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As a former Judge of Compensation Claims, Howard Scheiner brings to mediation his 20 years of experience and expertise. Judge Scheiner has been mediating since 2000 and has been certified by the Florida Supreme Court to conduct Circuit Court civil mediations. Prior to taking the bench in 1995, Judge Scheiner represented insurance carriers, injured workers, employers, plaintiffs and physicians in personal injury and worker's compensation cases. He began his legal career as a law clerk at the Third District Court of Appeal and was formerly designated by the Florida Bar in appellate law. A past President of the Statewide Conference of Judges of Compensation Claims, member of the Florida Bar Worker's Compensation Rules Committee and frequent lecturer on mediation techniques, ethics and Worker's Compensation law, Judge Scheiner has mediated over 2500 cases in the last 5 years, and enjoys an extremely high success rate in resolving cases. He is the founding member of the Mediation Group. | ||
A former Judge of Compensation Claims and President of the Statewide Conference of Judges of Compensation Claims, Rand Hoch has been resolving workplace disputes through arbitration, mediation and negotiation since leaving the bench in 1995. He has developed a well-deserved reputation for bringing ingenuity to the process and getting results. First certified as a Circuit Court Civil Mediator in 1991, Judge Hoch was employed as a General Master for the Department of Labor and Employment Security prior to taking the bench, and practiced before that in the fields of labor law, workers' compensation, pension and employee benefits and election law. He served on the Editorial Board of the The Florida Bar Journal and The Florida Bar News, and has published "Campaign Finance Reform, Now More Than Ever". He is "AV" rated by Martindale Hubble, and has lectured extensively on alternative dispute resolution, labor law and election law. His varied experience and community involvement has helped Judge Hoch achieve a high success rate in resolving cases in mediation. | ||
A former Judge of Compensation Claims for 12 years, Steven Cullen has been providing mediation services to the workers' compensation legal community for over 4 years as a certified Circuit Court Civil Mediator. Judge Cullen was the chairman of the Mediation subcommittee and treasurer for the Statewide Conference of Judges of Compensation Claims. He was formerly an Editorial Board member of The Florida Bar Journal & News and Law Related Education. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Cullen practiced in the field of civil litigation. He is a frequent lecturer, moderator, panel discussant and moot court judge on workers' compensation matters and is an author of CLE materials. His keen insights have earned him a reputation as an effective mediator with highly successful results. | ||
With over 16 years of experience handling workers compensation claims for both the claimant and the employer/carrier, Gregory Gefen brings his own unique brand of experience, perspective and straightforward negotiation style to the mediation table. A graduate of the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications, Greg earned his law degree from The University of Miami in 1991 and immediately began his career handling workers compensation defense at Conroy, Simberg & Gannon's Hollywood and West Palm Beach offices. He has spent the last twelve years manning a successful practice in Boca Raton, where he has primarily represented injured workers. Mr. Gefen has also handled personal injury, real estate transactions, corporate and commercial litigation, and contract disputes. Although available to mediate throughout Palm Beach and Broward County, Mr. Gefen is pleased to make available his fully staffed office and large conference room, conveniently located at the One Boca Place building, just west of I-95 on Glades Road in Boca Raton. | ||
Diane Antell was born and raised in Bellmore, New York. She decided to pursue her educational studies in Florida and attended the University of South Florida. In 1994 she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political Science. Following her graduation she attended Saint Thomas school of Law in Miami, Florida. In 1997 she earned her JD and was admitted to practice law. Her family had extensive involvement in the Worker's Compensation system in both New York and Florida, as such she entered into that field of law. Initally, she worked in a small firm handling both claimant's cases and defense cases. In 1998 she left that firm and joined a big defense firm, Stiles, Taylor and Grace. After 1 year she was promoted to managing attorney of Stiles, Taylor and Grace PA and was then named partner in 2002. Although she enjoyed her defense practice she realized that her true passion was negotiating claims and helping both sides. As a defense attorney she personally mediated over 1000 cases, realizing her unique ability to successfully negotiate settlements on over 95% of her cases. Diane left her defense practice to pursue her true passion, mediating claims. | ||
Prior to becoming a full time mediator with The Mediation Group, Mark Hauber served as the state mediator for the Port St. Lucie District of the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims. During the approximately two years that Mr. Hauber worked in that capacity, he mediated over a thousand cases of varying complexity and dealing with just about any workers' compensation issue that can arise. Previously, Mr. Hauber practiced with a prominent claimant's firm in the Treasure Coast area. As a claimant's attorney, he was known for a conciliatory style in reaching reasonable agreements with employer/carriers. Mr. Hauber received his undergraduate degree in international relations from Brigham Young University where he graduated cum laude in 1992. He later earned his law degree from the University of Kansas and became a member of the Florida Bar in 1997. One of the skills that Mr. Hauber brings to the table is the fact that he can read, write and speak Spanish fluently. Both in private practice and as a mediator, this skill has proved invaluable in meeting the needs of the Hispanic community. | ||
Mitchell Shea graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and earned his Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center. Mr. Shea is also a member of the Florida Bar, American Bar Association, Broward County Bar Association as well as the Worker's Compensation and Entertainment and Sports Law Sections of the Florida Bar. Furthermore, he is a member of the Federal Bar for both the Southern and Northern Districts of Florida. Mr. Shea has been certified by the Supreme Court of Florida as a Circuit Civil and County Mediator. | ||
Andrew Bucher is a Florida Supreme Court certified Civil Circuit Mediator with The Mediation Group. Prior to joining The Mediation Group, Mr. Bucher was a senior trial attorney for The Zenith Insurance Company and, before that, for The Hartford Insurance Company. While at The Zenith and The Hartford, Mr. Bucher handled complex workers’ compensation litigation and gained insight into the manner in which insurance companies evaluate cases. As a defense attorney, Mr. Bucher settled more cases than any other attorney in Florida for The Zenith, and he enjoyed a reputation as an attorney who zealously represented his client’s interests while reaching fair and reasonable agreements with opposing counsel. Prior to his employment in Florida, Mr. Bucher worked for The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Office of General Counsel, Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, where he assisted in writing judicial opinions. Mr. Bucher began his career in private practice, where he represented plaintiffs who were involved in automobile accidents, slip and fall injuries, product liability disputes, bad faith claims, premises liability, negligent security and commercial litigation disputes. Mr. Bucher received his B.A. from Penn State University and his J.D. from Widener University School of Law. | ||
Joseph Lee received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Florida in 1983, where he also lettered for the University of Florida swim team from 1980-1983. Joe earned his law degree from Nova University in 1986 and immediately began practicing with Cone, Wagner, Nugent, Roth & Romano, P.A., representing individuals in personal injury and workers compensation cases. Joe found continued success when he became solo practitioner in 1992. During the past 19 years of legal practice, Mr. Lee has handled a variety of medical malpractice, multiple vehicle collisions, construction litigation, pension and disability claims, as well as longshoreman and Harbor Workers' cases. Throughout his varied legal career, Mr. Lee has always maintained his specialties in the fields of workers compensation claims and appellate practice. Mr. Lee began mediating in 2002, while still maintaining an active practice, and has successfully mediated hundreds of cases in the last two years. Mr. Lee now devotes his efforts to mediations exclusively. Mr. Lee's unique ability to communicate with people of various socio-economic backgrounds comes from his foundation of being raised and educated in Palm Beach County in a Spanish-English bi-lingual family. Such longstanding insight into the local practices and behavior of individuals and industry empower Joe with his unique skills and creativity to successfully resolve cases for The Mediation Group. | ||
Ron Fanaro received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, where he graduated with honors in 1978. He earned his law degree from Florida State University in 1981, at which time he joined the law firm of Grall, Fanaro & Glenn. Over the past 20 years, Ron has handled several thousand workers’ compensation cases including many complex issues such as permanent total disability, exposure, cardiovascular conditions and issues involving firefighters and police officers. In addition to handling a lucrative workers’ compensation practice, Ron became a workers’ compensation mediator in 1995 and has mediated a large number of cases to resolution. His vast practical experience as a workers’ compensation practitioner has allowed him to become a successful mediator over the past nine years. | ||
Now a full time mediator with The Mediation Group, Brian Christianson left his practice representing injured workers in workers' compensation cases in 2004. Prior to that, Mr. Christianson worked with the law firm of Rigell & Leal, P.A., representing employers and insurance companies. A graduate of the University Puerto Rico with a degree in business administration and the Inter American University with a law degree, Mr. Christianson is a Hispanic bilingual, with Spanish being one of his primary languages. He can relate well to Hispanic injured workers and can convey important issues otherwise lost in translation. He has been received well as a mediator and has carved out a niche for some of these difficult cases. | ||
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