder of AI Tsunami Group, LLC.  A consulting group dedicated to helping businesses and local governments seamlessly integrate Artificial Intelligence into their daily operations. 

Judge Flower's legal career began when he was hired by then State Attorney Ed Austin as an Assistant State Attorney in 1987. During his tenure at the State Attorney's Office, Judge Flower was assigned to the Special Prosecution Division, the Repeat Offender Court, and completed his service as a Division Chief in Civil Forfeiture. Prior to his appointment as a magistrate, Judge Flower was a partner in a medium sized firm where he practiced both civil and criminal law. While in private practice, Judge Flower received an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell.

Blane McCarthy is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer and a Certified Circuit Mediator whose law practice is now limited to conducting mediations. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (magna cum laude) from Stetson University in 1992 and a Juris Doctorate degree (cum laude) from Stetson University College of Law in 1995. 

aul Risner is a corporate and healthcare lawyer with a very specialized private practice, and a former criminal defense counsel, who started his arbitration practice 8 years ago on a whim. Since that first case, he has handled over 25 cases with amounts in controversy ranging from ~$1MM to $350MM. He has seen his arbitration practice grow to a very satisfactory 5-figure part of his practice, over the past few years. 

Jessica Evans has spent the last 18 years of her banking career as a Commercial Relationship Manager. She holds a true passion for her client success and strives to be an advisor for them. Jessica has been awarded as a Top 40 under 40 Jacksonville, Woman of Distinction by Girl Scouts of America, Woman of Influence, SBA Financial Services Lender of the Year for the State of Florida and is a Leadership Jacksonville Graduate.

Lieutenant Commander Jim Howland is currently serving as a Defense Counsel with the Defense Service Office Southeast - Detachment Mayport. LCDR Jim Howland discussed the paths of a military lawyer as well as the unique challenges of service members. 

Eric is a partner at Kingry & Friday, committed to protecting family and freedom. He focuses on 2nd Amendment rights and practices constitutional law, including representing non-traditional journalists’ right to record public officials and gather information on matters of public concern overlooked by legacy media. 

Edward L. Birk is a First Amendment attorney, representing and defending news organizations, bloggers, authors, publishers, and who operates under the First Amendment He has practiced with Marks Gray, P.A. since June 1999. He has earned Martindale-Hubbell’s highest rating of AV every year starting in 2013. He also has been named in The Best Lawyers in America® and in Super Lawyer® magazine since 2013.   He serves as general counsel for the Florida First Amendment Foundation.

 Mark Mahon is a native of Jacksonville and a third generation attorney. He graduated from Florida State University in 1978 and from Florida State University law school in 1981. While in private practice, Mahon was named to the JTA and served as chair for 2 years. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000. In 2007, Mahon left the private practice of law and the legislature after being appointed Circuit Court Judge by Governor Charlie Crist. Judge Mahon was elected to serve as Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit beginning in January 2015.

Angela shared her career journey along with ways the Jax Daily Record can helps businesses grow. We lunched, learned and laughed as she shared her knowledge and expertise working as a publisher to disseminate business and legal news to Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau & St. Johns Counties.​​​​

Dean “Nick” Allard served as Dean of Brooklyn Law School (2012 - 2018) and, concurrently, as President (2014-2018) and Professor of Law (2012-2020).

He presented on how we can get the most and minimize the worst of artificial intelligence systems like Chatbots, as well as determining who is responsible for harms that Chatbots cause.​​​​

Amber shared how she and her husband, William Donley, merged their law practices. They will share their experience being partners in both life and law. She will also talk about how to serve the Jacksonville Community, through the JBA and volunteer work.​​​​​​

William gave insights into what it is like working with a spouse, their different habits, the different types of law each practices and the way they have learned to work together and adjust their expectations.​​​​​​​

Judge Tyrie Boyer received his B.S. and his J.D. degrees from the University of Florida and began practicing law in 1976. He spoke about writing and retirement, including a dive into what it was like writing "Retribution," a legal thriller.

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Maritime Attorney and Author Rod Sullivan spoke about the craft of writing historic fiction as well as confidentiality, meeting ethical obligations and literary rights, and intellectual property standards.​​​​

Recruiting expert Erica Todd presented on  "Hiring in Today’s Market: Attraction, Acquisition and Retention," Some firms are struggling to hire receptionists, bookkeepers, paralegals, and lawyers. Whether it's finding a qualified candidate and good culture fit or getting potential hires to show up for interviews, today's hiring climate presents many challenges.

Robert and Chase Harris talked about preparing the next generation to take over. The practice of law has developed over the years, and Robert and Chase shared how the both the practice of law and the management of a practice have changed, and how the next generation can learn from the current, and vice versa.

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Robert Harris shared his perspective on changing the reins and preparing his son to join his practice. He talked about everything from tracking hours and dictating notes to working from home and and using technology.

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Attorneys transitioning into a new career may have many reasons for doing so; Experiencing burnout? Wanting more flexibility? Needing better work-life balance? Desiring more room for advancement? Julie Rountree shared why she decided to change her focus, how her work prepared her for her new role, what her experience has been like so far.

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