• Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer
• AV^® Preeminent^™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers in America
• Florida’s Legal Elite, by Florida Trend Magazine
• Florida’s Super Lawyers by Super Lawyers Magazine published by Law & Politics
• Florida’s Leading Lawyers by South Florida Business Journal
• Florida’s Power Leaders in Law by South Florida Business Journal
• Florida’s Top Lawyers by South Florida Legal Guide

G. Jeffrey Vernis was born in Coral Gables, Florida. In 1984, he graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and a minor in International Political Science. While at U.S.F., Jeff was a founding member of a social fraternity requiring higher academic standards which later became a national fraternity. He then attended St. Thomas University School of Law, in Miami, Florida. St. Thomas University conferred a Juris Doctorate upon him in 1987. Some of his academic memberships and honors include Dean’s list, 1986, 1987; Moot Court Board, 1984, 1985; member of Delta Theta Phi law fraternity.

Since graduating from St. Thomas University in 1987, Jeff began working for Vernis & Bowling, in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida office, handling general insurance defense matters. In 1988, he began working in the Palm Beach County office, located in North Palm Beach, Florida, and became managing attorney in 1990.

Jeff specializes in civil trial and appellate practice and is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Florida Bar Board of Specialization. Certification is the highest level of recognition by the Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys. Jeff is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, which identifies attorneys with preeminent legal ability and is a reflection of expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence. He is recognized in Martindale-Hubbell’s Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers in America. Jeff has also been selected as one of Florida’s Legal Elite by Florida Trend Magazine and one of Florida’s Super Lawyers by Super Lawyer Magazine. He has also been named one of Florida’s Leading Lawyers by the South Florida Business Journal. Jeff has been listed as one of Florida’s Top Lawyers by the South Florida Legal Guide and named one of Florida’s Power Leaders in Law by South Florida Business Journal.

Jeff’s areas of practice are insurance defense, commercial litigation and employment related practices (including trial and appellate practice). His experience includes the handling of lawsuits involving assault and battery, automobile liability, negligent hiring, supervision and retention, premises liability, negligent security, sexual assault, garage liability, construction and construction defect litigation, automobile dealership liability, consumer law, public law, including State, County and municipality, malicious prosecution/false arrest, product liability, coverage disputes, wrongful death, environmental law, employment related practices including sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and Americans with Disabilities Act, homeowner’s association law, professional malpractice liability, constitutional law, and subrogation.

Jeff’s experience in handling matters in these areas of practice includes the handling of catastrophic injury cases, complex litigation matters, multiple party actions and high profile cases. He has handled extremely high profile matters including Morelock v. William Lane (wrongful death), Kraus v. Smith & Co. (wrongful death), Saccone v. State of Florida Department of Children and Families, (wrongful death of a child), Garcia-Bengochea v. State of Florida Department of Children and Families (wrongful adoption), John Daly v. PGA (personal injury/negligent security) and national class action litigation and multi-federal district class action litigation before the Multi-District Litigation Panel in Washington D.C. Further, this experience has led to Jeff being a speaker at numerous seminars and insurance industry conventions throughout the country including the National Risk and Insurance Management Society annual convention, National Restaurant Association Conference, the Florida Retail Federation annual conference, the Council on Litigation Management’s Annual Conference, the Florida RIMS convention, the National Society of Professional Insurance Investigators’ (NSPII) annual conference and many other national conferences. Jeff has also been a speaker at numerous in-house seminars for insurance companies and self- insureds throughout the United States. He is a regular speaker for the Florida Bar, the CEU Institute and the Council for Litigation Management.

Jeff is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court (includes all Florida State courts) and the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida (trial bar). In addition, Jeff is a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI), the National Restaurant Association, and the Council for Litigation Management (CLM). Jeff also is a charter/founding member of the National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association (NRRDA) and currently serves as its General Counsel.

Jeff has an outstanding trial and appellate record and will provide details upon request. He has successfully handled numerous appeals in Florida. Among others, Jeff was lead counsel of record for the appellate matters of Kimmins Recycling, Inc. v. Rogers, 704 So2d 600 (4th DCA 1997) (tort threshold requirements); Stuart Lincoln Mercury v. Wisk, 25 F.L.W. D 578 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)(attorney’s fees); Janashpa, Inc. v. Seitter, (Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (new trial); Brownell v. Florida Department of Corrections, (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)(compensable injury); Armstrong v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., (Fla. 4th DCA)(new trial, UM), Richards v. Luxury Imports, Inc., (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (Fraud/Deceptive Trade Practices), Samuels v. Luxury Imports, Inc., (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (Deceptive Trade Practices/new trial) and Verdino v. Pete’s Café, (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (Liquor Liability), Green v. Luxury Imports, Inc., (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (Deceptive Trade Practices/fraud/class-action), Rosenfeld v. Seltzer, (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) (trial evidence and jury instructions), Petit-Dos v. School Board of Broward County, (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (Fabre defense/intentional tort/comparative negligence) and Cardany v. Lowes, Fla. (4th DCA 2009) (trial evidence/new trial).

Jeff is also actively involved in community organizations. He serves as President of the Board of Directors of Jeff Industries, Inc., which offers unique and innovative programs, education and training for troubled children and the mentally ill in Palm Beach County.

Jeff’s outside interests include tennis, boating, scuba diving, traveling and martial arts (aikido and iaido). Mr. Vernis holds the rank of sixth degree black belt and a teaching certification (Shidoin) in the Japanese martial art of Aikido, awarded by the Aikido Foundation (Aikido World Headquarters in Japan) and the United States Aikido Federation.

Mr. Hayden graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee in 1984, and received his law degree from the University of Miami School of Law in 1990. During law school, he worked as a judicial assistant for the Honorable Linnea Johnson, Federal Magistrate, District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He also worked as a law clerk in the legal department of Capital Bank. Before entering law school, he worked for several years as a research technician for the University of Miami School of Medicine, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology.

He is an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Jerry has more than twenty-five years of experience representing employers, insurance carriers and third party administrators in all aspects of workers’ compensation matters including, but not necessarily limited to, issues of coverage, compensability, heart and lung statute, occupational exposure, eligibility and entitlement to benefits, utilization review, contribution and indemnification, subrogation, equitable distribution, Medicare Set-Aside Allocations, Special Disability Trust Fund and appeals.

Jerry has represented the State of Florida, its various Divisions, Departments and Agencies in workers’ compensation matters for more than twenty consecutive years, including the Office of the Attorney General, Department of Corrections, Department of Law Enforcement, Department of Education, Florida International University, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Children and Family Services, Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture. He has handled all aspects of workers’ compensation claims, heart/lung statute, contribution, subrogation, Special Disability Trust Fund, offset calculations and appeals as well as other governmental entities such as Monroe County, City of Key West, and Town of Bay Harbor Islands and Miami Dade County School Board.

Jerry has also defended claims on behalf of various insurance carriers, third party administrators, employers and self-insureds. He has recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Special Disability Trust Fund and successfully secured recoveries of workers’ compensation liens.

He has extensive litigation and trial experience and handling all aspects of workers’ compensation appeals; 35 FLW D684 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010). He provides educational seminars on Florida workers compensation law.

Thomas W. Paradise was born in Houghton, Michigan and raised in Boca Raton, Florida. He graduated in 1988 from Tulane University, A.B. Freeman School of Business with a B.A. Degree in Management, Accounting Major. While at Tulane, Tom was awarded for academic achievement and was the Vice-President of the Beta Alpha Psi Honorary Fraternity. He then attended Stetson University College of Law and received his Juris Doctorate in 1991.

Tom Paradise is an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, which is an award that identifies attorneys with the highest legal ability and signifies expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence. He is also listed in the Bar Registry of Preeminent Lawyers, A.M. Best’s Recommended Insurance Attorneys and named in “South Florida’s Top Rated Lawyers”. Tom specializes in civil litigation with an emphasis in the areas of personal injury, premises liability, automobile accidents, negligent security and supervision, commercial trucking accidents, governmental tort liability, product liability and insurance subrogation. His practice includes formulating polices/procedures and managing risk concerns for major corporations and governmental entities. He also defends insurance companies in first party property claims which covers a wide array of issues such as breach of contract, appraisals, declaratory actions, fraud, arson and bad faith. Tom has been a speaker at numerous conferences and has presented legal/educational seminars for insurance companies, third party administrators and self-insureds throughout the United States.

He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1991, and practices before all Florida State Courts, including the Third and Fourth District Court of Appeals. Tom also has an active Federal Court practice and is admitted in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Tom began his practice with a prominent Miami civil defense firm where he worked in the areas of insurance defense, personal injury, commercial litigation, and in complex litigation involving shoddy home construction and Hurricane Andrew. His practice at that time included several class actions involving catastrophic property damage and significant insurance subrogation. Tom joined Vernis & Bowling as a Managing Attorney in October 2002.

Tom has participated in the Broward Community Development Corporation and the Dade County Bar Association Put Something Back Program. He is a current or past member of the Broward County Bar Association, Miami-Dade County Bar Association, American Bar Association, Defense Research Institute, Counsel for Litigation Management and the South Florida Claims Association where he served as President in 2012.

“Karen is a wonderful problem solver. We just concluded a case that never would have settled if not for her patience and ability to work well with others.”

Karen M. Nissen was born in 1956 in Newton, Massachusetts. She graduated from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida with a degree in Behavioral Science in 1978 and received a Masters Degree in Student Personnel in Higher Education from the University of Georgia in 1981. After graduating from the University of Georgia, Karen worked at the University of Florida as the Assistant Director of Housing for Staff and Student Development. Karen received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Florida in 1990. She served as President of the Federal Bar Association, Palm Beach County Chapter from 2002-2003 and previously served the group as vice president, secretary and treasurer. Karen is a member of the Palm Beach County Bar Association, the Florida Bar, and the American Bar Association.

Karen’s areas of practice include: community based care including, but not limited to, representation of the Florida Department of Children & Families, director and officer liability, employment law, condominium and homeowner association disputes, liability defense, and appeals. Specifically, she has experience in handling cases from defending clients involved in Federal and State Agency charges of discrimination, handling pre-suit demands, responding to preparing and arguing motions, preparing and responding to discovery, conducting hearings, depositions, settlement negotiations, mediations, trials and appeals. Karen has appellate experience on both the state and federal level and was responsible for all aspects of the appeals including writing briefs, reply briefs and preparing for oral argument.

Karen’s approach to litigation is based on her background in education and counseling which often leads to early and unique resolutions to her cases. Her ability to connect to both clients and the opposing party assist her in obtaining resolution of cases that are complex and personal to all people involved. She has been called the “condo whisperer” by some clients and has been selected to represent clients in emotionally charged employment and child welfare cases due in part to her approach to litigation which is not found in many firms.

Karen enjoys spending time in the Bahamas as well as the mountains of North Carolina.

Nationally Board Certified Trial Advocate
Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer
Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Court Mediator

Christopher Blain is the managing attorney of the Tampa, Florida office.  He has worked all aspects of the insurance industry.  He is an expert in Civil Trial and is Board Certified by the Florida Bar and Nationally Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.  He was born in Addison, Illinois which is a suburb outside of Chicago.  He attended college at Lake Forest College where he graduated in 1996.  He continued his education at Barry University, School of Law where he received his Juris Doctor in 2002.  While in law school, Chris worked under the Honorable Judge Walter Komanski at the Ninth Judicial Circuit, where he researched complex civil litigation issues.

Chris has tried numerous matters to jury verdicts in both State and Federal Courts.  He has litigated general liability defense work ranging from handling lawsuits involving claims of wrongful death, premises liability, insurance coverage, auto negligence, negligent security and property claims. Chris has also represented Homeowner/Condominium Associations and their Board Members before HUD, State and Federal Courts regarding disputes arising over deed restrictions, enforcement of those restrictions and alleged discrimination. In addition, Chris has also lectured extensively in these fields where he has been a featured speaker at continuing education seminars around the United States on a variety of insurance defense and litigation topics.

Chris is admitted to practice law in all State Courts in Florida as well as all Federal Courts which include the Northern, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida.  He is admitted to practice in the Eleventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. Further, he is admitted to practice in all courts in the State of Illinois.

In his free time, Chris enjoys being active in the Tampa area.  He is an assistant soccer coach for his son’s team and can also be found cheering on his daughter at her drama class performances.