Michelle J. Kane started practicing law in 2011 in South Florida . She attended law school at Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad Law Center where she received her Juris Doctorate degree. In 2016, she moved to Monroe County, Florida and opened her law practice in Islamorada, Florida.

Michelle practiced commercial insurance litigation in Boca Raton, Florida for several years. Once she moved to the Keys, she saw an opportunity to help people in the community and started accepting new marital and family law cases. Being a mother of twins, and recently divorced herself, Michelle found her calling as she recognized the challenges of divorce, co-parenting and timesharing between two different households. She strives to help parents navigate through these difficult times compassionately and professionally.

Whether it is negotiating a settlement agreement, drafting prenuptial or postnuptial agreements, filing a dissolution of marriage action, equitable distribution and division of marital assets and liabilities, business valuations, determinations of support obligations such as alimony and child support, enforcing or modifying existing court orders, Michelle advocates confidently for her client’s rights whole heartedly and is determined to help them reach their goals with success.
Additionally, Michelle is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Law and Elder Law Mediator. She is available to conduct pre-suit mediations for pro se individuals and is also listed on the Alternative Dispute Resolution website as a mediator in Monroe County as well as on the Plantation Key, Tavernier , Florida Court roster of mediators.

Michelle joined Vernis and Bowling of the Florida Keys, P.A. to create their Family Law and Estate Planning Department. She is an experienced local attorney who is passionate and committed to helping members of the community and families with their family law and estate planning needs, such as creating revocable living trusts to protect their assets and avoid probate. While Michelle additionally practices general liability, she is dedicated to her family law and estate planning clients equally and is heavily involved in all aspects of her client’s cases to ensure the highest level of communication and services are being met.

Tierney Gilmore grew up along the east coast spending time in New Jersey, Florida, Rhode Island, and Boston. She returned to the Tampa Bay area where she obtained her Bar license.

Tierney graduated with honors from Rutgers University with a bachelor’s degree in business management. She earned a Juris Doctorate degree from New England Law | Boston. While attending New England Law, Tierney interned with a variety of public service organizations including New England First Amendment Coalition, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Prior to joining Vernis & Bowling, she gained experience defending insurance carriers in coverage and third-party claims.  She currently handles premises liability and automobile liability claims.

Outside of work, Tierney enjoys exploring downtown St. Pete with her dogs, Kaya, Alice and Poco.

Caitlin is a Florida native, born and raised in Orlando, Florida. Cailtin attended Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft. Myers, Florida, where she was involved in the Honors College, Chio Omega fraternity, and Student Government. Her involvement on campus led to recognition within Florida Gulf Coast University’s Hall of Fame. After graduating Florida Gulf Coast University, Caitlin took a year and served with the United States AmeriCorp Program and was a Volunteer Coordinator for the University of Central Florida’s Honor’s College. Caitlin attended law school at Tulane University’s School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana. While in law school Caitlin participating in the clinical program, providing aid to victims of domestic abuse.

Since graduating law school, Caitlin has worked in personal injury and property insurance litigation.  Caitlin manages and defenses cases through all stages of personal injury litigation. Caitlin has experience with mediation, trial, and various stages of appeal. Caitlin’s goal is to provide consistent and responsive advise to clients, in addition to voracious advocacy within the courtroom.

Caitlin resides in St. Petersburg with her husband Matthew, daughter Anna, and their dog Ace. Outside of work Caitlin enjoys taking her family to theme parks, enjoying the local beaches, and musical theater.

Jacob O. Malatesta is the Managing Attorney of the Jackson, MS and Memphis, TN offices. He is a native of the Mississippi Delta where he began his legal career practicing in Clarksdale, then Greenville, and settling with his family in Jackson.

After obtaining an undergraduate degree in Spanish and English at the University of Mississippi, Jacob graduated cum laude from the University of Mississippi Law School. While in law school, Jacob was a member of Phi Delta Phi, an honorary legal fraternity. He was selected by his peers as a member of the Moot Court Board and later elected as a member of the Executive Board where he served as Appellate Advocacy Chairman. Jacob was also selected by his professors to participate in the Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition. He was later named Moot Court Member of the Year by the Moot Court Executive Board and inducted into the Order of Barristers.

Jacob has successfully litigated general liability claims (including property damage, automobile liability, dram shop, and premises liability), professional liability (including medical malpractice and employment discrimination), and extra-contractual liability claims. Jacob’s appellate practice includes numerous victories based on both procedural and substantive law.

Jacob has experience litigating cases in both state and federal courts in Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas and Alabama, at both the trial and appellate levels and holds the AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, its highest rating for ethical standards and legal ability. Jacob has also twice been named a Rising Star by the SuperLawyers publication, making him only one of three Rising Star SuperLawyers in medical malpractice litigation in Mississippi.  In 2018, he was selected as an official member of the Lawyers of Distinction, a national organization that recognizes excellence in the legal field, and as one of the top 40 legal professionals in the state when named a Leadership in Law honoree by the Mississippi Business Journal.

Jacob went to law school because he loved language and rhetoric. While there, he grew to love trial and appellate advocacy and the ability to solve problems by presenting compelling stories.

Jacob lives in Jackson, Mississippi, with his wife, Christy, their sons, Peter and Andrew, and their dog, Yazoo. He is a member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. In his free time, Jacob enjoys hunting, fishing, and serving as a beleaguered Ole Miss fan by spending warm fall Saturdays in The Grove.

Noah Uhry was born in Annapolis, Maryland but was raised in Atlanta, Georgia nearly his entire life. Noah attended Kennesaw State University where he received his undergraduate degree in a combined major of Psychology and English. While at Kennesaw State University, Noah was the Co-President of the Club Baseball team.

From there, Noah attended Liberty University School of Law. While there, Noah focused on developing oral advocacy and litigation skills. Noah received his Juris Doctorate and decided to move to Florida to begin practicing law.

Since joining Vernis & Bowling, Noah has been handling general insurance defense matters with a specific focus on Bodily Injury Claims.

One of the main reasons Noah wanted to practice law stems from his passion of being a creative thinker. He has always loved thinking outside the box to solve complex issues. Noah has always been a competitive person because of his background in sports. So, Noah enjoys the everyday back and forth that accompanies litigation during the representation of his clients.

Noah is an avid sports fan. In his free time, he enjoys playing sports, watching sports, and training his 2-year-old dog named Buffalo.