Sarasota, FL

Kevin Michael Murphy

Kevin M. Murphy is a lifelong resident of Sarasota, Florida and attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, graduating in 1993. He then went on to receive his Juris Doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University, where he was a member of Phi Delta Phi, National Legal Honor Fraternity and received the high grade award for Advanced Criminal Practice and Procedure. After being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1998, Mr. Murphy served as a prosecutor for the Sarasota County State Attorney's Office where he prosecuted numerous jury trials from Voir Dire to Jury Verdict. In 2000, Mr. Murphy left the State Attorney's Office and went into private practice. Since becoming a member of the private sector, Mr. Murphy has dedicated his insurance defense practice on Trucking/Transportation Defense. He is a member of TIDA (Trucking Industry Defense Association) and has tried numerous truck accident cases to jury verdict in jurisdictions throughout the State of Florida. As a member of TIDA, Mr. Murphy has a first response team in place which includes outside adjusters and accident reconstruction experts who are available 24/7 and who, along with Mr. Murphy are able to quickly get to an accident scene to investigate and assess potential liability for clients. He is also admitted to the U.S. Federal Court of the Middle District of Florida. In addition to insurance defense, Mr. Murphy practices criminal defense/traffic defense and has defended numerous individuals with charges from misdemeanors to felonies. Mr. Murphy is a member of the Sarasota County Bar Association, Florida Defense Lawyers Association and is a past chair of the Grievance Committee for Sarasota County for the Florida Bar. Mr. Murphy is active in the legal community and has regularly volunteered his time since the beginning of his career.

Michael Fayard

Michael Fayard is a distinguished attorney with extensive experience in criminal defense and personal injury law. He earned his J.D. with Honors from Florida Coastal School of Law and an LL.M. in International Law from Stetson University College of Law. Licensed in Florida, Colorado, Kentucky, and Hawaii, Michael has served as both a prosecutor and a trial lawyer, honing his litigation and negotiation skills. A proud veteran, he served in the Active Duty Army, Air Force Reserve, and Army National Guard. He is the Founder & Principal Attorney at Fayard Law, providing personalized legal services and advocating for clients in a wide array of legal matters.

Steven C. Ruth

Steven C. Ruth is the managing and senior trial attorney of The Ruth Law Team. With more than 40 years of experience, his legal knowledge is extensive. His professional skill has earned the respect of his colleagues and the appreciation of many clients. Steve has represented thousands of families and been successful in obtaining compensation for their injuries or wrongful death due to the negligent conduct of individuals, corporations, and insurance companies. He conducts jury trials involving auto, truck, and motorcycle accidents, as well as defective products, elderly abuse, and medical malpractice. He maintains a prestigious “AV Preeminent rating” by Martindale-Hubbell, the most prestigious national publication in the legal field. This honor is bestowed upon a comparatively small percentage of lawyers and law firms. It is the top rating available for any lawyer or law firm in the United States. The AV Preeminent rating reflects that an attorney has reached the height of professional excellence and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity, as well as numerous years of experience in the legal field. The practice of Personal Injury Law has been Steve’s passion and pursuit for more than three decades. He became Board Certified as a specialist in Civil Trial Law on June 1st 1987 and June 1st 1992.

Kevin M. Gallagher

Practicing law in Florida for over 25 years, attorney Kevin Gallagher has earned an outstanding reputation in the field of personal injury law. Working with victims of automobile accidents, wrongful death, nursing home negligence, medical malpractice, and other serious injuries, Kevin works tirelessly to ensure that every client receives the best possible verdict and/or settlement for their injuries. Over the last 25 years, he has handled thousands of cases and achieved monetary awards in excess of $300 million for his clients. Kevin has handled many cases involving insurance bad faith, achieving far more than just the insurance policy limits for clients due to insurance company misconduct.

Theodore C. Eastmoore

Theodore C. Eastmoore is a shareholder and a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1976 and received his law degree from Stetson University in 1980, where he was an editor of the Law Review. He served as a Law Clerk to Justice Ben F. Overton of the Florida Supreme Court. He concentrates his practice in accident and personal injury law, wrongful death, and professional malpractice, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He has held numerous leadership positions in local and state bar associations, including President of the Sarasota Country Bar Association Young Lawyers Section and The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division.

Jennifer Gentry Fernandez

Jennifer Gentry Fernandez, was born in Jacksonville, Florida. After obtaining a Bachelors of Science degree in Journalism from the University of Florida in 1990, Mrs. Fernandez was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. Mrs. Fernandez thereafter attended Stetson University, College of Law, in St. Petersburg, Florida, receiving her Juris Doctorate law degree, Cum Laude, in 1993. While attending Stetson, Mrs. Fernandez was a member of the College of Law’s award-winning 1993 National Trial Team and was honored to be named Champion of the 1993 Chester Bedell Memorial Mock Trial Competition as well as Best Advocate in the 1993 Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) Southeast Regional Student Trial Advocacy Competition. At graduation, she received the prestigious Ralph Harris Farrell Competition Award from Stetson College of Law. In 1994, Ms. Fernandez began her law career as an insurance and medical malpractice defense attorney with the Orlando law firm of Fisher, Rushmer Werrenrath, Keiner, Wack & Dickson. In 1997, Mrs. Fernandez joined the law firm of Maher, Gibson & Guiley, specializing in plaintiffs’ personal injury litigation and wrongful death claims. While associated with the Maher firm, Mrs. Fernandez worked with the Florida “Dream Team,” comprised of elite trial lawyers who, as the result of a ground-breaking civil lawsuit against The American Tobacco Company, ultimately recouped more than $11.3 billion dollars in Medicaid payments from Big Tobacco for the State of Florida. In 2003, after relocating their growing family to Tampa, Florida, Attorney Jennifer Fernandez joined her husband and co-founded what is now The Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys. Mrs. Fernandez remained “of counsel” to the Maher firm through 2004 and continues maintain an active trial practice in the greater Orlando area (Osceola, Orange and Seminole counties). For more than a decade, her law firm has represented hundreds of plaintiffs and successfully tried numerous personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. While her firm maintains a statewide “plaintiff’s only” trial practice, Mrs. Fernandez specializes in the handling of car accident claims, motorcycle crashes, medical negligence, nursing home abuse, slip and fall, traumatic brain injuries, other acts of general negligence resulting in personal injury, negligent security cases, as well as all personal injury claims and the civil representation of victims injured as a result violent crime. Throughout her legal career, Mrs. Fernandez has been an active member of her local, state and national bar and trial lawyer associations. She also has held numerous leadership positions and has been a frequent lecturer for these organizations since 1996 and recently Florida injury Attorney Jennifer Gentry Fernandez was inducted into the National Register’s “Who’s Who Among Business and Professional Achievers.”

Attorney Leavengood has received the AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale Hubbell and has been inducted into the Million Dollar Advocate Forum. He is the founding and managing shareholder at LeavenLaw and is dedicated to serving consumers throughout the State of Florida. Ian is a native Floridian, born and raised in St. Petersburg. After receiving his Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in Accounting from the University of Florida, Ian worked as an internal business consultant for The Procter & Gamble Distributing Company. Ian returned to the University of Florida, entering the Levin College of Law in the fall of 1997. During his second stint at UF, Ian served as a Judicial Extern for the Honorable Justice Ben F. Overton of the Supreme Court of the State of Florida. After receiving his Juris Doctor in the spring of 2000, Ian went to Manhattan where he joined Deloitte’s Special Acquisition Services, a team that exclusively serviced all merger and acquisition activity for the leveraged buyout firm Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts. Ian returned to St. Petersburg in the summer of 2003 to join and help expand the firm you see today. Ian manages the Firm and chairs its Personal Injury and Worker’s Compensation departments. Ian is married to another member of the Florida Bar, Robin H. Leavengood, and is a proud father of Vivian, Luke, Margaret and Nicholas Leavengood.