Alturas Lawyers

Attorney Silvia Amador Brett fearlessly defends Florida residents who have been injured or wrongfully harmed by others. With prior experience defending civil cases in personal injury protection, motor vehicle accidents, and investigation of fraud, she brings a unique perspective to the team. After graduating in 2013 from the University of Central Florida with her bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies and minors in both Spanish and Psychology, she earned her Juris Doctorate from Stetson University College of Law in 2016. During law school, she clerked for The Honorable Caroline J. Tesche and acted as a Certified Legal Intern for the Office of...

Paul chairs the firm’s complex litigation division. The firm’s complex litigation division is well-known for skillfully handling the most complicated, heavily-litigated commercial matters and what are sometimes referred to as “bet-the-company” cases. In addition to Paul, the complex litigation division includes attorneys Richard McIntyre, Jennifer Jones, John Hightower, Margaret Kramer, Christina Casadonte-Apostolou, Shawn Simon, and Mary Thanasides, along with paralegal Stacey Graham. Paul received his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of South Florida in Tampa and his Juris Doctorate from Columbia Law School in New York City. Paul began his career at Trenam Kemker in 1996. At Trenam,...

Richard J. McIntyre is a litigation and bankruptcy attorney. He began his practice in Tampa, Florida in 1992 after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh’s Dual Degree program, where he received his Master’s of Business Administration from Carnegie Mellon University and his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Allegheny College in 1988. Mr. McIntyre’s litigation practice includes business, real estate, and consumer litigation. Mr. McIntyre began his practice with the Kass, Hodges law firm in Tampa, Florida, practicing business and bankruptcy litigation. In 1994, he moved...

Christina Casadonte-Apostolou joined McIntyre Thanasides Bringgold Elliott Grimaldi & Guito P.A. as an associate in the complex litigation division in 2012. Her practice focuses on civil and commercial litigation and immigration law. Christina attended Stetson University College of Law and received her juris doctor in 2012, graduating with honors. While in law school, Christina served as a research assistant in Health Law, a teaching assistant for Federal Civil Procedure and competed with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Board’s negotiation and client counseling teams. She also interned for the Honorable David A. Demers of Florida’s Sixth Judicial Circuit and the Honorable...

Kevin Darken divides his practice at The Cohen Law Group between complex civil litigation and white collar criminal defense, including both civil and criminal appeals. He has close to twenty years of experience in all aspects of litigation and trial. A renowned expert in health care fraud, false claims, and qui tam (whistleblower) actions, Kevin plays an integral part in the firm’s most challenging cases, drafting the intricate legal arguments that go into briefs and motions. In Civil Litigation, Kevin has focused on bringing civil rights actions and business tort cases. Kevin’s diverse background includes stints as a federal...

James Elliott is a Tampa, Florida native. Mr. Elliott attended Jesuit High School and graduated in 1996. He then attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL and graduated with honors in 2000. He continued his education at Florida State University earning his master’s degree in International Affairs, after which he earned his Juris Doctor degree from Syracuse University in New York. While at Syracuse, Mr. Elliott served as the Article’s Editor for the Labor Lawyer Journal and earned a Certificate of Concentration in Corporate Counsel. More recently, Mr. Elliott earned a Certificate in Financial Management from Cornell University and...

Mr. Bringgold centers his practice on real estate transactions and commercial leasing. Mr. Bringgold represents real estate retail tenants, owners and developers, financial institutions, corporate real estate users, and other clients in retail, office and industrial real estate leasing, acquisitions and sales, lending and development. His experience includes Florida real estate sales and acquisitions on behalf of a Fortune 100 company, and multi-state/multi-site real estate leasing, acquisitions and sales on behalf of retail tenants and other corporate real estate owners and users. Mr. Bringgold also represents real estate owners, developers and users, financial institutions, airlines, creditors’ committees, trustees and...

Jennifer grew up in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida in Human Resource Development with a minor in Business Administration. Jennifer later returned to the University of Florida to earn her law degree in 2009. During law school, Jennifer served as a Managing Editor for UF Law Review and an officer for UF Moot Court. She competed in both regional and national competitions for appellate advocacy and consistently won top honors for her writing and oral arguments. Prior to joining McIntyre Thanasides Bringgold Elliott Grimaldi & Guito P.A., Jennifer served both the...