South Florida Legal Guide Names Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate as "Top Law Firm"

Shareholders, Partners All Recognized Individually for Accomplishments

All five Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A. shareholders have been selected for inclusion in the South Florida Legal Guide for 2009. Additionally, partners Rich Fidei and Tracey McPharlin were recognized as "Up-And-Comers" and the firm as a whole was voted as one of the year's "Top Law Firms."

The South Florida Legal Guide recognitions are awarded based on ballots completed by local lawyers who vote on which nominees they would recommend to a friend or family member in a variety of practice areas. After further review, this list is narrowed to the top one percent of South Florida lawyers in each area of practice. A similar process is used to judge top law firms.

The Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate shareholders recognized by South Florida Legal Guide:

-- With more than 35 years of legal experience, Mike Colodny, one of the founders of the firm, focuses his practice on governmental affairs, corporate, as well as insurance and financial regulatory work. Colodny resides in Hollywood.

-- Joel S. Fass practices in the areas of personal injury, commercial litigation and civil rights. He also represents abused, neglected and elderly individuals through negligence and nursing home litigation. Fass resides in Weston.

-- Howard M. Talenfeld's practice focuses on protecting the rights of foster children and the disabled in civil rights, personal injury cases and systemic reform litigation. He also litigates complex commercial and class action cases in state and federal courts. Talenfeld resides in Plantation.

-- Fred E. Karlinsky concentrates his practice in the areas of insurance regulatory; legislative, executive and municipal governmental affairs; administrative law; corporate representation and transactional matters. Karlinsky resides in Weston.

-- Maria Elena Abate practices in the areas of civil rights claims, class action litigation, and insurance matters representing individuals, corporations and state agencies in cases dealing with discrimination, constitutional violations, insurance, employment and health care issues. Abate resides in Miami Springs.

The Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate partners named as South Florida Legal Guide's "Up-and-Comers:"

-- A member of the Florida and Pennsylvania Bars, Richard J. Fidei represents insurance companies, general agencies, brokers, reinsurers, premium finance companies, claims companies and other insurance related companies in connection with transactional matters and regulatory and compliance issues. Fidei resides in Pompano Beach.

-- Partner Tracey K. McPharlin practices in the areas of children's rights, personal injury/civil rights, appellate practice and employment law. Her work on several of the firm's most prominent foster care cases has resulted in numerous successful outcomes for her clients. McPharlin resides in Pompano Beach.

Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky & Abate, P.A. is a full-service law firm specializing in government relations, commercial litigation and administrative law, with offices in Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee. The Firm's litigation practice group also handles civil rights, employment discrimination and child advocacy matters on both the trial and appellate levels. For more information, visit www.cftlaw.com or call (954) 492-4010 or (850) 577-0398 in Tallahassee.

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